The History of a Nation and
Guidance for the Newly Formed Churches

Kings, Kings and More Kings
We will spend the bulk of our Old Testament reading First and Second Kings. Don’t lose sight of the message in the succession of kings and their exploits. The two overriding messages in the books of Kings are:

• God is faithful and His people (i.e., us and our forefathers) continually turn away from Him. In the book of Kings, we see his judgement ultimately play out in the exile of the Israelites to Babylon.
• Nations follow their leaders. We will see again and again that the spiritual climate of the Israelites very much followed that of their leader.

We’ll follow up our reading in First and Second Kings with the book of Ruth – a book that is all about courage, faithfulness and redemption. Many see it as a love story, but it is so much more than romance. It is the courage of a young woman, the faithfulness of God and the redemption of God’s people. That makes it a great book to cleanse our palates after reading Kings.

Forming a New Nation of Believers
As we read the books of Kings, we’ll also read what is commonly referred to as the “Pastoral Epistles” – the last writings of Paul, which are letters to Timothy and Titus. These letters provide instruction and guidance about caring for and protecting the newly born churches. The letters focus on church life, as well as leadership qualifications and responsibilities. The recurring themes in these books is keeping true to sound doctrine and living a life of godliness.

While it may seem that we are reading these books out of order (we’ll read 1 Timothy, then Titus, then 2 Timothy), this is the order in which they were written. 2 Timothy is widely believed to have been written shortly before Paul’s execution in AD 66-67. As you read this last letter of Paul’s keep in mind what he penned in chapter 4:

⁶As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. ⁷I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. ⁸And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return.

There was a time when I didn’t much like the Apostle Paul. Now, I want to be like him when I grow up. How about you?

Blessings as you read this month. May God speak to your heart and spirit.

The recommended reading schedule is below.

To download a PDF of September’s recommended reading plan, click here.

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
2 Samuel 24:24 (NIV)

If you’re Resting at the River’s Edge with us, you read this story late last week.

• David sins
• God gives David his choice of judgments
• David chooses three days of plague
• Near the end of the third day, God instructs David “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (2 Samuel 24:18)
• When David arrives, Araunah makes him an offer: “Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. O king, Araunah gives all this to the king.” (2 Samuel 24:22-23)
• David’s response ought to give us all pause:

“No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
(2 Samuel 24:24)

David was King and Araunah was happy to give him his land and everything he needed for the offering. But David was making an offering and a sacrifice to his King. Taking the free gift from Araunah would not have been much of an offering/sacrifice from David. It is to David’s great credit that he didn’t take the easy way out here.

Matthew Henry’s English is a bit dated, he hits the nail on the head. In his Commentary on the Old Testament, he says this about the passage:

Note, Those know not what religion is whose chief care it is to make it cheap and easy to themselves, and who are best pleased with that which costs them least pains or money. What have we our substance for but to honour God with it? and how can it be better bestowed?
Matthew Henry Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 24:24

Or put in modern English, he’s saying something like this:

Those whose primary goal is making things as cheap and easy on themselves as possible aren’t seeking God with all their hearts. What is the purpose of all we have, if not to honor God? Can there be a better use for our possessions, energy and time but to use them to serve Him?

I was convicted by David’s statement and doubly challenged by Matthew Henry’s. I wonder – am I serving God sacrificially? Do my offerings cost me something or is He getting the leftovers? Is He getting service in my spare time and with my spare energy and money?

Let’s look at some examples.

Tithing: If giving 10% is easy – if your income is such that you can easily live on 90% – would God be honored by you giving more? And is there any better thing you can do with the “more” than give it to God?

Ministry/Service: Have you said “yes” to so many opportunities to serve that perhaps your service is costing you time, but you have no effort or “overflow” to minister out of? Or maybe it’s not so many opportunities to serve that takes your time, but all the other activities in your life. Is God getting the dregs, last minute, jump in the car and go, then wing it when you get there service? If so, I would contend that your service isn’t costing you what it ought. Maybe you need to be involved in less activities, and perhaps even less ministry activities, so that your offerings of service are complete offerings of all that you are.

