Ephesians 1 - HE CHOSE YOU TO BE CHANGED
It’s pretty easy for me to reflect on what God has done on a day like yesterday. If you missed church you missed CHURCH - it was an amazing morning of worship - one of those mornings where it just seemed like God was in the room with us. Powerful. It’s easy to reflect in times like that… but now it’s Monday morning. You have to face another long week of work or school. Maybe your health hasn’t been very good or you’re struggling through a pain that steals your joy. It always seems easier to get bogged down by our problems rather than be built up by our blessings.
But for the next minute or two I want you to put your problems and your blessings on the shelf - don’t think about your finances or your family, your failures or success I want you to consider this incredible truth from vs 4 - God CHOSE YOU… consider that just for a minute. God chose you to put your hope in His Son Jesus Christ. Whatever you are going through or will face this week, you can stand knowing that God chose you. He wanted you. He pursued you. He chose you for a purpose, to be changed into the likeness of His Son.
After church and the dinner yesterday for Pastor Appreciation I can say with Paul, I have not stopped giving thanks for you. I appreciate you all so much, your service, your love, your kindness and your desire to look more like Jesus every day. That’s seen in part by the 24 people who said “I’m In!” to reading through the book of Ephesians this week.
I want to continue to pray with Paul that this church (and the people who make it up - you!) would experience more the Spirit’s power manifested in wisdom and revelation so that we might know Him better. That the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to know the hope of the salvation we have in Christ AND (if that all wasn’t enough) His incomparably great power.
Consider this as you starve the monster of “flesh” and feed the attitudes of the Spirit this week; that same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in a place of honor with God the Father has ALSO been given to you!
Your monster may have a scary name: Porn, alcohol, affair, pride, tobacco, food, fear - but the power in you through Jesus Christ is GREATER than every other power, authority or name that we encounter.
You can stand against your monster in the power that God gives you in Jesus because He promised that you would never face any temptation that you could not endure (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Today, begin to deprive the monster that wants to hold you hostage and instead let the Spirit make you holy as you develop the attitudes of the Spirit in your life.
If you slip, don’t give up! Just start again - indulge the Spirit’s work in your life and inhibit the acts of the flesh.
PS: Verses 22,23
Paul speaks of the church as the body of Christ and says that the church is, “the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.” That’s a powerful statement about church and what you and I get to be a part of. On Nov 5 we’re gonna start a new series call Rethinking the Church. I hope you can make it and if you haven’t been to a coffee with Corey yet or the Discover Real Life partnership Seminar I hope you will do that soon and know what it’s like to truly be a part of the body of Christ.
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