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The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:19-20 (NASB)
¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

My reflections on the Word of God:

Yesterday, we examined verse nineteen in the context of the larger passage on the power of God, verses 19-23. Today, I want to go further in this examination by putting the focus on verse twenty.

There is no place in scripture where the power of God is on display more that the power of God which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. When you think of the power it takes to raise someone from the dead, and to seat that person at the right hand of God, then you can get a picture of the power that is available to believers to live the Christian life.

Acts 2:23-24 (NASB)
²³ this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
²⁴ “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Acts 10:39-41 (NASB)
³⁹ “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
⁴⁰ “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,
⁴¹ not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

Allow your mind and your heart to get a grip on the concept that this same resurrection power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead God makes this same power available to “us who believe”. The implications of this truth are enormous, and we will delve deeper into this tomorrow.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the way that You are using this prayer of Paul for the Ephesians to open our eyes to the greatness and the vastness of the power of God that is available “to us who believe”. Father God, it gives me great comfort in knowing that whatever I may face today that there is no power on earth or in heaven that is greater than the power of God, and that power is available to me, and that power is accessible by placing my faith in the God, who has promised to share His power with His children.

My Faith Looks Up to Thee (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=517

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:19-23 (NASB)
¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

My reflections on the Word of God:

In this portion of his prayer for the Ephesians’ Paul spends a considerable amount of time talking about the power of God. Paul wanted them to know that the God who had so richly blessed them also provided the power to use those blessings. After all what good is wealth if you do not have the wisdom and the power to use them.

Paul knew that they were weak, and that they needed a power that was greater than human wisdom and human power to wisely use the riches that God had given them by His grace. The flesh is weak and we need the power of God.

Matthew 26:41 (NASB)
⁴¹ “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Paul also knew that there were fierce enemies who wanted to rob them of their wealth. The enemies that the Ephesians faced are the same enemies that believers of every age face.

Ephesians 6:11-12 (NASB)
¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The goodnews is that we don’t have to face the enemies who will steal our spiritual wealth in our own strength. God shares His power with His believing children. He freely gives us His riches, and He freely shares with us his power.

Ephesians 1:19 (AMP)
¹⁹ And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the almighty power of God that is available for all of Your believing children. Father God, I thank You for giving us the knowledge of this great and awesome power, and for making Your power available to us so that we don’t have to operate in our own meager strength, and that we don’t have to face the enemies of our soul with human wisdom and human strength. Father God, I praise and thank You that Your power is in us and for us. Praise God!

Pentecostal Power (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/p/e/pentecop.htm

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:18 (NASB)
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

My reflections on the Word of God:

Yesterday we reflected upon the first result of knowing God. The result is that “you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you”.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NASB)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

 Today we will reflect upon the glorious and wonderful truth of the second result of knowing God. As a result of knowing God the believer, (His set-apart ones) has been both made an inheritance, and received an inheritance.

Ephesians 1:11 (AMP)
¹¹ In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will,

The third result of knowing God is that the believer comes to know and experience the power of God. Paul goes into a discussion of this in the verses that we will start looking at tomorrow. I am so glad that the power needed to carry out the purposes and plans of God for my life resides within my heart in the presence of Christ in me, the hope of glory. Now that is a truth that will build your faith, and trust in God.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the wonderful results that accrue to every believer who has put their faith in Jesus, and who have received Him into their hearts. Father God, I give You praise and thanks for the knowledge that You have made us Your inheritance, and that we have received a glorious inheritance. Lord, I thank You that because of Your great love, grace, and mercy that every believer in Christ is able to know and experience the almighty power of God.

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)
²⁰ Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—

The Power of God (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/p/o/w/powergod.htm

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:18 (NASB)
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

My reflections on the Word of God:

It thrills my soul and boggles my mind when I take a plunge into the depths of seeking to understand the scope of what God has done for His believing children through His Son and our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Today I want to start to try to get my mind and heart around the idea of the results of knowing God. There are at least three results, and the first two are included in our focal verse for today. The third result is in verse nineteen, which we will cover later.

The first result of knowing God is that “you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you”. This hope Paul has fully described in the verses that precede Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. I will not review all of the spiritual blessings again, but they are included in Ephesians 1: 3-14. I will repeat the following verses that I feel seals the deal, and summarizes what God has done for us through the offices of the divine triune God.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)
¹³ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

It is obvious and quite amazing what the Sovereign God has chosen to do for His set-apart ones. God has called us to stand before Him in the name and in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. As children of God we have a bright future, and a blessed hope.

