First Things

First Things | Ephesians 3:14-19

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Slides:

Absence makes fond hearts wander.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Deuteronomy 6:5

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Matthew 22:36-38

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment

Exodus 20:3

You shall have no other God before me.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love…

Revelation 2:4

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

We cultivate love for Christ by meditating on His love for us.

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bend my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.

How can we invite the Holy Spirit’s work of growing us in affection for  the Lord?

Meditating on ScripturePrayer

1: It is Inspired.

2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

2: It is Understandable.

Proverbs 2:3-5 Indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding even to the simple.

3: It is Useful.   

For teaching: 2 Timothy 3:15-17. Initiates Faith: Romans 10:17Gives new spiritual life: 1 Peter 1:23, James 1:18Helps us grow: 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Thess 2:13, Acts 20:32Sanctifies: John 17:17, Eph 5:26Liberates: John 8:31-32Comforts: 2 Cor 1Helps us stand against the enemy: Eph 6:17 the sword of the Spirit, the Word.Refreshes, Renews, Satisfies, Protects, Guides, and all kinds of other things: Psalm 119.

4: It is effective.

Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.

Suggestions for Devotional Times:

Check your motive. Are you seeking God, or checking a box?

Suggestions for Devotional Times:

Have a Plan. Allow enough time, to not be thinking about time. Preselected scripture (Reading plan)Method for meditation: (S.O.A.P.)Allow Scripture to lead you into prayer. 

Suggestions for Devotional Times:

Make it a Habit.Consistency in time and place. Rituals can help on hard days.

Suggestions for Devotional Times:

Rid distractions.Don’t multitask.Be proactive. Ask for accountability.Dumb-down your smartphone.

People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

- D.A. Carson

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.