Fill it to the Top

Devotions
Mar 052012

Today at lunch I put my cup up to the soda machine. I waited and let the cup fill up to the top. I didn’t walk away with only an inch of drink in my 16 oz. cup saying, “that’s plenty—I only want a little bit.” I enjoyed my full drink as I ate my lunch, and then went back again to refill the cup before I left the restaurant. As I filled my cup, God pricked my heart with the reminder that He is the filler of the cup of my soul.

…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and [so] that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,  [so] that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:16-19  -(NASB)

     A heart filled to the top begins with a request for God to grant empowering strength through the Holy Spirit in my inner being. There is a reason to pray for this strengthening: so that Christ may dwell, reside permanently, in my heart and that I may be firmly established in love. If that is not enough in itself, Paul continues with the result of Christ’s in-dwelling and love-grounding presence. These two conditions enable me to be able to comprehend (take eagerly and possess) and to truly know the love of Christ. Being strengthened with the indwelling of Christ and being rooted in love leads to greater understanding and experience of Christ’s love. The reality of this progressive blessing also leads to another effect: “that (I might) be filled up to ALL the fullness of God”! This prayer is about knowing Christ with a God-powered and God-filling completeness that isn’t just knowing facts. Increased understanding and stability in love and faith are results of God’s power at work deep within me. Often I am content with just a little bit of Christ and a little bit of knowledge. I can find myself expecting just a little love. As God works and I begin to understand, a little isn’t enough anymore. My roots of faith begin to reach deeper, growing with an increased vigor to know more of God. It occurs to me that my willingness and desire to receive is an important part of what God must strengthen.

How often do I come to You, Lord, with my heart ready to fill, but I walk away, content with just a sip, instead of being filled with the fullness You want to grant. I still look at being filled as partially dependant on my doing something right. This entire passage is about what You do so generously. What is my expectation? A little , a lot, or over and beyond?

I simply ask for more. The more I seek the meaning in these verses, the more understanding I receive. Will I walk away, content with a little, or will I remain and be filled with Your fullness. There is more than I can learn in a lifetime—so much height, breadth, length, and depth to Your love. May I never forget that Your power is at work within me. I ask for more understanding and You give it. I seek more and You show me more. Lord, let my spirit stretch that I may be able to receive more and more of all the fullness of You.

A little bit is no longer enough!

Submitted by Ginger Harrington

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Honor Your Parents

Devotions
Sep 052011

Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”- which is the first command with a promise – “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Eph 6:1-3

While “teaching” at our youth group the other night, my question to a room full of restless middle-school kids was this; “According to Ephesians 6:1-3 (quoted above), what is the benefit of obeying your parents and does that promise make it easy to not get mad and upset with them when we do not agree with their decisions?” With honest and blunt answers coming from around the room, most of us were in agreement that the promise does not normally reroute our pursuit of an argument, eye rolls, or door slamming.  Even those who were willing to admit that their parents are usually right and have their best intentions in mind still would say it didn’t always change their disappointment and attitude.

The next question I asked was “How can we honor our parents in moments like these?” Most gave answers that would shorten the fight and avoid punishment. It was in these answers that I realized that I had asked the wrong question in the first place. The promise is not linked with obedience; the promise follows honor. I quickly retraced my steps with the pre-teen/teen crowd and pointed out that, although we can do things in order to avoid further conflict by being instantly obedient, we are not even beginning to touch the grounds of honoring someone. The conversation that followed was a Holy Spirit moment if I ever saw one. Rather than simply obeying our parents, even when we think they are nuts, what if we honored them in return?

I am writing this to you, as women, so that you and I might reap the benefit of that which has been promised to us. Our parents either by blood, adoption, or in some cases we and/or they feel “by accident” are our God given-parents. They are not perfect nor are they always looking out for what’s best for us, however, the original context of this verse found in Deuteronomy 5:16 does not leave any exceptions. God’s command is clear; we are to honor our father and our mother, period.

We should give thought to the fact that honor has very little to do with outward obedience, and more to do with the humbled position of our heart. Because it is harder to change one’s heart than it is to bite our tongue, we can be sure that the same God who helps us control our lips desires to help us control the condition of our heart.

Today, I challenge us to honor our parents, whether they’re biological, adopted, or bitterly estranged.  May we not become content with obedience that avoids conflict and bitterness, but instead may we pursue a degree of honor towards them that merits God’s promise, “that it will go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Deut 5:16b

Submitted by Jeni Kopp

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Prayer for August

Prayer Points
Aug 132010

Dear Father,

Help us to be imitators of you, because we are your children.  Let us be filled with love.  Forgive us and cleanse us of immorality, impurity and greed. Forgive us of any obscene stories, foolish conversations and coarse jokes.  Instead, I pray our mouths would be full of thankfulness to you!    Lord give us strength not to participate in these things. Help us to never love things, but increase in our love for You.  We do not excuse our sins, but we confess them so that we can be made right with you.   We were once in the darkness, but you have given us your light!!  Jesus, You are the Light of the world.  Let your light produce that which is good and right and true in our lives.   We receive your forgiveness and cleansing. Thank you so much.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Ephesians 5:1-9

