What kind of love is this?

Ephesians chapter 1 is so full that it's difficult to choose which part to meditate on first. 

Why did God chose me before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ? Why is it His good pleasure to do this.  

My? Really?

The truth is: I am blown away that He chose me at all. 

Jeremiah 1:5 States: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were born I set you apart;

He did this to the praise of His glorious grace......His glorious grace, because of His unmeasurable love.

God (not bound by time, in his omniscience) expresses His love toward me, in that while I am  still a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8).
In other words God chose me before the world began, to be saved, knowing I would need redemption to be with Him, He chose to make me clean in His sight while I was still CHOOSING to sin, before I ever came to be......What kind of love is this?

• I know you are going to reject me
• I know your going to believe lies about me
• I know Your going to think accepting my love is somehow depriving you of what you "think" you need
• I know you wont want me as much as I want you
• I know that I will have to sacrifice everything to have you
• I know you will never ,while on earth, understand the depths of my love for you

I want you to know that I want good things for you, and truly good things come only from me
You will keep reaching back for the things that hurt you and took you from me in the first place,
I knew all of this, even before I created you, I know I will have to redeem you,
I choose you

How do you wrap your head around that?

His love wrecks me!

Hope Wirta

Digging in to Ephesians

This week begins a journey to  meditate on the book of Ephesians. The key is to soak it up and think about what it says, not to check of a task on a list.
Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to a church in Ephesus.  It is a book about who God is, Who you are to Him, and how to live on a practical basis.

The city of Ephesus was home to one of the seven wonders of the world, the Temple of Artemis. Since trade routes had dried up this became the main livelihood of the city. Paul visited the Ephesians on his missionaries journeys, establishing a Church there with Priscilla and Aquila on his third journey. He lived there for over 2 years eventually handing the church to Timothy. 

Read the chapter through two times.
As you read chapter the third time take out a pencil (or colored pencils) and look for these things:
Circle the things that God has done for us.

What  does the chapter state about God?

What does the chapter state about You?
Find all the reference to the trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost)
Mark all the references that are made to " in Him"

Get creative and colorful with your journaling. Take your time, draw our what it means to be "In Christ"

What picture comes to mind. Draw in out. 

Now, pray through the passage and thank God that you are chosen and sealed, In Christ.

For Further study read Acts 18:18-23 and Acts 19.

Hope Wirta