"Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence?
Not even close.
Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here?
Not even close.
Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life?
Not even close.
Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought?
Close enough.
Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral?
Not close enough.
Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good?
Not even close to being close.
Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences?
Close enough.
Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational?
Not even ballpark.
Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt?
Dead on."
-David Burlinski, The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions
It's a feeling I love, when someone scratches a spot I know is there, but I couldn't seem to find it before. Just like when I read G.K. Chesterton and he talks about the quiet oppressiveness of materialism.
I spent Friday and Saturday with my mother, which was absolutely wonderful. In the wake of the divorce of my parents, there was so much destruction. And I guess through all of it, 12 years plus, we really were divided. My mother and I used to be very close when I was a kid. So it's been hard on both of us.
But it was nice to spend some time with her. So thank you Jesus, for giving us time together. I spend a lot of time somewhat separated, whether at work, at home, on the internet, at church, or at support groups. I feel a part of, yet different. It's hard to trust these days. The only one I trust completely is Jesus. No one else was there for me at rock bottom but Jesus. Everyone else had left. But Jesus was there to help me up.
Anyway, when my mom and I hung out among other things we went to see the movie "Noah." It wasn't particularly biblical. In fact it wasn't even close. But like Lord of the Rings, it had biblical themes running through it. Second chances, judgment, faith, trust, and the theme of sin was powerful in it. It also had clear strands of Gnosticism in it.
So, instead of blasting the movie, condemning it, and pushing it away... I enjoyed it for what it was. And that way I can then engage culture, and pray for those who are seeing it, that their interest would be sparked, that they'd be saved eventually by Jesus. That's just my approach, my concern isn't to blast anything necessarily, though I think reasoned critiques are valid. But my purpose I believe, is to become all things to all people, as Paul said, and to see as many saved as possible.
I'm feeling quite encouraged actually. The atmosphere is changing bit by bit. I sense a growing unity. We have too many divisions in Protestantism. We cannot reclaim the west if we divide, divide, divide, over small issues. Anyone should be able to see that.
Never-the-less people are standing up, and putting things together. Just like the Christian digital artwork page. Things are happening in the national media that are just wonderful. Three movies now very recently in theatres across the entire nation! Do you understand how wonderful that is? That's millions of people we tend to never interact with in our local churches being engaged. For the part of "Noah", their artistic curiosity is powerfully engaged. For the part of the movie "God's not Dead" their intellectual questions, interest, and skepticism are being engaged on the national level! Wow, Praise to God! And with the movie "Son of God", it's just straight up sharing the gospel. God is being very gracious with these three developments, and I can't say how pleased I am.
Are there problems with all three, minor issues, even with Noah some larger issues? Yep. But I can accept that, because the gains far outweigh the costs. And I have to think about how I'm representing Christ with my reaction. If I'm getting all bent out of shape, crabby, complaining, and rudely mocking these things.. I'm not being a good picture of Christ. I'm showing people that they were right about Christianity being closed-off, judgmental, and angry. We don't have to compromise our theology. But we can discussing these movies in a friendly way.
"Oh yeah I saw that Noah movie, it was fun and engaging, but let me tell you about how it really happened in the Bible. This, this, and this were great from the movie! But this, this and that actually happened this way. But isn't it great to see elements of what it might've really been like?"
See how we can be polite and courteous, while engaging their interest in the movie, and applauding certain parts of the movie? We can then lovingly share the truth.
Again and again I read these blog posts from others, and I'm thinking my goodness, is the purpose to share Christ and be a good Christian, or to self righteously condemn everything around us, put our opinions out there no matter what?
In any case the point is, God is working in the United States. When you see three movies in rapid succession on the national level, being seen at theatres everywhere, well wow. That's really something. Millions of people who would never, ever think to walk into a church; but when we meet them where their interest is, like television, movies, movie theatres, and the internet (we're really a media addicted culture at this point) then we're meeting them on their terms; just like Paul did on Mars Hill, when he engaged the culturally religious beliefs of the Greeks and found a place to interject the truth of Jesus Christ. And some heard him and believed as a result.
The debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye recently is also encouraging, see we're claiming the front stage for a renewed interest in Christianity. We're reaching far beyond the borders of our church walls to relevant levels of interaction.
It's the same with the Veritas forum visiting major colleges across the country with the message of Jesus Christ. It's the same with Christian apologists debating the new atheists on campuses around the country as well. And it's missionary organizations sending to countries in the 10/40 window, countries like India, Pakistan, China, Iran, and Syria.