Time with God: Is your time with God filled with constant distractions of this world, shortened by earthly demands, and less consistent than your other commitments? The enemy is a master at distracting us during our quiet time, and I’m not here to bring condemnation about it. But there are distractions that are brought on by the enemy and there are distractions that come up simply because of our own lack of discipline or planning. I’m talking about the latter here. My time with God ought to cost me something – it ought to be a sacrifice of all I am to focus on Him. Sadly, often it is not.

This is not a word meant to bring condemnation, but it is a word that is meant to encourage you and me to do better. I want my offerings to the Lord to have value – that means they must cost me something – because that’s how we value things here on earth – and if it’s not of value to me, I haven’t given an appropriate offering to God.

Lord, forgive me when I have taken You for granted! Help me to change. Help me to love you more, and to demonstrate that love by giving honestly of my time, money, talents, energy, and love to You.

What I found was a blog I wrote almost two years ago that’s along the same lines of my heart’s meditation over the past few days…I just didn’t remember that I had blogged about it. Perhaps you’ve forgotten the blog, too. It is a blog that grew out of David’s song of praise in 2 Samuel 22. David’s life had many ups and downs – he lived in caves and he lived in palaces – and praised God in both. Our God is worthy of our praises whether we are currently in the cave or on the mountain top. This blog from November 2008 covers the topic so well and I was so blessed to re-read it, I thought you would be too. So today’s blog is a reminder of things past. Tomorrow’s will be about David’s reply to Araunah.

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.
2 Samuel 14:14

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. We’re all going to die. “But God” – how thankful I am that God steps in to change my situations! He doesn’t take away our life – instead, He “devises ways” – I love that – He devises ways – schemes and plots and plans, going to great lengths and implementing fantastic scenarios – “so that the banished person may not remain estranged from Him.”

That’s grace, my friend! Found in the Old Testament!

He loves us so much! Our sin has banished us from the presence of a Holy God. It has made it impossible for us to look into His face. This passage was spoken to David who longed to see the face of his son who had been banished from the Kingdom because of his sin. We have been banished from God’s Kingdom for our sins.

But God…He devised a plan – even before I was born – that would bring me to a place of recognizing that there is a God, that He is a good God, that He made a way for me to know Him – not only know Him, but spend all of eternity with Him – and that I was willing to submit my life to that God. What a plan! Trust me – it took quite a bit of devising to bring me from the place I was (an unbelieving aetheist who had nothing but disdain for Christians) to the place of trust in Christ. God makes a way…“so that a banished person may not remain estranged from Him.” Thank You, Lord!

“I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” God’s grace is truly amazing!

¹In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. ³The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV)

A primary theme of Hebrews is that Christ and the new covenant is far superior to Judaism and the old covenant. Written to Jewish Christians – “Hebrews” – who were facing persecution and the temptation to step back from Christ and Christianity, the unknown author wrote a book of tremendous encouragement and theology. And he or she starts off with a bang. (Yes, there is some speculation that the book was written by Priscilla, a woman, but most scholars guess it was written by Apollos.) The first 3 verses make these statements about Jesus:

1. Jesus was God’s messenger for the new covenant. In the Old Testament, God spoke through prophets. In “these last days” He spoke to us through Jesus.
2. Jesus is the heir of all things. He owns it all.
3. Jesus is the creator of the universe. All things were made through Him.
4. Jesus is the sustainer of the universe. He holds everything together by his “powerful Word.” The New Living Translation says He holds everything together by “the mighty power of His command.”
5. Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. The King James Version uses the word “brightness.” The glory of God fully shines through His Son.
6. Jesus is the “exact representation” of God. This is what made it possible for Him to say “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9b, NIV)
7. Jesus purified us from our sins. He removed the stain of our sin so that we can enter the presence of a Holy God.
8. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. John Calvin said “To sit at God’s right hand is to be helmsman of the universe.”*

That really is starting out with a bang! J.B. Phillips wrote a book titled Your God is Too Small. When I read these three verses in Hebrews, I suspect that my Jesus is too small. Or rather, my perception of Jesus is too small. Because He is big enough to hold the universe together with a single Word/Command. He is heir to all of creation and everything in it. He is the exact representation of God and the helmsman of the universe. This is the same Jesus who invites me to come to Him when I am weary, discouraged, hurting or in need.

