A Place to Call Home! (Ephesians 3)
Ephesians 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love... [nkjv]
In June 2003, Cindy Kennedy was traveling on a bus in Nepal when she read a newspaper article about a 6-year old girl, Lalita, living in a prison with her father and his girlfriend. The two adults had murdered Lalita's mother. Kennedy had arrived in Nepal just 10 days earlier to begin the final stages of setting up Namaste House, an orphanage for Nepali children.
"I had sat here (in the United States) for years reading the internet news and not being able to do anything," says Kennedy. "So now that I was there, in Nepal, we had to go get this girl!"
Kennedy and a Nepali colleague got on another hot crowded bus the next day and travelled 13 hours to the prison where Lalita had been living for nine months. For five days Kennedy patiently tolerated what she calls "a lot of bureaucracy and hurry-up-and-wait." But Lalita was ultimately released. She became the first child to find a home at Namaste House.
Today 27 children, ages 3-12, live at Namaste House. Even though each has a unique story, they all have a common thread of hardship, abandonment and neglect. And despite the difficulties they have had to endure at such an early age, they now not only have a mother's love but also a permanent place to call home. They have been given a gift which will change them forever.
Paul's prayer is this verse is that "Christ would dwell in our heart." The word 'dwell' conveys the idea 'finding a permanent home.' Jesus is not looking for a holiday house where He can come and visit but rather He is wanting to set up permanent residency in our hearts.
If we truly understood the implications of this, just like the children at Namaste House, our lives will never be the same again.
4 comments:
3:17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
Wow, as I go through the challenges of each day, some days seem even harder to get through than others. I know though that i need to continue to have Christ make is home in my heart and my prayer is that those roots will grow down and will provide me with the strength I need. Some days it seems like they just don't grow fast enough. On those days I hold on
Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence
How often do people stand and gawk at celebrities and those we admire? We seem to raise them on a pedestal. Magazines with glossy photos spread their images across the nation. How then would we react if we actually met these people face to face? There may be a nervous tremor, tongue tied and unsure of what to say, maybe even a little embarrassed and overwhelmed. How incredible to be in their presence as we marvel at their achievements and skills. But we have access to the One who is greater than all of them and who has given them their gifts of talents. Because of Jesus we are able to approach our God with freedom and confidence, we are able to communicate openly with our Creator.
God welcomes us because of our love and faith in Jesus Christ and He wants us to feel at ease in our relationship with Him. God is far greater than any human role model, celebrity or hero but He does not make us feel awkward but rather allows us to approach near and speak with Him on a personal level.
Eph 3:19 "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." (NLT)
I see that Paul here struggles too with fully understanding the amazing love of God! It is so vast that we can only grasp a part of it. The love that we know as humans falls so far short of His that all we can do is thank Him that He chose to love us freely.
And as if knowing that isn't enough to blow us away we find more - now we will be made complete with fullness of life and power that comes from God! Is there no end to what God wants to pour into our lives!!
Ephesians 3:20 NLT Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
This verse reminds us not to be boastful of that we accomplish and to praise and thank God instead. We can do much more than we think through God's power within us.
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