Ephesians 2:1-10
1.
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 sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects 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 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 workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are reminded once again of what God has done for us. We used to walk in the ways of disobedience. Used to. This should be the case of anyone who has come to Christ. We will not always be perfect, but our lives should reflect the glory of God.
Because of God's mercy, we have been saved. We did not earn this salvation, but He gave it freely. After salvation, God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms. Hallelujah!! How blessed we are. We do not have to feel sorry for ourselves when things don't go our way. We can remember that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. God has wisdom and revelation available to us. He has a work for us to do, but we have to be obedient.
God raised us to heavenly places so that He may be glorifed just as verse 7 says. If we bring glory to Him with our lives, we will be blessed.
Our salvation is a free gift, but as a result of our salvation, we have a work to do. Verse 10 says that we are His workmanship created to do good works. He had this prepared in advance, before we were even born.
The purpose of our lives is to bring glory to our God. I want to do that with everything I have.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Wisdom, Revelation, Power
Ephesians 1:15-23
15.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16.
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19.
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20.
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21.
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23.
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
I think Ephesians just gets better and better the more I read it. Verse 17 tells us that God will give us wisdom and revelation. He doesn't give this to us so we can look intelligent, but He gives this to us so we can know Him better. The more I get to know God, the more I love Him.
We can have wisdom in making important decisions, and we can have wisdom to make decisions about every day life. We need wisdom in handling difficult people. We need wisdom in raising our children. We need wisdom for many different situations. We can also have revelation. God will reveal things to us as we are able to handle them. He will reveal His will for our lives. He will reveal hidden knowledge and wisdom; however, we have to be in a place spirituall where we will not become prideful about what He gives us.
Verse 19 tells us that we have His imcomparably great power available to us. We can live a godly life. We can overcome adverse circumstances through this power. We cannot do it on our own, but through Christ we can live powerful and victorious lives.
The last few verses tells us that God is above all rule and all dominion. Everything is under His feet including what is over our head. If your problem is over your head, remember it is under His feet.
During this journey to overcoming the strongholds in my life, discovering what God has available for me through Christ has encouraged me not to give up. I want to keep pressing forward. There is no way like His way. His ways are better than my own. If I followed my ways, I would still be a slave to sexual sin and to overeating. His ways are victorious. His ways bring freedom. Submission to Jesus Christ may sound like it takes your life because it does. It takes your sin and bondage, but it gives you a new life, a better life, a victorious life.
I thank God that He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. Not only has He blessed me, but He has blessed you as well. What will you do with what He has given you?
15.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16.
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19.
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20.
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21.
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23.
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
I think Ephesians just gets better and better the more I read it. Verse 17 tells us that God will give us wisdom and revelation. He doesn't give this to us so we can look intelligent, but He gives this to us so we can know Him better. The more I get to know God, the more I love Him.
We can have wisdom in making important decisions, and we can have wisdom to make decisions about every day life. We need wisdom in handling difficult people. We need wisdom in raising our children. We need wisdom for many different situations. We can also have revelation. God will reveal things to us as we are able to handle them. He will reveal His will for our lives. He will reveal hidden knowledge and wisdom; however, we have to be in a place spirituall where we will not become prideful about what He gives us.
Verse 19 tells us that we have His imcomparably great power available to us. We can live a godly life. We can overcome adverse circumstances through this power. We cannot do it on our own, but through Christ we can live powerful and victorious lives.
The last few verses tells us that God is above all rule and all dominion. Everything is under His feet including what is over our head. If your problem is over your head, remember it is under His feet.
During this journey to overcoming the strongholds in my life, discovering what God has available for me through Christ has encouraged me not to give up. I want to keep pressing forward. There is no way like His way. His ways are better than my own. If I followed my ways, I would still be a slave to sexual sin and to overeating. His ways are victorious. His ways bring freedom. Submission to Jesus Christ may sound like it takes your life because it does. It takes your sin and bondage, but it gives you a new life, a better life, a victorious life.
I thank God that He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. Not only has He blessed me, but He has blessed you as well. What will you do with what He has given you?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Spiritual Blessings
In my last post, I discussed Ephesians 1:3-5. In this post, I will be discussing Ephesians 1:7-9 to find some specific blessings that God has for those who love Him. These blessings are available to anyone who is saved, but we have to learn to take these blessings. Also, these spiritual blessings are not for us to just keep to ourselves. We are to share what we have and what we learn with others. The more we give out, the more we will receive. I love God's ways!!!
Ephesians 1:7-9, In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ.
First and most importantly, we have forgivenss of sins. Hallelujah for that one!! I had to have my sins covered with the precious blood of Jesus. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone needs this salvation. We cannot have eternal life without Jesus. I am so thankful for the pain and suffering that Jesus went through so that I could have the priviledge of abundant life-not only in heaven but here on earth. Praise God for His marvelous grace.
He also promises us wisdom and understanding. This is to understand spiritual things, but if we are in a situation we do not know how to handle, we can go to Him and He will give us the wisdom we need to handle it. James 1:5, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. If we ask, God will give it to us. When He gives us the wisdom and understanding that we need, we must be willing to obey His instructions.