Colossians 3:4 (NASB)
⁴ When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

1 John 3:2 (NASB)
² Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the hope that we have because of the blessed promises of the Word of God. Father God, I pray that each one of us will draw strength and encouragement from knowing who we are in Christ. Father God, may we never forget the hope that we have because we stand before You in Christ Jesus.

I Know Whom I Have Believed (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://ingeb.org/spiritua/iknowwho.html

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:18 (NASB)
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

My reflections on the Word of God:

This portion of Paul’s prayer is in the context of what is required for the believer to know God. The God to whom Paul directs his prayer is the same God to whom Jesus directed His prayers when He lived upon this earth among men, and that is the God to whom we should direct our prayers.

Ephesians 1:15-17 (NASB)
¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Today our focus is upon what it takes for the believer to know God and to grow in the knowledge of God. Paul was so concerned about these believers that he prayed for the things that were essential to them having a growing and intimate personal relationship with the God of their salvation. Can you think of anything more important in the life of a Christian than to know the God of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Father of glory? I can’t and Paul couldn’t.

To know God and to grow in the knowledge of God Paul prayed that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”. Like many things in the Christian life there is a part for the Christian to play, and there is a part that only God can do. To know God the believer must open his or her heart to God. The God ward part is that the believer must seek the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts and to flood them with the things and thoughts of God.

Psalms 18:28 (NASB)
²⁸ For You light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

1 Peter 2:9 (NASB)
⁹ But you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, A holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the privilege that we have to enter into the presence of the same God that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spent so much time communing with when He walked the face of the earth. Father God, I pray that I will open the eyes of my heart so that the light of Your presence might flood my soul. Father God, I also pray that the Holy Spirit, who is my constant companion, would do His office work in my heart, and fill my heart with the light that comes from being in the presence of a God who is holy and righteous in all His ways.

Since Jesus Came Into My Heart (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/i/sincejes.htm

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:17 (NASB)
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

My reflections on the Word of God:

The world and its philosophers say that we should seek to know ourselves. However, the bible says that the most important thing in the life of the Christian is to know God. In the prayer of Jesus for His disciples He prayed that we would know God.

John 17:3 (NASB)
³ “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

There is nothing in this world that is worth knowing more than to know God. To have all the knowledge in the world what value would it have if it did not benefit you in the life after death? It is far better to know God and to know that one will never die than it is to have the knowledge of the world, and to lose it all when you die. When you know God, and His Son, Jesus Christ, you know that you have eternal life and that you will never die.

Mark 8:36 (NASB)
³⁶ “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

John 5:24 (NASB)
²⁴ “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the privilege of knowing God, and knowing the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Father God, I praise and thank You for the gift of eternal life that comes from having my sins paid for through the precious and royal blood of Jesus Christ Your only begotten son. Father God, I would rather have Jesus and eternal life than to have all the knowledge and things that the world has to offer.

Take the World, but Give Me Jesus (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=329

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NASB)
¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

My reflections on the Word of God:

It is very difficult to look at the details of Paul’s prayer in the above passage because in the original language it is one sentence. However, I want to spend a few days just looking at the various elements of Paul’s prayer. Today the focus is on verse seventeen.

Ephesians 1:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

One of the best ways to get to know ourselves better is that we get to know God better. This is reasonable because of the following truth.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NASB)
²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The more we learn about the God of the bible, the more we will come to know and understand ourselves, and the wonderful plan that God has for our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)
¹¹ ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

The two primary resources that will enable us to know the God of the bible is the Word of God, and the Spirit of God.

2 Timothy 3:15 (NASB)
¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (NASB)
⁹ but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard , And which have not entered the heart of man , All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
¹⁰ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the privilege of being able to know God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Father God, I praise and thank You for the Word of God that imparts to us the wisdom and the understanding of Your nature, Your plans, and Your purposes. Father God, I also praise and thank You for the office work that the Holy Spirit does in helping us to know and understand the Word of God, and the power that He provides to enable us to obey the Word of God because we realize that Your Word tells us that we must be more than just hearers of the Word, we must also be doers of the Word.

