By Grace, Through Faith

Ephesians 2:6-10, Amplified Bible

And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith.  And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God.

Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast.  [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself].

For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned before hand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Most of us know this scripture in Ephesians 2:6-10.  Have we really, truly taken a look at it to understand what this means for us personally.  Let’s do that for a moment here today.

God Almighty, Father of Glory, our own dear heavenly Father has made His whole kingdom available for us as His children.  Everything He has is ours.  Why did He do this?  Because of His intense love for us, He has extended His grace, His all in all, to us.  All we have to do is accept it—-that is faith.

Faith takes what has been given to it.  Faith is an action word.  We act on what we believe.  That is faith.  What is God saying to us?  I have already planned a good life for you to live.  It is ready; it is available for you; it is already there, planned beforehand, for you to walk in it.  You are delivered from the ravages of this world system and satan’s control because of God’s grace and because of your faith, which actually is His faith imparted to you.  It is a win-win situation.  Let’s enjoy the grace of God which is extended to us every day.  His mercies are new every morning.  That means:  NEW!  I’m going to enjoy a new day every day with my Father.  How about you?

God Of Peace

1 Thessalonians 5:23,24, Amplified Bible

And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

Faithful is He who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and he will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

Let’s look at the meaning of words in this scripture reference and see what we are focusing on in our verses for today.

PEACE:  To join, one, prosperity, quietness, rest, deliverance and freedom from all the distresses experienced as a result of sin.

SANCTIFY:  To withdraw from fellowship with the world by first gaining fellowship with God.

PROFANE:  Impure, unholy, defiled

PRESERVED:  To guard from loss or injury by keeping the eye upon; to keep from destruction or decay; defend from evil; protect, save, keep intact.

INTACT:  Untouched by anything that harms or defiles, left complete

SOUND:  Free from flaw, healthy, not weak or diseased, firm, strong, safe, robust of body and mind.

COMPLETE:  Filled up with no part lacking

BLAMELESS:  Without fault, free from fault

Here is our confession of these verses with all the understanding we have of the words now.  This is actually an all-inclusive scripture.  It touches on everything that involves us.  This scripture is a powerful one to meditate every day for your life.

And may the God of peace (freedom from all the distresses experienced as a result of sin) sanctify me through and through, separate me from fellowship with the world, (profane, impure things) into fellowship with Him.

May my spirit, soul and body be preserved (guarded from loss or injury, because God has His eye upon me to protect me and keep me untouched by anything that harms).  My spirit, soul and body are kept free from flaw.  They are healthy and not weak or diseased.  They are strong.  They will be found blameless, free from fault at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ.  I am complete, filled up with no part lacking.

Faithful is He Who is calling me to Himself.  He is worthy to be believed.  He is steadfast to His Word.  He is utterly trustworthy.  He will fulfill His call on my life by hallowing and keeping me.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Today is a day which is all about love between two people.  Cards are exchanged.  Candy and flowers are bought by the armloads.  Restaurants are full of couples celebrating the day of love as they spend time together.  For so many people, it is simply another day where they pretend that everything is OK in their lives.  It is a dream unattainable in their estimation.  People get hurt.  They are disappointed with one another.  Bitter words are exchanged many times.  Human love eventually wears thin.  That is understandable.  As the old expression goes for churches, so it also goes for marriage.  When you have more than one person in a relationship, you have the potential for problems.

Love is a beautiful thing when God is intertwined in it with two people.  There are so many facets to His love that life is never boring, always exciting as we discover new beauty in our loved one.  The Lord causes us to see the strengths and goodness of our loved ones.  He causes us to find no fault in the other one.  The problem is that human love fails after a short period of time.  In any relationship, there comes a point in time when people look at one another and there is not the spark there used to be.  What happened to it?  There is a better way to have a relationship of love.  It is when God is the third person in the relationship.  His love never ends, never fails, never wears out.  His love is not temporary.  His love is the same forever, never bending to circumstances or time.  When we are hooked to Him, we are hooked to the greatest love in the universe.  His love makes our love for one another the greatest love in the universe because we choose to look at each other through His eyes.

On the dresser in my husband’s and my bedroom is a plaque to remind us that love is forever and includes God in the equation always.   Marriage:  A successful triangle between a man, a woman and God.

I know 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is a passage of scripture which is used over and over where love is concerned, but nothing can top it.  I am going to read it from the Amplified Bible and from the New Living Translation.  If we will put these words into actions in our relationships and not just talk about it, we will live days of heaven on earth.

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.  It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly.  Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking,; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].  It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.  Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].  Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  Love does not demand its own way.  Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.  It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  Love will last forever….

Know this of a certainty:  GOD’S LOVE IN US NEVER FAILS!