This is wonderful, keep praying for non-believers and the renewal of the church body. Keep working hard at your evangelism efforts whether it be at home, in the streets, on the internet or at the pulpit. We're starting to move in the right direction, but it will take long and hard sustained work, by a very dedicated body of Christ. Keep sharing Bible verses on social media, keep talking to friends, keep inviting, even when turned down, or yelled at, or mocked, keep going friends. The riches of eternal life await us all. I can see the ball beginning to roll, for another great awakening for Jesus. Keep it up, God be with you. Amen.
Loving
God for the sake of His holiness is a perfect form of love. Loving God
for who he is, because he is worthy. And in practice this makes
perfect sense to me, because I have always longed for justice in
politics, and even my heroes in politics are flawed. My heart aches for
true justice in world poverty, in the abused under classes, the minimum
wagers. My heart aches when I see a prideful but
just leader, because they have succeeded in one area but failed in
another. But when I look to the life of Jesus I adore, because of his
perfect holiness, humbly serving, and despite all the lies about
Christianity and Jesus, none can take away from me what the Bible
actually says, and when it's objectively inspected, there is no sin in
the life of Jesus, perfection. Unheard of, truly. At that moment I am
adoring God for the sake of his holiness. That is worship. I can also
love God for the sake of his love. But that's another direction
entirely.
There are three areas that God provides for us, as his children. He comes to us as the loving parent, the Father. The Father who throws a party when we stumble into his arms. The Father who keeps us safe, who shields us and protects us. The Father we take refuge in. The Father who raises his anger at those who hurt us. The Father is the sovereign role, the sun to my earth as it were. I revolve around the Father, his sovereignty, his desires for me. He is the ruler. He is the God, I am the servant.
Another role is that of the comforter. God comes to us as the friend, the encourager. He comes as the changing spirit within us. He comes as the face to face companion in day to day life. He speaks through us in very personal ways. He hears our prayers even when we whisper them, or say them in our heads. God the sovereign sun in my sky, yet he is also the light in my heart. He is also the presence next to me, encouraging me, comforting me, loving me, and filling me with all joy.
Then there is the wonderful role of God, the Savior. He comes as my hero, as my king, as my wonderful redeemer. He is the source of all my inspiration. His life is the perfect example for me to follow. He makes a way for me, when there was no way at all. He removes my sin, on the cross. He saves all humanity, all across time itself. Jesus Christ is the completion. He is the finished work. He comes as the suffering servant, providing the example, but much more, he provides the removal of my sins. There is no role like this, in any other religion, nothing touches the life, death, resurrection, and heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus washes away my sins on the cross, and gifts to me a coat of perfect righteousness.
Without Jesus, there is no Father in my life, and there is no changing Spirit.
Together these roles of God make up the Christian understanding of the trinity, which I hesitantly accept. Very simply, it's like this, there is one God and he has three hats, sometimes he has his Father hat on, then sometimes his Spirit hat on, and sometimes his Savior hat on. That's as simple as I can put it, one God, three hats. (I heard that from Tim Keller, I know, I'm just borrowing the analogy.)
I was praying the other night, you know, just my nightly prayer before bed.. and something happened. I'm not sure exactly what. But I felt a powerful presence in the room with me, and the most vague outline. I don't know exactly what happened, but it was like my Lord was in the room with me. And.. you know I thought about it. That's what I believe, whenever I pray, anywhere, God is hearing, God is near, God is listening intently. The powerful presence though, wow. I trembled at it..
Becoming a Christian has been the most wonderful and trans-formative journey I've ever been on. It's also been the hardest thing I've ever done. But a strength comes that just wasn't there before. I'm doubly challenged, yet I can also feel the strength given from God to complete every task. He is that kind of provider. His only requirement is that I dedicate myself entirely to him.
I feel special. Often challenged. Sometimes lucky, other times blessed. Sometimes I'm angry, other times.. tired. Being human is odd like that. We have victory, yet paradoxically the evil seems to grow. The church grows as well in the world, stride for stride, matching move for move against the kingdom of Satan. It's mysterious. I wonder, when will it finally end? When will we finally have the renewal of the natural world, and the renewal of our physical bodies?
I often struggle to understand the mysterious words of the book of Revelation. It really ought to be known. The issue comes for me in Revelation chapter 20. I don't understand the timeline, the progression of events. I don't trust interpretations I've read, so I'm waiting until I have the chance in my studies to go through Revelation extremely carefully to best understand things after death. That's the focus, after death, and the idea of the 1st death, and the 2nd death. The city of New Jerusalem, with walls and gates, and some sort of darkness outside the gates... so incredibly mysterious.
