CHOSEN BY GOD

Ephesians 1:3-4: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

When we read this passage we must realize that it is God who chose us. (John 15:16) Jesus said to his disciples: "You did not choose me, I chose you.) Here is the wonder of it all: It is not so wonderful that we chose God; the wonder is that God chose us.

It is important for us to remember that he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy (set apart from the world to be different. Consider Jesus who did not conform to the expectations of those who he came to save. He was born in a manger, grew up in a normal household, learned to work with his hands. Satan temped him with riches and power and he never lost sight as to what his purpose was; to restore the relationship between man and his Heavenly Father which has been destroyed by sin.)

We are to be blameless in God's sight ( We live in a world today that accepts most anything. Sexual immorality, envy, murder, strife and malice, just to name a few. It is bad enough that these things exist in the world but, the church itself has be infected with these sins as well. We have forgotten that while Christ died and set us free from from sin, we have the responsibility to battle these sins in our own lives. We must strive to be blameless before God. Strife and malice are two sins which can destroy and congregation and bring shame upon the Body of Christ.

It is our responsibility to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and he will provide the way for us. Let us never forget that God chose us. Let us remember this (If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest but to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient ot death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that if above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:1-11

Larry

Let us stop for a moment and look at the riches that God has blessed us with when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is not the things that we are able to obtain through our ablilities; that being those things that the world views as riches. No it is that which only God can provide; that being the Fruit of the Spirit: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindenss, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."