“For All” – Day Twenty

18 Sep “For All” – Day Twenty

Scripture: Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT – “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

Observation: Most of the early believers in Jesus were Jewish. When the people of Ephesus, a predominantly Gentile (aka non-Jewish) community, heard of Jesus, they chose to believe in him and become faithful followers to spread the message of Christ through acts of love and caring for others.  These verses were part of a prayer over the house church(es) of Ephesus asking God to increase their faith. This prayer served as a reminder to the Ephesian believers that they were no longer thought of as outsiders, but were now part of God’s family. They are loved in a way that is so much more than they could comprehend, and so are you! 

Application: Telling those I know well about my faith has always been a challenge for me. I was brought up in a Jewish home and when I became a follower of Christ at age fifteen, I felt a strong need to keep my newfound faith a secret. I knew my parents would not understand and would not be happy with my choice. For months, I told my parents I was going out with friends before sneaking out to a Bible study or youth group. It was months later when I was going out nightly to help at a Vacation Bible School that my dad, jokingly, asked if I was “becoming a Christian or something”—to which I mumbled “yes” and then ran out of the house unsure if he heard me (he did).  Years later, I traveled as a missionary with an international music ministry and freely shared my faith with crowds of strangers; however, fear struck in my heart at the thought of sharing my faith when I sat one-on-one with my non-Christian friends.

God calls us as believers to share his love and to lead others to the salvation that is available through Jesus. We may not feel comfortable with the title of a “Leader”, but God’s promise in this passage is that we “will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” When we find ourselves with an opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives, we should take that opportunity knowing that he has placed us in the situation to share and will give us all we need to speak in truth and love. It’s not our actions that lead people to God, it’s his love that radiates through our day-to-day life that attracts others to him.  We just have to be willing to share the joy and love he gives us with the world around us.

Prayer: God, I thank you for blessing me with a life that is filled with your love. I pray for opportunities to share your love with others and for wisdom and courage to speak the words needed to reach those who need you most. Amen.

Jennifer Newman

Journeyer

Jennifer has been attending The Journey since February 2020. A Sourcing Analyst in the purchasing department of an international juice manufacturer, Jennifer builds Excel spreadsheets by day and sings in a competitive barbershop quartet by night.  She also enjoys reading, cooking, and traveling with other single friends.

Going deeper:  

• Ask God to lead you to someone who needs to hear about him. Ask him to empower you to share without fear and then pray for that person (or people) that God would open their hearts to hear your story. 
• Watch “Thought in Three: Love the people I don’t like?” for more on how to share the love of God with others.