We tend to get it wrong as humans. When Jesus came two thousand years ago the Jews thought the coming messiah would restore Israel, and bring the kingdom by military conquest. These people, the religious leaders of that day would routinely memorize the entire Old Testament. And they got it that wrong. I don't trust the evangelical books and established ideas too well, unless I've also put my hand in and actually read the scriptures. I watch diligently now as well for anything the modern church is doing that is not biblical, but culturally based. The oppression comes when old non-biblical traditions are forced onto people as law.
There is so much failure, mis-allocation of funds, corruption, greedy mega-churches, division, condemnation, foolish decisions, selfishness.. I feel like I always have to be on guard.
The situation today, reminds me of the situation in the movie the Lord of the Rings, the fellowship of the Ring. The kingdoms of men are divided and leaderless. There is corruption everywhere. Everyone is kind of half asleep at the wheel. The church can't seem to hold the evil at bay anymore.
Compare Gondor to America, kind of past it's prime, spread too thin, becoming corrupt, poor leadership, and it's armies of Christians can't hold the evil orc hoards at bay much longer. If Rohan is Europe, they're kind of scattered about, unprepared, way past it's prime of living Christianity. Their leadership is corrupted and ineffective. Compare Isengard to the Vatican, extremely corrupt, about to join the enemy.. it's just a ripe situation for evil to prosper and grow exponentially.
I guess that's just how it is. Christianity since it's very beginning has been rejected and hated. It's always been on the very edge of destruction. Whether after the crucifixion of Jesus. Or later during the Roman persecution of the church in the 1st and 2nd century. At the time of the fall of Rome to the barbarian tribes. And again, when the Muslims invaded Europe. Yet again as the Catholic church became corrupt, all the way up to the reformation and the divide of the universal church. It's just been one desperate situation after another.
But God always shines through. Jesus always makes a way. Just like Gandalf, riding about between Rohan and Gondor, here and there gathering up the strength of humanity to face evil. In the same way we're always facing destruction, desperate odds as Christians. Always a new evil overruns, splashes across the gates in flood fashion. Yet we can always rely on our wonderful risen Savior Jesus Christ. He is the returning King. Jesus is always there to gather the church into unity, at the last moment, to face down endless millions, hoards of darkness, with just a few hundred brave Christians, just a few obedient servants.
He is our light and our salvation. No matter how dark and twisted the evil on Earth becomes, in Jesus our victory is complete. Our work of obedience to him in these dark days, unconditionally, is what brings glory on us, and more so, on him.
Psalm 91:1-16 ESV
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day
A great man lives by faith in the Son of God.
I am most certain that what separates average men from great men is the level of willingness a man has to deny himself.
Again and again it has seemed to me, that I must deny myself the things that I want, and force feed myself the things I need.
Another key characteristic will be a man's willingness to adapt to the form of true servitude.
This is as awkward a position as I can possibly imagine for myself. I am at my core utterly interested in myself as a standard position, and usually that position is coupled with the false view that I'm a selfless altruistic humanitarian, which is a lie.
If I am to be at all honest with myself, first I must be honest with God in prayer.
There is no magic to this, but it is certainly supernatural much of the time. God is one who provides the willingness, the ability, the transformation itself. He adjusts me, and without him I would be doomed to flounder in egoism, repetitive failure, and regretful despair.
God has set me up from a broken addicted position, to a sitting position, but in this position I am still offered the choice. In the past the choice had become a necessity, an addiction. I had no choice. By faith in God, and adherence to the foot work he would have me do, I now have a choice. But I can still choose to do wrong. I still have that option.
My choice today, and this is vital, my choice is to be a powerhouse Christian of incredible faith. I choose it. It's a direction in my mind and I have an incredible knowing that I'm always headed towards it.
Too many Christians are living defeated, crippled. They choose defeat over their problems. They are crippled by the evil around them. Their hearts are dead, ashes.
So simply, my brothers and sisters, choose to be a great Christian. Choose greatness. Choose to be a powerhouse Christian of incredible. Choose it. Get on a mission for it. Seek it out in all areas of your life.. patiently. Cleverly. Reach for it. Reach for God. He reaches back. He'll meet you. He'll guide you along the way. He'll be there every step of the way saying, "Fear not, for I am with you."
Simply, so simply.. choose to be great. Choose greatness. And believe, patiently, through sustained belief and being on a mission for it, a long term journey, full of failures and victories, that you're always going closer. Adopt that mindset. And you will have it. As Jesus said, tell that mountain to move over there, believe in your mind you've received it, and it will be yours.