Break Thou the Bread of Life (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/t/bttblife.htm

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NASB)
¹⁵ For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
¹⁶ do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
²² And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

My reflections on the Word of God:

This passage contains the prayer of Paul for the church at Ephesus. It is a prayer that they would grow in knowledge and in power in view of the spiritual blessings that God had so richly given to them by His amazing grace through Jesus Christ.

There are some things in life that we should forget, and those things we should put behind us. However, there are some things in life that we should remember. The passage that we just completed is one of those that we should remember (Ephesians 1:3-14). It is important to know about these spiritual blessings that God has given to every believer through Jesus Christ. However, knowing does not end with knowing about the blessings of God. We need to know God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

 Paul had heard about the Ephesians, and the things that he recognized in them are that they knew Christ, and this was evident by their faith in God, and their love for all the saints. There are some things that should mark the life of every Christian that has a right relationship with God. They are faith, love and peace. Notice what Paul had to say about this in the following passages.

Colossians 1:4 (NASB)
⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

Ephesians 6:23 (NASB)
²³ Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, the prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in the church at Ephesus is a prayer that is worthy of our focus, and is a prayer that is worthy of being prayed by us for all of the people that are important in our lives, and a prayer that we should pray for ourselves.

 Lord, we all need to grow in our knowledge of the God who has blessed us so abundantly, and in grace has given us what we don’t deserve. Such love is beyond our ability to fully grasp with our intellect, but by faith we can lay hold of these blessings, and in love and gratitude we can give praise and thanks to God for His blessings. Lord, I pray that our lives will reflect each of us growing in the graces of faith, love (for God and all the saints), and the peace of God.

I Know in Whom My Soul Believes (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/i/tisummer.htm

The Word of God says:

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NASB)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
⁵ who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

My reflections on the Word of God:

I can think of no better way to conclude the celebration of this Holy Week than taking a few minutes to focus on this incredible passage from the Epistle of 1 Peter. What caused Peter to praise God is the living hope that is the inheritance of each one of God’s children. This hope was dashed when Jesus was crucified, when He died, and when He was buried in the tomb. But, praise be to God, Jesus is not in the grave any longer. He is alive, and He lives forever more, and because He lives, we who are children of God shall also live forever.

The object of Peter’s praise was the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for Peter’s praise was the living hope of spending eternity in the presence of God. The source of Peter’s hope was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

This living hope is available to all of God’s children who are born again through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.

John 3:3 (NIV)
³ In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 3:5-7 (NIV)
⁵ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father thank you, and bless Your most holy and righteous name for all that You have done for Your born again children. The words written by Peter expresses eloquently what we feel in our hearts. We praise You with our whole heart, and we joyfully sing to You this song of praise and thanksgiving.

Because He Lives (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.mamarocks.com/because_he_lives.htm

The Word of God says:

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (HCSB)
¹ First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
² for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
³ This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,
⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Today, Saturday, March 22, 2008, in Anchorage, Alaska I will be attending the 23^rd Annual Alaska Governors Prayer Breakfast. Our guest speaker for the event will be Mr. Franklin Graham, CEO and President, Samaritan Purse, and CEO and President, Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. In attendance will be The Honorable Sarah Palin, Governor, State of Alaska. The event has been sold out for two weeks. However, you can listen to it on the radio. Those in South central Alaska can listen on KATB 89.3 FM.

The program will be streamed live over the Internet beginning at 9:00 AM ADT (1:00 PM EDT). You can listen to the broadcast on radio station KATB Christian Radio by clicking on the following link:

www.katb.org

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our dear Father in heaven, I praise and thank You that You have every person on Your heart. I pray that You will burden my heart to have compassion for others, and that I would pray for their salvation as a first priority in my life. Father God, I want to do what is pleasing in Your eyes.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 (AMP)
³ For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior,
⁴ Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth.

Father God, I also link my heart together with others who will be praying for those who are in Government leadership positions. Lord, we need Godly men and women to lead us, and to govern over us during these perilous times. What I pray for the leaders in our state I also pray for the leaders of the other forty nine states, and also for our national leaders of our country, and the entire world. Father God, I believe in the priority of prayer, and in the power of prayer. Father God, I pray that You will call out from among us people who would be willing to labor in prayer for all people; for those who lead, and for those who follow.

Rescue the Perishing (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh591.sht