Children of Blessing

Ephesians 1:3-6

"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 without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."

How blessed we are!  When we come to God in repentance of our sins, we are forgiven through the innocent blood of Christ Jesus which He shed for us on the cross many years ago.  Through this willing act of sacrifice and taking our sins upon Himself, we have become the heirs of God and have thus become the recipients of "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

According to God's desire and will, He planned in ages past that mankind would come to Him for salvation through His Son.  This in itself is completely amazing because we are mere creations of dust with nothing of value to give to God.  We sin against Him and deny Him every day by our willfully going against His will.  Yet despite our ugly sin, God sent His beloved and holy Son to die a painful death so that we might claim the purity of Christ and become holy in God's eyes.  What undeserved grace and blessing He has given us!

However, not only did He provide us with salvation from our sins, but He has also made us His beloved children so that we might partake in all of His riches and be showered by His blessings!  He has cleansed us from all of our past sins, and He provides continual cleansing throughout our journey in this world so that we may continue to grow in our spiritual walk and become more like His Son, Jesus Christ.  While we are on this earth, He blesses us with His grace, love, protection, guidance, and every good thing according to our needs and His perfect plan.  When our life on this earth is finished, He will bring us up to Heaven to live with Him for all eternity.  Heaven is a place that cannot be described with mere human words, but in a feeble attempt I can say that it is a place of complete joy and happiness with no more tears or pain or sorrow.  It is a place of blessing and peace were we can praise God, enjoy His eternal love and blessings, and speak with Him face to face.  It is a place of untold beauty where the pavement is the purest and finest gold.  The city gates are made from precious gemstones, and we will be able to partake of fruit grown from the tree of life and drink from the living water.

How blessed are we that God has taken us from children of darkness and sorrow and given us such great blessings and hope!  May we live our lives in a way that please our Lord who has given us everything good and wonderful.  May we strive to follow His word and trust in Him in every trial.  May we never cease to praise Him for His undeserved grace and blessings!

Wisdom of God

James 1:4-8

"But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

As a believer is set upon by various trials throughout his life, he will come to realize how important the wisdom of God is to combat those situations.  This wisdom cannot be found in the world for it is a wisdom that comes only from God's Word.  This wisdom helps the believer to know the purpose of the trial he is facing, how God will use this trial to further His will in the believer's life, and will allow the believer to joyously submit to God in all circumstances because He knows that all is for God's glory.

Although God gladly and freely gives of His wisdom, He desires that His children come before Him in submission and ask for His wisdom when they come to the realization that they are inadequate at handling the various trials and situations in their lives.  A believer is to ask for God's wisdom in complete faith with no wavering doubts on whether God can or will answer his prayer.  God is faithful to answer every believer's prayer if he asks in confident faith.  His answer may not always be what the believer was expecting and at times His answer may be "no," but He knows every believer's needs and what is needed in every trial and every circumstance to help His children grow and to further His own will.  Because we can trust God fully to bring about provision and answers at the correct time and in the correct manner, we can be joyful and stand firm on His Word as we know that everything is in the hands of God and He has power over all!  Praise God!

Romans 11:33

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!"