EPHESIANS 1:1-6 CHOSEN ONE, PREDESTINED FOR ADOPTION TO SONSHIP

    (Photo Credits : Drawing done by my very pretty sister, Princy Gigo)

S - Ephesians 1:1-6

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.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. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. 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.

O –How wonderfully the Holy Spirit teaches through these verses of the glorious position we hold in Christ. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. He had chosen us before creation to be holy and blameless in His sight. He has predestined us to be His children. He has freely given us this unmerited favor through His son – who died for us.

A –

1. I am a blessed child of God.

2. I was chosen by him even before creation.

3. Since He chose me, He will also enable me to undergo sanctification to be more and more like Jesus. This is only possible by being ‘In Him’

4. I am a daughter of God and it is by His will and pleasure.

5. I am enjoying undeserving grace and it is not because of my merit but because of His love for me.

P - Precious heavenly father, I feel so honored be chosen by you. The very fact that you chose me overwhelms me. Enable me to live a holy and blameless life through Christ each and every day as I grow more in you. I know I can ‘ bear much fruit’ only if I ‘Abide in you’ Enable me to keep my focus on you at all times and to never forget that I am an adopted child through Christ Jesus. I praise you for the grace that you have shown me and seek your blessings to stay connected to you at all times.

In Jesus’ name I pray

AMEN

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 BLESSINGS OF PEACE AND GRACE

S – Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

O – 1. Lord of Peace himself gives you peace at all times and in every way.

2.   Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

A – Paul closes of the letter to the Thessalonians with a blessing of peace which only the Lord of peace can grant. Even in midst of this busy world and even in the midst of trails and crisis point, it is only the Lord who can grant this peace. This is the same ‘peace that passes all understanding’ that Paul talks of in Phil 4:7 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

P – Precious Heavenly Father, we are so blessed to have this life in you. We have this peace and grace that only you can bestow on us. No person or thing can ever provide us this peace. Enable me to never to take my comfort on anything in this world but find the eternal comfort in you. Enable me to let go of my worries and find this peace in you. The matters I worry about, I give it to you right now and may I bask in your peace.

All this I pray in your matchless name

AMEN

How I met the Lord......

Hi, I am Priya, a mother of two sweet boys and a wife to a loving and blessed man.  I would like to  share my testimony with you of how I came to know Christ and how it changed my life. Being born in an Indian Christian family, I grew up with knowledge of God and was  a regular church goer. But reading Bible and praying was all really boring to me. For me the Bible was only a book of Dos and Don’ts. I believed that my life was not in  anyway sinful as I obeyed my parents & teachers, studied well, never 'went beyond my limits' and attended church faithfully. With this I believed I ‘had a chance’ to enter heaven and thought that anyway God is the one to decide all these matters.I got married to Ashly and  we were blessed with two sons two years apart. Meanwhile Ashly faced struggles in his business and we had difficulties in finance. He didn’t have much time to spare. This made a break in the regular church attendance also. He didn't even have time to spend with us as a family. He took solace in his friends and even at times Alcohol. At one point a family friend called us to attend a worship and because of his regular follow up we thought we should go. There I enjoyed the praise and worship, listening to messages and the care the members had for each other. We continued going there as we could really feel a holy presence.

                   Then there came a real ‘twist’ to my story when a friend introduced us to a new bible study. We both started attending and that is when the Word spoke to me through Romans 3:23 that ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ that means my good works doesn’t count. The penalty for my sin was death. But Christ died for me on the cross and because of his death I am forgiven. I just need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and receive the gift of eternal life. I prayed and accepted Jesus as my savior after the class and then I felt as if huge burden was removed from me. I felt like running around shouting “I am Free” Everything made sense. The puzzle had all fallen in place.

  My life has changed a lot after that – what I think, what I say, how I see others. My whole outlook has changed. I began to understand a purpose in my life. The challenges, the faces around me are all the same but I know that the Lord is with me at all times and through any trials, He will be with me. The Lord has gently helped me overcome my inferiority complex and helped me realize my talents. When I have a super guide who teaches me and guides me, how can I ever lose hope? Continuing my trust in Him, I walk under His guidance to learn more of the word and help others experience this same joy. After tasting Jesus, I could never even imagine a life without him and I want Him to be proud of me for what I do with my life. More than anything I know that this life is not the end and I have a glorious life with my Lord in heaven.