When we read Ephesians a few weeks ago, I was struck by the following verse:

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:16

It is our faith that extinguishes ALL the flaming arrows of the enemy. When I look at the description of Jesus that is given in Hebrews, I know that if I truly believed it – if the knowledge of who Jesus is truly resided in the deepest parts of my mind, soul and spirit, that faith would easily extinguish all the flaming arrows of the devil.

Lord, thank you for faith. I pray that as we read Hebrews you will grow our faith. I don’t want to be a lip syncing Christian, mouthing words I’ve read or heard. I want to believe them in a way I’ve never believed them before – with confidence that they will win all my battles for me and with reverence and awe and wonder at who You truly are.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

*Quoted from Royal Sacrament, Ronald Ward (London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1958), p. 32; in Hebrews: Pilgrim’s Progress or Regress? Jim Townsend (Elgin: David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1987), p. 16.

So Many Books, So Little Time

Well, it’s many books, but it’s not really much time. We’ll finish six books and start two others in August, but we’ll do it at the same pace as we’ve been travelling throughout the year – three chapters each day, Monday through Friday.

I’ve had a number of conversations about reading through the Bible recently. It seems that many people have the misconception that they just can’t do it. “I’m not much of a reader,” is what I’ve been hearing.

The good news is that:

(1)  You don’t have to be much of a reader to read through the New Testament in a year. All it takes is reading one chapter each day, five days a week. Even if you are a slow reader, you can probably do that in less than ten minutes. Increase that time to thirty or forty minutes each weekday and you can follow our Resting at the River’s Edge schedule. Over a two year period, you’ll read through the entire Old Testament once and the New Testament twice.

(2)  There are many modern language translations available. You can check out different translations online. Read from several different versions. If you find one you like, head on over to ChristianBook.com and pick it up.

(3)  It’s the inspired Word of God. I confess – sometimes it doesn’t feel like it! But when it does, it’s magical! (That would be magical in the sense of “wow!” and “cool” and “how does God do that?”, not magical in the sense of sorcery of course).

Reading through the whole New Testament and/or the whole Bible pulls the story of God’s plan together in a way that isn’t grasped by reading less methodically. So even if you haven’t been reading along with us yet, I invite you to join us in August.

In August we’ll finish 1 & 2 Samuel – the story of David’s life. God called David a man after His own heart – that seems like reason enough to study his life. In the New Testament we’ll read Collossians, Philemon, and Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews we’ll read about how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all that is taught in the Old Testament – He is our sacrificial lamb; His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins; He is our great high priest. Mr. T used to say “I love it when a good plan comes together.” Hebrews pulls God’s plan together and spells it out for those of us who didn’t catch it on our own!

May God whisper in your ear as you read with us this month!

The recommended reading schedule is below.

To download a PDF of August’s recommended reading plan, click here.

¹⁶I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, ¹⁷asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. ¹⁸I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.

¹⁹I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

…..

¹⁶I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. ¹⁷And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. ¹⁸And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. ¹⁹May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 1:16-20, 3:14-19 (NLT)

¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

…..

¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 1:16-20, 3:16-19 (NIV)

My New Living Translation refers to Paul’s first prayer as “Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom” and the second as “Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Empowering.” I want some of that action! I want it for myself and I want it for my fellow believers. I even want it for those who are not yet believers – may they come to know Christ and grow in spiritual wisdom and empowerment!

But you know what? I am guilty of not praying like Paul prayed. I, like others, fall into the trap of praying more for (1) physical needs and (2) issues of comfort and provision. There’s nothing wrong with these prayers, but when they occupy the bulk of our prayer time, I think we are short circuiting God’s best plan for us and those around us.