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Prayer for August 8-14

Prayer Points
Aug 062010

We agree together that God has given us different types of leaders to build us up and train us. We call forth these leadership gifts in our body.  We ask for God’s favor, protection, wisdom, and peace to guard leaders.  We pray they would be strengthened in their responsibilities to equip us.  We pray for unity in our faith and in the knowledge of Jesus.  We pray that we would each grow and mature and that we would know the truth and speak it in love.  We pray we would become more and more like Jesus, the head of us all. Help each of us to learn and do our special part so that we can help each part of our wonderful ministry to grow and be healthy and full of love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:11-16

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Prayer for July 25-31

Prayer Points
Jul 232010

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

Dear Father, We thank you for the gift of salvation.  We have done nothing to earn it.  It is not a reward for our goodness.  We confess that we have sinned and we need a Savior. Thank you for sending Jesus, the King of Kings, to die on the cross for our sins.   Thank you for saving us, for creating us to be your masterpieces.  Renew our minds and show us the good things you have planned for us to do.  Help us to do it in your strength, for your glory.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted by Dawn Kennedy at 12:00 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

Defeat Your Enemy

Devotions
Jul 192010

Has life brought you treachery, harassment, and heartache? How much of it is from other people? How much of it is the result of sowing seeds that reaped painful consequences? How much of it is plain old torment from Satan? After all, he uses people and circumstances to harass us.

How do you deal with attacks from the devil? Do you deal with them at all? Have you bothered to contemplate the power and plan of your Enemy?

He wants to steal from you. He wants to kill you. He wants to destroy you. (John 10:10a)

Sound unbelievable? It’s true and it’s real. He’s hard at work attempting to reach his goal every day. So, what do you do about it? First, you must be aware of and know your Enemy. Second, you must seek God’s wisdom in dealing with him. Third, you must intentionally take action each time he attacks.

Ultimately, the battle is the Lord’s, but He instructs us to stand firm adorned with the armor** He has provided. How? Fill your mind with God’s Truth — His Word — every day. One verse of scripture can be used to replace a lie from Satan.

For example, if you’re wracked with guilt over something and you’re continually tormented by it, confess your thoughts and feelings to God. Then, ask Him to lead you to a verse that will counteract the lie you believe. For guilt, Romans 8:1-2 is helpful: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Write the scripture on index cards and place them on your mirror, in your purse, in your car. Read the scripture often and eventually memorize it.

This isn’t a joke or a suggestion. If we, as Christians, are serious about walking in truth, if we are serious about overcoming wrong thoughts and beliefs, and if we are serious about living victoriously as Christ intended, then we need to stomp out the taunts and temptations thrown at us by the Evil One. We defeat the devil one choice, one action, one truth at a time. In so doing, we stand firm.

Do it. Take your Enemy seriously. He means business. So should we.

**Ephesians 6:10-18 Full Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . . .

(A good resource for additional knowledge and understanding of Satan is When the Enemy Strikes by Dr. Charles Stanley at In Touch Ministries.)

Posted by LauraFirtko at 2:00 am Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Prayer for July 18th - 24th

Prayer Points
Jul 162010

The PWOC Prayer Site contains scripture that we can pray together in agreement around the world.  We know that when we agree together, using the mighty Word of God, our weapon of warfare, that God will do mighty things on our behalf.  I encourage you to pray by faith, believing God’s Word and declaring it for yourself, your family, and your sphere of influence locally.  We also declare these words for our 10,000 PWOC sisters around the globe, the chaplains who support us and for our beloved armed forces.  I like to declare these scriptural prayers out loud.  It increases our faith as we hear God’s Word proclaimed.

This Scripture is already a prayer, written by Paul.  We declare this holy prayer today!

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.  And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

Ephesians 1:15-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

Posted by Dawn Kennedy at 2:00 am Tagged with: , , ,

What does W.I.L.D. Training have to do with VBS?

Bits & Pieces
Jun 162009

This year I became a PWOC Trainer for the first time and have had a blast meeting women in our local installations and getting to know them on a personal level. The curriculum is so incredibly well written that the trainer has little to do but keep time when the ladies get so involved in the discussion that time becomes irrelevant. In fact, I use my iPhone’s alarm clock feature and found that PWOC women do not respond to the harp! I had to choose the more annoying digital sound that works much better. No kidding.

So what does WILD training have to do with VBS? WILD training reminds us that we are individually and beautifully made by God for His purpose. Eph. 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV) The commentary in the Life Application Bible adds this, “...If God considers us his works of art, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or as inferior work.” Powerful words. WILD training reminds us that we can have freedom in being simply who we are, and not who we are NOT.

There are certain tasks in PWOC that when mentioned, you know right away who’s name gets attached. The opposite is true, as well, and let me just say that my name is never the one called out for watchcare! Having said that, volunteering for Vacation Bible School has always ranked right up there at the, well, bottom of my list! I’d rather pick up trash along the highway. Sad, but true.

Okay, so this year I have a new lease on life and permission to be the computer geek that I am so when the volunteer call went out for VBS, I stepped forward. Did you know that VBS has administrative duties, as well? In fact, today I used Mail Merge to create and print the Certificates of Appreciation for all of the other volunteers that were running in from the rain with 200+ kids. I stayed dry, of course, eating excess snack bags of pretzels, mini marshmallows, raisins and skittles. Too much of that, by the way, can make you sick. Dry, but sick.

Tomorrow will be Day Three of Fort Bragg’s VBS and I’m excited to be involved. There’s plenty to keep me busy doing my ‘geek’ thing and no one has asked me to lead a round of This Little Light of Mine. God is Good!

Posted by Tracy Hathaway at 11:14 pm Tagged with: , ,
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