For wisdom and guidance from God in the choice of the new Director of National Intelligence, that our nation�s intelligence agencies will be well-coordinated and our citizens safeguarded from harm.
This is what the LORD says, He who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it�the LORD is His name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'
�Jeremiah 33:2-3
O Holy Lord God, You reign in mystery and majesty; so great and glorious are You that we cannot fully comprehend how awesome You are. We cannot comprehend how vast and unsearchable You are! Yet, in Your greatness, You desire to be known by us; You initiate relationship with all You have made, inviting us to call on You. I thank and praise You for this, O God.
Today, I bring before You the need our new President has for an excellent Director of National Intelligence. O Lord, point out for the new administration the ideal candidate for this vital position. Provide one who understands the workings of our nation�s many intelligence agencies and who can work to coordinate all of them so that we may be kept safe from attack and may strengthen our service to the world. In Your awesome name, amen.
May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! Verse 5
Ephesians 3:10-20
I was asked to pick out a word or theme that "refreshes" me as I read this passage. The part I picked is in verses 14-19, as Paul prays for those to whom he was writing. Here's what it says. "And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God."
Why does this portion touch me? First of all, the image of having both my feet planted "firmly on love" moves me greatly. Love is something that I have struggled with all my life. Oh, I've never had any problem telling certain people that I love them. But I have had issues being judgmental in the past, and have had problems being accepting of all people. So this idea of having both feet planted firmly on love appeals to me. It's something that I will strive for in the year to come. (Not a New Year's resolution...I quit making those.)
But it's also what comes after having both feet planted on love. It's kind of like getting a stance ready for what comes next. First plant the feet, then "take in...the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love."
Say what??
Is that even possible??
Can a human even begin to "take in...the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love??" Yet, this is what Paul prays for us in this passage! He prays that we would be able to know how high and wide and long and deep is the love of Christ! This passage has moved me many times. I can't say that I have ever achieved it. Has anyone? Can you truthfully say that you have known the height, depth, length and width of the love of Christ? If you can, I want to be around you. I want to sit at your feet. I want to touch you. I want to feel this love of Christ radiating off of you. In my life I've met one person that may come close. One. She's not a preacher, church staff member, or even a professional "minister" of any kind. She's a school teacher.
So, as this Christmas goes by and 2009 approaches, my goal for the new year is to plant my feet firmly on love and try to grasp the "extravagant dimensions" of Christ's love. In fact, being inspired by a writer that I consider to be a friend, Robin Lee Hatcher, I will choose this as my "words for 2009."
"Feet firmly planted."
God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
So, this Christmas Day and the days to come...dream big, my friends, dream big! Because God can surpass those dreams. You can't dream big enough to outdo God!
Grace and peace, friends!