Proverbs 3:1, My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.
The book of Proverbs is a great guide for wisdom. It offers great teaching on wisdom in many different situations we might encounter in our every day life.
God is so awesome! He cares about every aspect of our life. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We do not have to live in defeat.
Ephesians 1:7-9, In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ.
First and most importantly, we have forgivenss of sins. Hallelujah for that one!! I had to have my sins covered with the precious blood of Jesus. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone needs this salvation. We cannot have eternal life without Jesus. I am so thankful for the pain and suffering that Jesus went through so that I could have the priviledge of abundant life-not only in heaven but here on earth. Praise God for His marvelous grace.
He also promises us wisdom and understanding. This is to understand spiritual things, but if we are in a situation we do not know how to handle, we can go to Him and He will give us the wisdom we need to handle it. James 1:5, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. If we ask, God will give it to us. When He gives us the wisdom and understanding that we need, we must be willing to obey His instructions.
Proverbs 3:1, My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.
The book of Proverbs is a great guide for wisdom. It offers great teaching on wisdom in many different situations we might encounter in our every day life.
God is so awesome! He cares about every aspect of our life. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. We do not have to live in defeat.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Blessed With Every Spiritual Blessing
I love the book of Ephesians. I have taught on this book in Sunday School and Bible Study at my church. If you are feeling depressed, this is a good book to read. The Apostle Paul talks about who we are in Christ and the spiritual blessings that God has given us. These blessings are ours, but it is up to us to walk in them.
Ephesians 1:3-5, Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will...
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN CHRIST!!! Think about that. All these blessings are ours, but will we take them? How do we take them?
Look at the next part, He chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight. We have to surrender to our God and be obedient. Only an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ brings this. His love is unconditional and salvation is a free gift from God, but God's promises have conditions. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and life to help you become holy and blameless. (Every one who has received Jesus Christ into his or her heart and life has the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside. There are different outpourings of the Holy Spirit that we experience, but the Holy Spirit of God dwells on the inside of every believer.) Becoming blameless and holy does not mean we will never make a mistake, but it means we have allowed Christ into every part of our heart and life. We surrender our weak areas to Him and allow Him to work in us.
We have been adopted. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are adopted by God the Father. It was and is His good pleasure to do so.
In my next post, I will discuss some more of our spiritual blessings that we can find in Chapter 1 of Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:3-5, Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will...
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN CHRIST!!! Think about that. All these blessings are ours, but will we take them? How do we take them?
Look at the next part, He chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight. We have to surrender to our God and be obedient. Only an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ brings this. His love is unconditional and salvation is a free gift from God, but God's promises have conditions. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and life to help you become holy and blameless. (Every one who has received Jesus Christ into his or her heart and life has the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside. There are different outpourings of the Holy Spirit that we experience, but the Holy Spirit of God dwells on the inside of every believer.) Becoming blameless and holy does not mean we will never make a mistake, but it means we have allowed Christ into every part of our heart and life. We surrender our weak areas to Him and allow Him to work in us.
We have been adopted. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are adopted by God the Father. It was and is His good pleasure to do so.
In my next post, I will discuss some more of our spiritual blessings that we can find in Chapter 1 of Ephesians.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The More I Seek You
This is absolutely a beautiful worship song. Please listen and enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3GijrnfStk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3GijrnfStk
Friday, January 16, 2009
Jesus Calling
I just got a new devotional entittled "Jesus Calling". I am loving it already.
Today's devotional talks about how we have a tendency to rehearse our troubles. Ouch!!! I find myself either dreading something before it happens, or I find myself going over things that have already happened. This has robbed me of so much joy and peace. We are meant to go through our sufferings as they actually occur not as we rehearse them or dread them before they even happen.
Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you.
Joshua 1:9, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
God never meant for us to go around all weighed down, dreading what lies ahead. Even in my journey away from food addiction, I have had to learn to rest in Jesus and not try to figure out the what if's. What if I fall again? What if I go back to the way I was before? What if....
Beth Moore said it well in one of her sessions on the bible study, "Esther, It's Tough Being A Woman." She said If _____ then God!!!! No matter what happens, we serve a faithful God.
Yes, Jesus is calling. He is calling us to a peace like we have never known before that is not dependent upon our circumstances or our positions in life. His peace and His love are like no other.
Today's devotional talks about how we have a tendency to rehearse our troubles. Ouch!!! I find myself either dreading something before it happens, or I find myself going over things that have already happened. This has robbed me of so much joy and peace. We are meant to go through our sufferings as they actually occur not as we rehearse them or dread them before they even happen.
Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you.
Joshua 1:9, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
God never meant for us to go around all weighed down, dreading what lies ahead. Even in my journey away from food addiction, I have had to learn to rest in Jesus and not try to figure out the what if's. What if I fall again? What if I go back to the way I was before? What if....
Beth Moore said it well in one of her sessions on the bible study, "Esther, It's Tough Being A Woman." She said If _____ then God!!!! No matter what happens, we serve a faithful God.
Yes, Jesus is calling. He is calling us to a peace like we have never known before that is not dependent upon our circumstances or our positions in life. His peace and His love are like no other.
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