May 18, 2021 WE HAVE THEM ALL
Ephesians 1:2-5 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him, in love, He predestined us to adoptions as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
It seems that we are all too often more focused on the natural than the spiritual. What seems to capture our attention and our energy is our work, our activities, maintaining what we have, entertainment, relationships, our health, our reputation-and the list goes on. These things are not in themselves evil or wrong, and some are in fact necessary; we simply tend to put the natural before the spiritual, and when we do, we miss the life God has for us. All the things we do should be flowing out of our relationship with Him-out of our spiritual life. The amazing truth from the above passages is that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing-we have them all. We can become so focused on the natural, that we become blind to the spiritual blessings He has lavished upon us. See Ephesians 1:8. What I am saying about having every spiritual blessing does not mean that we are unaffected or untouched by what takes place in the world around us or that the natural is not important. I know from personal experience that when tragic things happen-when difficulties come-it is painful, and we are burdened. God knows we will at times experience trials and pains, and He has made provision for such times; He comforts us and invites us to cast our cares upon Him. God does not ignore us in difficult times. I think that we are in a day when we are being called to examine the focus of our hearts and determine if we are more focused and affected by the natural-the here and now-or are we conscience of, and drawing strength and hope from the spiritual blessings that He has blessed us with. It is amazing, and humbling, to know that you and I were chosen before the foundation of the world to be adopted as His sons and daughters. When we know we have been chosen by Him and adopted as His child, it is only natural to have a desire to live holy and blameless before Him. We will find life fulfilling and will find strength and comfort for the difficult times when we live with the awareness that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. This natural world in which we live will one day pass away, but the kingdom of God-and that includes us-are eternal. In the first verse of Ephesians 1, we see that the letter was written to those “who are faithful in Christ Jesus.” We are called to be faithful in the things of the Lord; it is of no value to give lip-service only or to simply agree mentally with what the scriptures teach. Our hearts, our spirits and our minds must be captivated by our spiritual relationship with our heavenly Father. We are indeed rich in Him; God, the creator and sustainer, is our Father, and He has made every provision for us.
2 Peter 1:2-3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our Lord, for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His on glory and excellences.”
Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
Blessings, Buddy
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