Look at this list of things Paul asked God to give the Ephesians:

For Spiritual Wisdom

• Spiritual wisdom
• Understanding
• Revelation
• That they might grow in their knowledge of God
• That they might know Him better
• That their hearts would be flooded with light so that they can understand the wonderful future He has promised them.
• That they would know the hope to which they have been called.
• That they might realize what a rich and glorious inheritance God has given them.
• That they would understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us believers

For Spiritual Empowerment

• Inner strength (through His Holy Spirit)
• That Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith – that He would be more and more at home in their hearts
• Deep roots in the soil of God’s love
• Power to understand (to grasp) how wide, long, high and deep God’s love really is
• That they would know God’s love that surpasses knowledge
• That they would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God)

Who are you praying for? How would their life be different if you prayed radical prayers – for wisdom and revelation, that they might grow in their knowledge and experience of god, for power to grasp how much god loves them, and that they would be filled with the fullness of life and power in God?

Here’s your assignment:

1. Write down 3 names – you can include your own if you like. Including your spouse or your pastor would be a great idea. Perhaps including that person in the office (or your neighbor) who is really getting on your nerves is a better idea!
2. Now write down three things from the above list that you will pray for these people. If you prefer (i.e., if you’re excited about what God can do), you might select different things from the above list to pray for each name on your list.
3. Find a way to keep this list in front of you. Use Post-Its or an index card in your pocket or tack it on your fridge or your mirror. I’ll keep mine on the top of my monitor at work and near the chair where I study and relax.
4. Pray for these things for these people between now and Labor Day – that’s about six weeks.
5. Expect God to respond to prayers that are in accordance with His will.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16b (NIV)

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
James 5:16b (NLT)

⁶So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. ⁷He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. ⁸He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:6-8 (NLT)

⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:6-8 (NIV)

Can there be any other response to being blessed and chosen? We praise God! When our focus is on the spiritual blessings He has given us, on our status as adopted children of God, and on the God who bestows those blessings and makes the adoption possible, praising comes much more easily than when our focus is on bills and work challenges and health issues and relationship struggles. “So we praise God for the wonderful kindness He has poured out on us” – “to the praise of His glorious grace!”

To God be the glory, great things He has done.
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the life gate that all may go in!
“To God be the Glory” written by Fanny Crosby

God’s Son gave His life so that we might be forgiven – no more guilt and shame – instead, “He has showered His kindness on us” and “lavished” His grace upon us. Oh, and He threw in “all wisdom and understanding” as well. What a God!

As I’ve thought about this passage, what I noticed is that Paul’s praise is so specific. He’s not just saying “Praise the Lord!” He’s saying “Praise the Lord because…” or “Praise the Lord for…” I find that I sometimes get lazy in my praise and default to “Praise the Lord!” He is so much more honored when I am specific. I’m not saying it’s wrong to simply praise Him – it’s what the shout “Hallelujah!” does. But I am saying that it’s important to add times when we praise Him specifically.

Sometimes my husband will look at me and say “I love you!” That’s a really good thing. But when he says “I love the way you smile at me” or “I love you for making our house ‘home’” or “I love you for being such a hard worker to build our company” – that’s even more special – not because I am earning his love, but because it says that he actually notices the things I do and he appreciates them.

It’s important to praise God in such a way that He knows we actually notice what He’s done and we appreciate it. If we never do this, our praise quickly becomes hollow – words with no depth to them.

What has God been doing in your life that has gone unnoticed? What has He lavished upon you that has gone without praise? Praise Him!

¹Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. ²Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)

It’s how I want to live my life – so confident of the realities of heaven, so confident that this world is not my home, that the things of this world have less and less power to drag me down. That was the message and application of Ephesians 1:3 for me. Now let’s move on to verses 4 and 6. I’d like to continue looking at the verses in two different translations, the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT):

⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)

⁴Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.

