Article for January 5, 2025
Ephesians 1:3–4a 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
Maybe our new year’s resolution should be to actually count our blessings. The number of blessings is one, and that blessing is in the death and resurrection couldn’t count other blessings in our lives, but that this blessing is truly the only blessing that counts.
Stop and think, without the blessing of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, all our other blessings would be short term. Jesus Christ makes life matter in the scheme of life itself because He gives us purpose and something to look forward to. And what matters to each of us matters more because of the gift of life eternal, Jesus Christ has given us.
If one had no more blessings than that which our Lord has given us than that one is rich in the love of God. Let us realize, our Lord leads us through a life of turmoil and many blessings and each blessing is worth much to us which brings happiness. But the one blessing we receive through Christ’s death and resurrection brings eternal joy, laughter, and peace that we cannot understand in this life. He…, God…, chose us before He laid the foundation of this world and the next! This is our predestination!
Ephesians 1:4b–6 In love 5he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Our Father in heaven knew already that we would need help and guidance, because God knew the fall of man was inevitable. Knowledge is good, but true knowledge is to know how to use it. Knowledge of good and bad is not the steppingstones of greatness, rather they are the stumbling stones that make us less than what God had made us to be.
Many people know many things and that sometimes makes us dangerous to ourselves and to others. We are not governed by our intelligence, rather we are governed by our desires. Our intelligence just helps us find harmful ways to get things done. We see this in everything that man has made. We think shortcuts are a means of wealth and wealth is how many metal coins you have in your pocket.
What if we were to realize that wealth is in the love we give. Not so much the love we receive, but the love we are willing to give with no return expected. Now the love we receive comes from the riches of those who spread their love. The beauty of this is that you are not weighted down by silver and gold but lifted up by loving one another as Jesus Christ asks us to do.
Ephesians 1:7–10 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
You see, Jesus lives to love us and cares for our spiritual and physical needs. We mostly concentrate on our physical desires and forget that God has provided for us in many ways. We think sometimes that if God provides for us then He will just hand us what we need and want. Rethink this.
God provides through us and gives us the talents and means to use these talents to help ourselves. Are you one who expects everyone to wait on you, hand and foot? Are you one who thinks everyone owes you because you feel sorry for yourself? Or are you one who realizes your God given gifts, and uses them to provide for yourself and those whom you love?
God has gifted us in many different ways, and we just need to take the time to realize those gifts. God has given us many talents, and all we should do is be willing to use those talents. God gives because God loves, we take because we don’t always love but are governed by our desires. Not that all things are equal, but that loving one another and helping one another makes us equally loving to God.
Ephesians 1:11–12 11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
We have this life to prepare us for the next life of which we only can know we will love our next life. What life in the eternal will be like, we don’t know, and we cannot speculate, nor should we. Rather go with no expectations and receive the joy our God has prepared for us. For God has prepared an eternal joy for us to have and to hold.
This inheritance we share with Christ Jesus is an inheritance that never runs out. And God has predestined all to receive this gift through our adoption bought and paid in full by Jesus’ death and resurrection. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose when we follow Jesus Christ. Jesus is truly the truth, the way, and the life.
Ephesians 1:13–14 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Amen.
Written by Pastor Curtis A. May
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