O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected]
twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 10:01 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Thursday December 3 > Day 337 > > Ephesians 1 > 1-2I, Paul, am under God's plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ > Jesus, writing to you > faithful believers in Ephesus. I greet you with the grace and peace poured > into our lives by God our > Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. > The God of Glory > 3-6How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our > Master, Jesus Christ, and > takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down > earth's foundations, he had > us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole > and holy by his love. Long, > long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. > (What pleasure he took in > planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish > gift-giving by the hand of > his beloved Son. > 7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the > altar of the Cross, we're > a free people-free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our > misdeeds. And not just barely > free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for > everything we could possibly > need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it > all out before us in > Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together > and summed up in him, > everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. > > 11-12It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living > for. Long before we first > heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on > us for glorious living, > part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. > > 13-14It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it > (this Message of your > salvation), found yourselves home free-signed, sealed, and delivered by > the Holy Spirit. This signet > from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll > get everything God has > planned for us, a praising and glorious life. > > 15-19That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master > Jesus and your outpouring > of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for > you-every time I prayed, I'd > think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask-ask the God > of our Master, Jesus > Christ, the God of glory-to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing > him personally, your eyes > focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling > you to do, grasp the > immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the > utter extravagance of his > work in us who trust him-endless energy, boundless strength! > > 20-23All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set > him on a throne in deep > heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to > governments, no name and no > power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. > He is in charge of it all, > has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules > the church. The church, > you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the > church. The church is > Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything > with his presence. > > Ephesians 2 > He Tore Down the Wall > 1-6It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of > sin. You let the world, > which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You > filled your lungs with > polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us > doing what we felt like > doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a > wonder God didn't lose his > temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and > with an incredible love, > he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He > did all this on his own, > with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest > heaven in company with Jesus, > our Messiah. > 7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and > the next to shower grace > and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his > work. All we do is trust > him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We > don't play the major role. If > we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! > No, we neither make nor > save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us > by Christ Jesus to join > him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, > work we had better be > doing. > > 11-13But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that > you outsiders to God's ways > had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God > works, hadn't the faintest > idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants > and promises in Israel, > hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because > of Christ-dying that > death, shedding that blood-you who were once out of it altogether are in > on everything. > > 14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together > on this, both non-Jewish > outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each > other at a distance. He > repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and > footnotes that it hindered more > than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two > groups of people separated by > centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human > being, a fresh start for > everybody. > > 16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross > got us to embrace, and > that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you > outsiders and peace to us > insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we > both share the same Spirit > and have equal access to the Father. > > 19-22That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. > This kingdom of faith is now > your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong > here, with as much right to > the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us > all-irrespective of how we got > here-in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the > foundation. Now he's using > you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as > the cornerstone that holds > all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day-a holy temple > built by God, all of us > built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. > > Ephesians 3 > The Secret Plan of God > 1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause > of you outsiders, > so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in > God's plan for including > everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just > wrote you in brief. > 4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for > yourselves into the > mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time > has it been made clear by > God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The > mystery is that people > who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their > lives (what I've been calling > outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the > same offer, same help, > same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to > everyone, across the > board. > > 7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this > Message. It came as a sheer > gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to > presenting the Message to > people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of > any of the available > Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it > had nothing to do with my > natural abilities. > > 8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over > my head, the > inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in > the open and make plain > what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in > secret and behind the scenes > all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in > churches, this extraordinary plan > of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! > > 11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then > executed in Christ Jesus. > When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to > go wherever we need to > go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! > > 14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this > magnificent Father who parcels > out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit-not a > brute strength but a > glorious inner strength-that Christ will live in you as you open the door > and invite him in. And I > ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take > in with all followers of > Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and > experience the breadth! Test its > length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in > the fullness of God. > > 20-21God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or > guess or request in your > wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within > us, his Spirit deeply and > gently within us. > > Glory to God in the church! > Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! > Glory down all the generations! > Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! > > > > > > > > ~~~~~ > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > Also, follow my tweets on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Donnie1261 > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
