Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Would you like an hour for some pure, unalloyed pleasure? Sit down (or better yet kneel down!) and read Paul's letter to the Ephesians all the way through. Remember that in all probability it was written not only for believers in Christ in Ephesus, but it was a general letter to everybody who has "faith" in Christ.
Note chapter 1, verse 2: Those are not empty words; choose to receive the "grace ... and peace" that Paul prays for you to enjoy as a gift from the Father and from Christ. Thank Him for verse 3: You HAVE BEEN "blessed ... with all spiritual blessings … in Christ." You doubt that? Ponder where you would be if it were not true!
You can't understand verse 4 unless you choose to believe Isaiah 49:1-8, and Jeremiah 1, and Psalm 139. Before you were born God chose you for some special service and knit you together in your mother's womb and directed your life and your personality so you would be qualified to serve in some special way so you can be happy with eternal life. Believe Ephesians 1:4 and your true, genuine self-respect will go way up. (It will also humble you and give you repentance for your doubting this truth.)
Ephesians 1:5, 6 will thrill your inmost soul, for you have already "been accepted in the Beloved." A wise writer (The Desire of Ages, p. 113) says that the "us" who are thus "accepted" means the entire human race. In other words, when the Father embraced Jesus at His baptism in the River Jordan, He put His arms around you too! You already "have redemption through His blood," and more than that, "forgiveness of sins" (vs. 7). (Remember, "forgiveness" in the language Paul used means sending the sins away, or victory over them, not mere laissez-faire winking at them and pardon).
Verse 11 makes crystal clear that "in Christ" you have been "predestinated" to be saved, which means the real truth of the greatly argued "doctrine of predestination." God has "predestined" no one to be lost! You say, "But I know I am a sinner!" True; but the "good pleasure of God's will" (vs. 5) means that God has "fun" (do I dare say that?) watching sinners become transformed by His grace into people equivalent in value to His own dear Son.
Keep on through the Letter; ask God to grant you the gift of His Holy Spirit to enable you to believe how good all this Good News is. And that means something very special: you too will have "fun" watching people (and yourself) transformed by the grace of Christ. This "fun" may be a lot better than going to Disneyland.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 20, 2001.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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