the real gift of faith

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

You have just read through one of the most powerful passages of Scripture. In these 6 verses are pieces of faith that we must claim and share with others. Let God’s truth sink in. Really it does take a while. Once we think we understand we see another blessing or another possible step. We really are blessed.

Hey. Go read the passage again.

Here are just a few of the pieces that stick out through my 4th or 5th reading in this sitting:

We are “blessed with every spiritual blessing”. That is too much to grasp. Be careful not to think you have arrived. In fact allow some of this to sink in. Make a list of your blessings, those from every possible direction. None can be separated from our great God.

“God loves us and chose us.” Some people cannot handle this truth because it takes faith out of our hands and place it solely in God’s hands. We are the recipients. God intended for us to be the benefactors of what Jesus did and was destined for. We have been chosen by God and loved. There is a lot more there, but we will move on.

God said that He “adopted us in to His family.” I love the picture of what adoption is where a parent (God) chose their child (you and me). Before God’s adopting us we were in trouble and without hope. But God gave us, gives us and fills us with more and more of genuine hope. Adoption is a big deal and full of theological truth.

“He is so rich in kindness and grace.” Our God is just that. He is kind. He is full of grace. Take a few more minutes to take in this truth.

There is more. Allow His word to hold on to you and to fill your mind and heart with more aspects of what fuels our God given faith. Faith really is a gift!

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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