Did I catch your attention?
Although I have never met Coach Dungy, I am a fan for his boldness in speaking about his relationship with Jesus. Earlier this year I was reading Uncommon Marriage by him and his wife. I loved their candor of the good and bad times but more importantly the witness they are to how Jesus is alive in their marriage and family.
As they tell their story, they share that Dr. Richard Allen Farmer was their pastor when they just got married and was very influential in their life. Although not at the same time or place, I had the privilege as well to be pastored by Dr. Farmer while attending Taylor University.
Why tell you this? Well, he is one in my life where I learned to pray more deeply by using scripture and also the true meaning of a benediction. Growing up, to me it just meant the prayer before running out the church doors. With Dr. Farmer, it meant more. It is a chance to send off people with God’s blessing. It is the essence of what it means for God to gather people, renew them and send them out.
We do that at Tejas. We gather people together for the purpose of renewal and then send them out into the world. Our hope and prayers are that Jesus transforms their hearts and in turn the world is transformed, and we get to be a part of it.
So with this in mind, I read this scripture the other morning and I would like to pray it over you today.
For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us — to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21 (CSB)
May you be used by Jesus in the kingdom work he has for you today.
Have a great one!