Unlimited Power

Ephesians 1:18 And that having the eyes of your heart full of light, you may have knowledge of what is the hope of his purpose, what is the wealth of the glory of his heritage in the saints, 19 And how unlimited is his power to us who have faith, as is seen in the working of the strength of his power, 20 By which he made Christ come back from the dead, and gave him a place at his right hand in heaven, 21 Far over all rule and authority and power and every name which is named, not only in the present order, but in that which is to come: 22 And he has put all things under his feet, and has made him to be head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the full measure of him in whom all things are made complete.

The Lord reminded me recently of how he likes to do things in this world. I've seen this way in my own life as well as throughout the bible. In stark contrast to men, the Lord is not troubled in the least by "overwhelming odds" here on earth. Remember the story of Gideon:

Judges 7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. 8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

What happened there? The Lord basically says its not "how much, how many" or whatever else you have to fight with, its the Lord's power that wins the day and he can cause you to win out in any and every situation. Remember Psalm 91? 10,000 fall at your right hand, 1,000 at your left, but the danger won't touch you? Numbers don't matter, the situation does'nt matter. A failing economy does'nt matter, the housing mess does'nt matter, what does matter is that you believe...19 And how unlimited is his power to us who have faith, as is seen in the working of the strength of his power, 20 By which he made Christ come back from the dead

These days, either we get out of the boat and walk on the water with Jesus, or we get swamped by the storm and waves. There's less and less "wiggle room" these days. All the grey area is being sorted into black and white by pressure, by the storms of life. Playing church isn't going to cut it anymore. "Going to church" isn't going to cut in anymore. We have to BE the church, not "go to it." People don't have a problem with "going to church" but they seem to have real troubles "being" the church. Being the church=being "in Christ" because the church is actually the living, breathing body of the King of Kings. The church is not some man made organization, or social club, or feel-good society. It is an organic, living body.

Exercise your faith today, strengthen it for today and the days to come between now and the arrival of our Lord. The same power that was displayed to the world when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, is there for you if you believe. Your faith is worth more than all the riches and glory this world has to offer. We have a fortress, we have an ark, we have a King who is our shelter from the storm around us.

Do you believe he can and will do the things he said he would do? The way you answer that question will determine whether you stand above the storm and raging sea, or whether you sink below the waves. Testing is a part of this life, set your heart to pass the tests of life today. Refining by fire is part of our world today, the less impurity found within you, the less pain when the fire is applied. The escape is still ahead of us. The door in heaven (Rev 4) has not opened yet, but it will soon, be ready for it. Be found "in Christ" when Jesus arrives. Be a wise servant, a wise virgin (Matt 25). Time is short, grace and peace