To The Praise of His Glory

Ephesians 1:11-14 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

I love reading Ephesians, especially the first two chapters. We have so many blessings available to us.

We were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. Before we were even conceived, God knew everything about us-how we would live, what we would think, what we would feel, and most of all, He has a very specific purpose in mind for each of us. Talk about personal!! That's the kind of God I serve. He is personal. He cares about every aspect of my life.

Also, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. When a person accepts Jesus Christ into his or her life, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell inside that person. We do not receive the Holy Spirit when we begin speaking in tongues or demonstrating some other spiritual gift. I love the gifts, but every person who is saved has the Holy Spirit living on the inside. There are deeper experiences we can have with the Holy Spirit such as developing the gifts.

The Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our inheritance and what an inheritance it is!! We can have eternal life, but we can also have abundant life. I can walk in victory while I am living on this planet. That does not mean I won't go through hard times, but I have the Holy Spirit to guide me through those hard times in order to be victorious.

The last part of verse 14 says we are God's possession, for the praise of His glory. Our purpose is to glorify God. I want to fulfill that in my life, and I can. You can too.

No matter what walk of life you are on, God created you to bring glory to Him. Live the life He gave you surrendering everything to Him. He will take care of you and everything that concerns Him.

Let's live for the praise of His glory.