shadow

power

GET’ER DONE!

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“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21

I didn’t know much in my early Christian life, but it didn’t take long to realize that I needed a power greater than myself if I was going to truly be Jesus’ disciple.  Change was hard! (And by the way, it still is!) Somehow, I understood that any accomplishments made for eternal purposes would not happen unless I had help. 

I read the Bible, but had a hard time understanding it. I searched every self-help book I could get my hands on, and listened to hundreds of sermon tapes. I asked other Christian women to teach and mentor me, but help came like a very slow dripping faucet. Like a sponge I listened to anyone who would teach me. 

After a while I began to understand that man and his manual tools could only help so much.  To illustrate, think of a man who needs to drive a three-inch screw into concrete. Using a manual screwdriver, he is going to struggle, pushing hard with all his might to get the job done in his own strength. Or he can pick up an electric power drill and sink that same 3-inch screw in seconds!  By using his outside power source, he can get the job done without zapping his own strength, and can get much more done in the process. 

After we have accepted Christ and have His power living in us through the Holy Spirit, we too can accomplish a lot more in this life. More than we could ever accomplish in our own strength.

So today – let us plug into the power source that God has already given us. His power source, His Holy Spirit, that lives inside us 24/7, but which we so often ignore. He is stronger that we will ever be.  And then watch him work through us, getting more done that we would ever have imagined!  

Until Next Time,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda

 

Photo credit: https://www.freeimages.com/photographer/unknowme-67461

 

 

 

When I am weak, then I am strong

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“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV

One of the ways that I know the Bible is God’s Word is through the patterns of God’s character woven throughout the Old and New Testaments. These patterns reveal that God’s plan is perfect and better than any human plan. One of these patterns is God’s continuous use of the weak in his design so that his glory shines through instead of the person’s pride.

In Judges chapter 7, Gideon led an army to fight Midian and the Lord told him that the Israelites would boast of their own strength when they won, so the men were narrowed down to only 300. This way, when the Midianites were defeated, it would be seen that the victory could only have been achieved by the power of God.

When Samuel was choosing one of Jesse’s sons to be anointed king, Samuel assumed that the eldest son would be chosen, but the Lord said “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). After Samuel saw the other sons, Jesse told him that his youngest son David was in the fields tending the sheep. This is who the Lord told Samuel to anoint as king. Later, as we all know, the young David used a sling and stone to kill Goliath when the Israelite army was too afraid to approach the giant (I Samuel chapter 17). The smallest person was used to defeat the strongest enemy so that everyone present would witness the glory of God.

In the New Testament, when God chose to send his son to earth to redeem us, he did not send a golden warrior king, but a baby born to a virgin in a stable. Even though Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophesies and followed the pattern that God had been weaving through the Old Testament of using the weak, some still did not believe he was the Messiah. Paul had been one of these persecutors of the followers of Jesus before he was literally blinded on the way to Damascus and shown the true light. After his conversion he suffered the rest of his life in service to Christ. Paul had previously been a prideful Pharisee who was revered, but after being shackled, beaten, and shipwrecked, he boasted not of his old life and accomplishments, but in his present weakness because he knew the glory of God was showing through. This is why he said “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV).

Often we feel that we are not capable of carrying out what God has called us to do, but  the Bible reveals a pattern of God using the weak. Who are we to argue with the perfect plan of truth that was recounted onto paper then and still lives today?

Your sister in Christ,

Erin Tabor

 

 

 

Photo Credit: My own photo

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“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12 NIV

When I was younger, one of my best friends had connections to the music group Hansen (one of the heart throb boy bands of the 90’s).

One summer when I was visiting my friend for a week, her aunt surprised us with tickets to one of Hansen’s concerts. We were ecstatic! With squeals of girlish excitement we went to the concert, bought T-shirts and sang along to the music. About half-way through the concert my friend looked over at me and exclaimed, “Noree, I am such a fool! If had let them (Hansen) know we were coming beforehand, we could have gotten back stage passes.” (Believe it or not, this was before most people owned cell phones to let them know we were at the concert.) Needless to say, that put a bit of a damper on the rest of the concert: thinking of what might have been… but my friend and I still enjoyed it.

How many of us know in our heads we have full access to the throne of God, but forget to live it out? We have access to the King of kings and Lord of lords! The Israelites lived with a veil over their hearts, but through the blood of Jesus we who believe have had that veil torn away and now live reflecting the glory of God with His Spirit living inside us (2 Corinthians 3:13-18).

In Hebrews 10:19-22 Paul encourages believers to draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. We need to live each day taking full advantage of our access to the King of kings! His power knows no equal; His might no limit. And we have His incomparably great power living in us to live each day victoriously and for the glory of our God (Ephesians 1:18-20).

Noree Wegmeyer

 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Free Images: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/vip-1549961