Day 18 - Because He Says So by Pastor Tim Escamilla

"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Ephesians 1:3-4, ESV).

These verses say a lot about our Lord. But they also say a lot about who we're supposed to be! 

Blessed! We're supposed to be blessed because our Lord is blessed. He shares His blessedness with us! Notice we are blessed in Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing. Wow. I'll write that again so we all get it: we are blessed in Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing. It was His will and choice to bless us in this way. If you're ever feeling like you're not spiritually equipped for anything that comes your way, remind yourself of this verse and this fact: you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ! You should memorize this right now. 

Chosen! We sometimes fail to understand the Lord's concept of time. He can see the beginning, the end, the middle, and anything in between AT ALL TIMES. He sees it all at the same time. He sees your mistakes. He sees when you rejected Him. He sees all our imperfections, and yet, He still chose us. We were chosen in Him before the world was made! That's how quickly He chose us, before anything existed, He chose us! Awe-inspiring, I know. 

Holy! Just like we are blessed because He is blessed, we are holy because He is holy! He is completely holy and chooses to share that holiness with us. You are holy because He makes you holy and deserves for you to be holy. 

Blameless! We are blameless because He took our blame upon Himself. He took our blame, conquered it, and remained blameless! And He chooses to share that blamelessness with us. We are not to blame. There is no blame on us because HE wanted it that way.

Do you feel blessed, chosen, holy, and blameless? If not, remind yourself of Ephesians 1:3-4. Memorize it and hide it in your heart. It's the truth because it's what He's done. He's blessed you, chosen you, made you holy, and made you blameless! Pray with a heart of gratitude with me: "Lord, thank You that I am blessed, chosen, holy, and blameless. Thank You that You are glorified when I live in this truth, Your truth! Let it always be so. Amen!" 

-Pastor Tim Escamilla