Hey Ya'll.
I thought I'd start off the week with some encouragement.
In a world that beats us down continually, it's nice to remember what God says about us.
Some of us have been taught that God is standing there with a clipboard waiting for us to mess up so He can judge us. Psalm 130:3 says, "If You, LORD, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand?" Certainly, God judges, but thankfully, in His love and grace, He's not standing there an angry taskmaster eagerly awaiting our fall.
He loves us and as believers He has quite a bit to say about that.
Let's take a minute to look at Ephesians 1:3-14
3 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,
He has blessed us
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
He has chosen us
(when did He do this? before the foundation of the world)
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
He has predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.
He has favored us
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace
He has redeemed us and He has forgiven us
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
He has lavished His grace on us
9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him,
10 regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
He has revealed the mystery of His will to us
11 In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,
He has given us an inheritance
12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
He has made us the praise of His glory
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit as a promise and He has made us His own chosen possession
So, we are blessed, chosen, predestined, favored, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace, have had mysteries revealed, been given an inheritance, become the praise of His glory, made His chosen possession, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Think on these things.
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