Dear Lord, thank you so much for the Bible. Thank you that it is alive and well. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for PRAISE. I love to praise you and I love to call you Father. Dad. It is the most loving term of endearment. You care for me, you know me, you have known me, as it is written in verse 4. Before creation, your grace is so much that I am overwhelmed in love with you. Thank you for love. Thank you for Paul and for his writings, for chastising, for discipline, for faith and for Full-Send Praise. I love you Jesus. Please allow the Holy Spirit to take over and guide me through this study. Please speak to me and allow the wisdom from Your Word to permeate through my humble message. Please help others see the Light of Life. It’s so much better than the darkness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Ephesians 1:1-10
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So here we are, digesting the bread of life. Allowing it to nurture and sustain. Praise the Lord for his Grace and Love. I love reading the Bible in NIV, KJV and NKJV and cross reference the three so I don’t miss out on any translation. English is a funny language and I like to make sure I get all the good stuff.
Ephesians,
full send praise
knowing others
who share this craze
Loving Jesus
Like Paul did
Knowing friends
who flip their lid
same as me
when I say HIS NAME
sharing eternity
exactly the same
knowing they are walking
with Jesus’ sight
knowing their full
of power and might
walking a path
set out for Heaven
knowing they’re different
each 24-7
knowing it’s not
an accident
to have those friends
who are heaven sent
knowing our church
is on fire for God
is another full-send
it’s no facade
we have no building
we worship outside
it makes the people
focus and abide
in ultimate love
not contained by walls
so when we learn
the gospel falls
on ears not knowing
they’re searching so hard
and hearing the message
they’re caught off guard
they stop and listen
what’s that, they hear?
the praise of Grace
love lyrics clear
HOSANNAH, ON HIGH
Praise, sing, rejoice
expressing hope
in harmonious voice
Full-Send Praise
To You, oh Lord,
Full-Send Praise
Spiritual blessings reward
Full-Send Praise
Oh God, Our King
Forever we PRAISE YOU
For EVERYTHING.
You embody the praise
of your church today
the fullness of you,
fills in every way.
Paul’s Letter to Ephesus, The Faithful in Christ
“Grace and Peace.“
I love Paul’s salutations to his people. Grace: the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. And Peace: freedom from disturbance; tranquility. It’s just great. The best things to say. Hi! Grace and Peace!
Praise for the Spiritual Blessings IN Christ.
Statement of Fact: Praise!
3 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.
Who has blessed us? God!
Where? Heavenly realms! Righteous!
With What? Spiritual blessings IN Christ
- Note, I am heavily aware of the word IN throughout the chapter. Any idea why?
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
How?
He chose us.
He chose us IN Him.
He chose us IN Him before creation.
He chose us IN Him before creation of the world.
He chose us IN Him before creation on the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
I liked reading this verse like this. I liked taking time to absorb each idea. Lid officially flipped y’all. We. Are. Chosen.
In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
How did he choose us? In LOVE! We are loved. So loved. Everyone. So much that we get to chose him back, cause that is love. We are not robots. We get to have a gift, a special gift. Love. Have you received the gift of love from Jesus?
IN the One he loves – Jesus – His one and only son. I love that. Moms and Dads, you get it. That love you have for your children? It’s the best. Love – freely given but given to ALL of his children because HE died. He loved us, created us, knowing FULL SEND that he would be in the garden begging God to take away the torture of the cross. HE KNEW that prayer before it was prayed, and still – before he created us, he loved us that much that the anguish of the cross didn’t compare to the excellent love of our Jesus. He still created us. He knew a love that none of us know. HIS love FOR us. Given, already given. Waiting, steady and waiting. Knocking, always knocking. Then HOLDING – NEVER LETTING GO!
MIND BLOWN into Full-Send love back to you, Jesus.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
In Him we gain!
- we have redemption through his blood
- we have forgiveness for our sins
We don’t deserve that stuff at all. Grace? yup – the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
Mystery: the divine truth that is incapable of being discovered by human ingenuity and that until recently has been kept secret!
Mystery made known: to be put in full effect when the times reach their fulfillment. To bring unity to all things in Heaven.
12 times: IN is written from verse 1-10
I think that IN Jesus, living IN the Word, immersed IN the abundant love of Jesus, IN His way, and living IN His will is ultimate praise.
It’s so important to recognizing the importance of praise. Like David said IN Psalm 22:3, He inhabits the praise of His people. He lives within praise. Paul is living in the moment of praise. I feel really good when I am in fellowship with my Christian friends who love to “lose it” or be foolish-in-love with Jesus. You experience true Spiritual Joy when you are able to join up with people who love Jesus on your same level.
It is a blessing and part of God’s Grace that we get to have moments like that. JOY!
Grace is love, cause we don’t deserve that kind of joy here on earth, but we receive that when we obey His command to gather and live in communion with our Christian brothers and sisters. Hebrews 10:25 – 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
I am thankful for my friends who lose it in love with Jesus, I know it is a blessing and I am aware it is not because of who I am, it’s because we are chosen, we are selected, lovingly in the omnipotent power of the one and only God= Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, who wants to freak out on Jesus like I do? Same level love? I pray you do and I’ll see you all here next time for Part 2 of Ephesians 1.
You know who this song is for, if you know me at all: https://youtu.be/wuG1rLPjVkk
I love you all the way to the moon and all the way back. Amen – Thank you for the journey. Thank you for sharing the same-level FULL SEND in Jesus kinda love.
SIMPLY SWANK INC. 