Proverbs 2:1-12 (ESV)
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV) As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let me tell you about the post-modern man in his 20s from suburbia, or the inner city. He is quite the character, and loves to party and have fun. Are those things evil inherently? Not at all. The post-modern man has many beliefs, but they are in stark contrast to the modern man's beliefs. The modern man might've had certain political beliefs, scientific beliefs, spiritual beliefs, and even philosophical beliefs. The post-modern man has no such interests and thus no such beliefs. The post-modern man is the ultimate entertainment junkie. He has favorite movies, favorite musicians, favorite celebrities, favorite alcoholic beverages, and favorite sports teams. This is often the extent of the post modern's interests and thus has few further beliefs on topics we in the church might've considered important to the masses at some point in history.
The post-modern man's heaven is the ultimate party experience. It is often described in movies like American Pie, Dazed and Confused, American Graffiti and so on. The ultimate party experience! Everyone is dancing to trendy music, alcohol all around, the good old boys all hanging together, with trophy women on their arms. The ultimate high, the ultimate experience.
Morality and truth mean little to the post-modern man. Satisfaction is his goal. As belief is the engine for the spiritual walk in Christianity, money is the engine for the pleasure seeking walk of the self-worshiper.
Laughter is at the top of the list in any social interaction. Grotesque jokes, obscene comments, derogatory language, and constant sexual references. One could say sexual intercourse is the method by which the post-modern man in his twenties worships his maker, which he considers to be himself. The post-modern man considers women to be a commodity, and he loves his bros, or at least however far his bros will get him to the ultimate "fun" feeling, the commodity of women, the supplies of tap alcohol, and sometimes even the supplies of multicolored pills and poppers.
Often this lifestyle will not bother the post-modern man, but if it does, there are many facade pseudo-spiritual remedies for such depravity. Many a hippie would claim to be buddhist, or new age, or just spiritual in general. That way there is no need for a lifestyle change, but a significant possibility to cover up their own guilt at depravity, drug addiction, alcoholism, cheating, stealing, lying, and pornography addiction.
The post-modern man loves video games, computer games, the latest gaming consoles, facebook, twitter, the internet, and free pornography websites galore. He expounds constantly on the corruption of politics and religion, and refuses to work a job because he would never want to support the evils of such sinister mega-corporations.
All the while his words may expound a certain level of truth, his own utterly selfish dope infested beer can littered room at his parent's house tells a different story. He cries constantly at the evils of the world, yet very much serves them in his daily life. He always has a new idea and a new thought, but never any action to back up all his random delusions while tripping on coricidin, half drunk, and wired up on clonazepam and amphetamines that he stole from his dad's bathroom cabinet.
Victory for this man in his twenties is vast riches, bursting bank accounts, fancy new cars, and a dyed blonde orange skinned trophy wife with breast implants.
There is no place for truth or religion in this young man's deranged mind. He's drunk on what the mainstream media has fed him, what Hollywood has called good, and what the music industry has blasted into his ears as "cool." A topic like Christianity is as foreign to the post-modern kid in his twenties as a UFO sighting. That's no "fun" to talk about. It's no "fun" to do. It's "boring" and "I don't care."
It's not pretty is it? I know, let me tell you, I know. I used to be that kid.
This lifestyle is the proliferation of Satan's plan for humanity. His work is quite completed in that young man. It's not that there is no God and is no Satan, it's that even if there was, the young man wouldn't care anyway. The effects of sin, and the deceit of Satan is the evil one's ultimate power to deceive humanity (John 6:66).
So, how can we as the body of Christ on Earth reach out to this twisted fellow?
We can't.
He doesn't care and he doesn't want to talk to us. Which is why prayer is so important. It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit moving among the nations that this young man can begin to hunger for spiritual truth. Prayer, prayer, prayer.
Of course if the church had a larger and more powerful voice in the public circles, television, the internet, music and so on, this young man might not be in such a depraved state. Engaging culture is so very important, and that's the wonderful thing; we as Christians absolutely can engage culture.
This is where our diversity comes as a great asset. There are Christian musicians, Christian businessmen, Christian photographers, Christian graphic designers, Christian writers (like myself), Christian speakers, Christian product designers, and on and on and on. There are Christians among every demographic, every social circle, every interest group, and every level of income in western society.
We are to be conformed to the image of Christ, yet that conformity is once again a paradox within Christianity, and there are many. In this case, we are to conform to the image of Christ, yet ironically this also means pursuing our own unique spiritual gifts, and our innate God-given talents.
