Tag: blessings

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Ephesians Devotionals

Spiritual amnesia

Spiritual amnesia

It is so easy to forget as Christians.

We forget how much God has blessed us.

We forget how he chose us before the foundation of the world.

We forget the riches of his grace that he has lavished on us.

We forget the hope to which God called us.

We forget the riches of the glorious inheritance we have received.

We forget the immeasurable greatness of his power in our lives.

We forget the greatness of our King who is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

And so in Ephesians 1, Paul prays that God would heal our spiritual amnesia. That we would truly see all these things.

When you read the words of Ephesians 1, do they ring in your soul? Or do they leave you cold?

I pray that these words of Paul for you today.

But please pray them for me as well.

Because I get spiritual amnesia too.

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Luke Luke 18 Mark Mark 10 Matthew Matthew 19

Is it worth it?

The gospels

Is it really worth it to follow Christ? That was the question the rich young ruler had to face. Unfortunately, he decided that it wasn’t.

Peter too asked himself the same question. “I’ve given up everything to follow after Jesus. But is it really worth it?” And so he said,

We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us? (Matthew 19:27)

Jesus replied,

Truly I tell you…no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Mark 10:29-31)

A couple of things to note here.

First, Jesus says that we will be rewarded for following him. Not just in heaven, but here. And not just rewarded, but richly rewarded.

This is not to say that we will all be wealthy. But at the end of the day, when we look back on our lives, we will be able to say, “I have been blessed. It was all worth it to follow Christ.”

But there’s also one little note that Jesus added. It’s only found in Mark, but it really stands out when you read it.

Jesus talks about all the blessings you will receive, but then he also warns, “You will be persecuted. Persecutions will come for following after me.”

In other words, being a Christian is not all fun and games. Yes, it is a joy. Yes, there are multiple blessings upon blessings for following Jesus.

But there will be people who will dislike, and even hate us for it. Jesus was the perfect Son of God, and people still hated him.

How can we expect to be exempt from the same treatment that Jesus received? As Jesus said, “No servant is greater than his master.” (John 15:20).

So let us not be surprised when hardships come because we follow Christ. Instead, let us keep our eyes on the prize, and know that whatever we may suffer in this life because we follow Christ, in the end, it truly will be worth it all.

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Psalms

When we put God first

Psalms

So many of us seek happiness in our lives.  We seek it in our families, we seek it in our jobs, and we seek it in financial security.

But in this psalm, we see the key to true happiness.  The psalmist writes,

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.  (Psalm 128:1-4)

In other words, when we honor God first in our lives, and we choose to do things his way, he will bless us.

So many people are so worried about their finances, that they work to the neglect of their families and their health.

The result:  they don’t “eat the fruit of their labor.”  They die before their time, or lose their families in their attempt to find financial security.

But for the person who honors God, he promises to not only bless their finances, but their families as well.

When husbands love their wives as God commanded, and fathers raise their children in the way the Lord has told them to, then their wives and children will flourish.

Needless to say, this goes for wives as they honor their husbands, and children as they obey and honor their parents.  They’ll find God’s blessing as they do so.

But I think it’s important to note that most, if not all of the commands concerning the family go to the husbands and fathers first and then to the wives and children.

So men, let us step up to the plate and follow God, doing the things he’s commanded us.  And see if God won’t do as he has promised.