Wednesday September 3, 2008

Ephesians 1:3-13

“3. 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, 4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8. which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9. He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10. with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11. also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12. to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (NASB)

Yesterday we spent our devotion time considering our blessing to God. The same verse that speaks of blessing God also speaks to His blessings upon us. There is a slight distinction in the original language of the two words translated as blessing in English. They are from the same root word yet with a major difference. The first is to speak well of someone based on what they have done, this is how we bless God. The second is to speak something into someone’s life that will come to pass. This is the way that God blesses believers.

After preaching the final service of a revival meeting some years ago, the pastor came to me and said, “Brother Gary, our church wants to bless you with this offering.” Their blessing was not merely verbalized but became tangible by giving me something. God’s blessing to us works in similar manner. He has blessed us with spiritual things that make a difference both in the here and now and in the future. As you read through the Scripture above, make a list of the supernatural blessings God has spoken into your life. If you are reading this through our web blog, please post a comment as we have an open discussion.