There is an aspiration to live as Jesus Christ lived, with his perfection of resistance to sin and sharing of the truth, but that does not mean I have to buy sandles, grow my hair out, grow a beard, and wear white pajamas everywhere I go. To be Christian is to be unique and diverse, with unique strengths and creative talents to contribute to the culture, to the body, and to the glory of Jesus Christ.
I'd like you to be thinking on that topic, what unique gifts do you have to contribute to engaging culture for Jesus Christ? How can you share his message with your own unique gifts?
This is an absolutely wonderful thing, because we have certain things we love to do, like for me, I absolutely love to write. And look, I can be in this blissful state of writing on my computer, be loving every minute of it, and be able to share the Bible, share the love of Jesus Christ, and encourage other Christians, in my spare time. Isn't that wonderful?
You've got talents to contribute, so be thinking on that. And let me encourage you, you've got it in you to be not just an average Christian, but a powerhouse Christian of incredible faith. We've been saved from the ugly fate of the post-modern man, women, whatever. We've been spared from that. It breaks my heart, the new heart Jesus gave me, to see so many still lost in that. So let me encourage you, step up onto the battle lines, the front lines of cultural engagement. Many Christians have been saved from death by Jesus, but hang back, quiet when they are so deeply needed on the frontlines.
The final work is of the Holy Spirit, which will be moved by God's sovereign will, but will also be moved by our earnest prayers, as the representative body of Christ on Earth. So be in prayer. But then also engage culture with your unique talents, via the internet, via your local coffee shops, local government, businesses, missions, your college or university, or just your day job.
There are so many little things we can do. Imagine if every person reading these words started leaving free Bibles at laundry mats, or put spiritual journey pamphlets on community boards at gas stations, or just spoke to a coworker about coming to church sometime. Imagine if every Christian in the world started doing that.. today. Wow. That would be something. Not every Christian is willing to, but I bet you are. And those are just things every Christian ought to be doing. Engaging culture is more than leaving Bible's at coffee shops or talking to coworkers about Christ.
Engaging culture is really synonymous, in the United States at least, with engaging and interacting in secular media outlets, like the internet for example. Another example, in a corporate sense, would be Liberty University in Virginia, the college I attend, by distance. Liberty University engages culture by having division 1 teams in basketball, football, and so on. They can then represent Christianity in those hard to reach arenas of sports and entertainment. An individual example in music would be LeCrae a rapper who constantly represents for Jesus to other high level musicians. In the NFL you have Tim Tebow. In the realm of reality TV there is Duck Dynasty. Be in prayer about God raising up more brave and vocal representatives of Christ in all areas of our extremely corrupt media and culture...
Get creative, and think outside the box with engaging culture. I always mention the internet first because it's a great starting point to build confidence in publicly declaring, plus it's effective, because of the sheer volumes of people that can be reached almost instantaneously. I want people all over the globe, from every tribe and nation and language to know and receive the love that belongs to them in Christ Jesus.
I love Jesus so much, because he saved me from being a drug addicted money chasing womanizer. On a personal note, I've now been clean and sober over 16 months, and yesterday I had my first day of work at Salvation Army of Wausau! So exciting! I'm an intake worker at a homeless shelter now, and so far I love it. I love helping others.
I love the light feeling Jesus puts in my heart every morning. I love it so much, it's so foundational, it's so incredible, it's redeeming to everything I used to be, and feeling how I now feel, I want everyone to know about how awesome and loving Jesus Christ is, and how Christianity is the complete and utter truth of life on Earth.
I want everyone to know Jesus has died for their sins and has made a way for them to eternal life. He will help you today, to change, to become a decent man or woman, and he also vertically completes all requirements on, under, and above heaven for your eternal salvation in heaven, in the next life, at new Jerusalem, our hopeful coming city. The place that is real and true, and does actually really exist. This I believe. The moment one has believed in his heart in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, he is saved. Nothing can take that from him. The vertical work is complete, the eternal life is finished, by Jesus on the cross, and now horizontally, we want to live well and love others, not because of a list of rules, but because of the grace and mercy we've been shown.
It was mercy for God to remove our sins on the cross, but it is grace that he would walk beside us all the days of our remaining lives, sanctifying us, changing us, encouraging us, and comforting us. And as if the moment of the removal of our sins as we believed wasn't enough, he wipes our feet clean daily as we walk through the muck and sin of this world.
What a God we have! What false god of Taoism, Buddhism, pantheism, new age, or Hinduism can compare to our God? Broken clay figures, scattered on the grounds, lies a plenty when we truly understand Jesus Christ, our wonderful personal God, what a wonderful God who Saves!
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. -Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)
