"3 All praise to God, the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly realms because we are united
with Christ. 4 Even before he made the
world, God loved us and chose us in
Christ to be holy and without fault in
his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to
adopt us into his own family by bringing
us to himself through Jesus Christ. This
is what he wanted to do, and it gave him
great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for
the glorious grace he has poured out on
us who belong to his dear Son.[a] 7 He
is so rich in kindness and grace that he
purchased our freedom with the blood of
his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has
showered his kindness on us, along with
all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has
now revealed to us his mysterious plan
regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his
own good pleasure. 10 And this is the
plan: At the right time he will bring
everything together under the authority
of Christ-everything in heaven and on
earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are
united with Christ, we have received an
inheritance from God,[b] for he chose us
in advance, and he makes everything work
out according to his plan.
12
God's purpose was that we Jews who were
the first to trust in Christ would bring
praise and glory to God. 13 And now you
Gentiles have also heard the truth, the
Good News that God saves you. And when
you believed in Christ, he identified
you as his own[c] by giving you the Holy
Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14
The Spirit is God's guarantee that he
will give us the inheritance he promised
and that he has purchased us to be his
own people. He did this so we would
praise and glorify him." (Ephesians
1:3-14)
Thought:
A professional baseball player
making a million bucks a year stole a
teammate's glove and bat--and sold them
for $2,500. The Yankees pulled his
pinstripes and sent him packing. Another
team is giving him a shot, but he now
wears the label of "thief" along with
his new uniform.
Why would
anyone do something so stupid? The guy
was guaranteed a cool million to spend
one season playing baseball. Did he need
that $2,500? Was it the thrill of
stealing? Some kind of compulsion? A
triple- dog dare he just couldn't
refuse? Whatever the reason, he threw
away a million dollars and the prestige
of playing for the New York Yankees--all
for $2,500 (and the ridicule of fans and
fellow players). That's one bad trade!
He's not the first person to
make a bad trade--and he won't be the
last. Here are a few of the worst trades
mentioned in the Bible:
* Adam
and Eve gave up their perfect life for a
bite of fruit (Genesis 3).
*
Esau sold his birthright for some bread
and a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29-34).
* Samson swapped his God-given
strength for relief from nagging (Judges
16:15-19).
* Judas betrayed
Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew
26:14-15).
No one is immune from
making bad trades. We sometimes trade a
clean conscience for a night of "fun."
We trade a good testimony for popularity
with the "in" crowd. We trade a Sunday
morning of worshiping God for a few lazy
hours in bed. We trade the opportunity
to meet with friends to study the Bible
for watching TV.
God has blessed
us with many gifts. Ephesians 1:3-14 is
packed with some of them: He chose us,
He loves us, He adopted us, He forgives
us, He gave His Son for us, He sent His
Holy Spirit to us, and He has planned an
inheritance for us that's beyond our
wildest dreams. Is there anything we
would trade these things for?
The decisions we make come with
trade-offs. We need to consider what
we're getting and what we're giving up.
Let's not do something stupid!
Questions to consider:
***What are a couple of the
stupidest things I've ever done? How do
I feel when I think about them now?
***How can I learn to make better
choices?
***Besides the
blessings mentioned in the Ephesians
passage, what are some blessings God has
given me personally?
God's
wisdom stops foolish decisions.
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