⁶So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (NLT)

When I read these passages, several words stand out to me, and they make the verses have very personal meanings:

“chosen” – Before the creation of the world (“before the foundation of the world” is how it reads in the King James Version) God chose me. I am not in Christ because of some fluke accident. I am in Christ because I was predestined to be in Christ. Now I’m not going to get into doctrinal discussions about predestination vs. free will because I don’t believe we can fully reconcile the passages in Scripture that address both subjects – but I believe they are reconciled in God. (God’s mind is so much bigger than mine, which is quite a comforting thought!) Suffice it to say that I am fully confident that it is not God’s desire for anyone to perish but for all to come to the point of repenting for their sins and turning to Christ for forgiveness (2 Peter 3:9). Furthermore, I’m confident that I have been “chosen before the creation of the world” and that knowledge changes me. It does something in the core of my being that changes how I view myself and the world around me.

Furthermore, I have been chosen for a purpose – to be “holy and blameless in His sight.” When I view myself as someone whom God has called, chosen and predestined to be holy and blameless, I act differently than when I view myself as someone who is called to a lower standard. I walk taller and am more aware of my actions. I want to please the One who chose me.

The New Living Translation doesn’t use the word “predestined” – instead, it describes it as God’s “unchanging plan.” We serve a God who never changes. His plan has been to bring us to Christ from the beginning of time. The Old Testament tells the same story as the New Testament. God has always made a way for people to find Him.

Why? Because it gives Him “great pleasure.” It boggles my mind that I give God great pleasure, but Scripture is clear about it. Psalm 147 is just one place that tells us that “the Lord takes delight in His people.” God takes delight in me. I love the word “delight.” If you look it up in a dictionary, you’ll find words like “extreme satisfaction,” “great pleasure” and “joy.” Adopting me into His family has given God great pleasure. I’m real good with that!

Lord, thank You! Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Thank You for purposing from the beginning of time – before you even created the world I would live in – that I would become holy and blameless in Your sight. Forgive me when I don’t live up to that calling. It is my great honor to please my King.

Before we begin, however, here are a few tidbits that make the story we’ll explore all the more sweet:

1. Paul is writing this letter from prison. I am amazed at his ability to soar above his circumstances as he writes to the Ephesians.
2. Paul had been arrested on the charge of bringing a Gentile into the Jewish Temple. Racial and cultural division between Jews and Gentiles was a major issue in the church of Ephesus. The Ephesians would have known about the charges against Paul, so this makes him uniquely qualified to write this letter to them.

Now, on to Paul’s glorious praise!

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.
Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

Paul starts out with a bang! Saints – believers in Jesus Christ – those who are faithful – can know that God has blessed them in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Wow! The New Living Translation phrases it like this:

How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 (NLT)

I see a difference in the translation:

• we’re blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (available or that exists) in Christ (NIV), or
• we’re blessed (presumably here on earth) with every blessing that exists in the heavenly realms (NLT)

Which translation is more accurate I don’t know, but I do know that the degree to which I’ve been blessed is beyond my understanding. Hallelujah! Thank You, God, for the blessings you have already given me – whether in heaven or here on earth, they are real, more real than the trials I faced yesterday and will face today and tomorrow.

I also know that I don’t focus on those blessings enough, nor do I praise God enough for them. Remember, Paul is writing this while being falsely accused and imprisoned! Yet he was able to recognize and appreciate the blessings God had given him. So much so that he was able to remind others about them. Yes, Paul was a pretty special guy, but God loves me as much as He loves the Apostle Paul and God can give me the same insights and faith. Lord, open my eyes the blessings you have given me!

I’ve only briefly looked at one of twenty verses here and already my blog is more than 500 words, so I believe I’ll turn this into a series on Ephesians 1. Come back tomorrow for the blessings found in verses 4 and 5, chosen friends.

In the meantime, I have an assignment for you and for me – let today be a day in which you meditate on – consider deeply – wonder at and mull over – keep your focus on – these thoughts:

If you are one of the “faithful in Christ” (verse 1):

• you have been blessed in the heavenly realms
• you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ
• you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms

If you are not yet one of the “faithful in Christ,” you can choose to become that today. The word translated “faithful” means trusting or full of trust. You can choose to trust Christ to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to become the One that you follow. You can choose to make Him Lord in your life. If you have questions, check out this blog and e-mail me at Sandy@ApprehendingGrace.com. I’d love to hear your questions and your story.