2 THESSALONIANS 1:11-12 WORTHY OF HIS CALLING

S- 1 Thes 1: 11-12

¹¹ With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ

O – 1. Constantly pray for you

2. Make you worthy of His calling

3. His power may bring to fruition every deed prompted by faith.

4. Name of the Lord Jesus may be gloried in you and you in Him accorning to His grace.

A – Anything we do in faith or what we desire for goodness can be made fruitful only by the power of God. Just as Paul prays for the Thessalonians, I also need to pray because without His grace all my efforts are in vain. If the glory of God needs to be revealed through me then it is only by His grace and not my own efforts.

P – Precious heavenly father, I submit my desires and efforts into your hands. Let everything I do bring glory to your name. Let me never boast of my efforts as it is only by your grace that I am chosen by you. I seek your power and strength to break the bondage of fear to spread your good news. Enable me to be a walking (in faith) and talking (about my faith) Christian so that I stand as a witness for you wherever I go.

In Jesus mighty name

AMEN

2 THESSALONIANS 1:5-10 RELIEF FOR THE TROUBLED AND PUNISHMENT FOR THE PERSECUTORS

S – 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

O -

·         God’s judgment is right

·         Counted worthy for the kingdom

·         Punish those who persecuted you

·         Relief to the troubled

A – All the perseverance and faith we hold on to in midst of persecution will not go in vain. Our God is a just God and he will punish the ungodly and the persecutors. The people who do not believe in God and do not obey the gospel will be destroyed.

P – Abba Father, you are a just God and you despise the persecutors of your children. The revenge belongs to you and not us. The verse today gives a big warning to the ungodly. Enable me to take this as a buden and speak your good news to all around me so that the doom that awaits the ungodly may not come upon them. Bless me with the right words and actions to lead them to you.

In Jesus precious name

AMEN.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 INCREASE IN FAITH AND LOVE

S - 1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

O –

1.      Faith growing more and more

2.     Love for one another increasing

3.     Perseverance & Faith in all the persecution and trials

A – Faith has a direct relationship with love. The more we have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we tend to obey his commandment i.e to love one another. It is easy to be strong in faith when everything is going smooth, but faith stands test when we undergo persecutions and trails of all kinds.

P – Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing the faith of the Thessalonians which was strong even in the midst of trails of all kinds. Enable me also to persevere and put my trust in you even when things are not going right. Just as their love increased for each other let me also grow with your godly love for others so that I have a burden for them and pass on the good news to them.

In Jesus’ mighty name

AMEN

1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-22 - REJOICE,PRAY,GIVE THANKS

 S - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.   Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

O/A- A person becomes a true Christian when he realizes that he is a sinner and he needs Christ as his saviour.  Upon this realization the life changes and the Holy Spirit takes over to guide in each and every instance. We learn to rejoice at all times in spite of circumstances because we know that Christ is in control.  The 'wonderful counselor' teaches us to hold on to what is good and reject evil. This help us to achieve the aim of Christian life that is  to transform into His image.

P - Heavenly Father, Thank You for teaching me that I need to rejoice at all times. Many a times I have fallen short and complained of my circumstances.  You have wonderfully guided me till now and will do so in the future.  Help me to submit myself to you and your guidance and submit all my worries to you in prayer.  Enable me to heed to the Holy Spirit and never quench Him.
In Jesus precious name
Amen.

1 Thes 5:12-15 LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER

S – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 NIV

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

 O/A - Today's verses help us to deal with people around us in the Christian way
Acknowledge the ones who teach, care and admonish us, to live in peace with each other, to warn the idle,to encourage the weak. Christ has taught us only to love and thats what we need to do. The people who we are in our lives and who we come across are not by chance but has been placed by God. Each encounter should enable us to reflect the Christ in us.
                 
P - Precious Heavenly father, I pray for all the people in my sphere of influence. Help me to deal with each of them as your word teaches. Enable me to be guided by the Holy Spirit in all such dealings. Moreover enable me to share your love with them and bring them to your kingdom.
In Jesus mighty name
Amen.

1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-3 Faith, Love and Hope

 S - 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silas^[a] and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace and peace to you. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith² We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

O – Work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, endurance inspired by hope in Christ

A – As my desire to evangelize grows and the fear of my weaknesses rise, through this verse the Holy Spirit strengthens me by saying that what ever I do is because of my faith in Christ. This is the first step -  Complete faith in Christ. My labor should be prompted from love for the people who I talk to, not as a responsibility to spread the good news but out of love for them – unconditional love. My persuasion or endurance should be inspired by the hope I have in Christ and not based on the world or even on my own weaknesses.

P – Precious Lord, I submit myself to you. I realize that I have a lot of weaknesses which hinder me from spreading your good news. But you taught me here that the faith I have in you, the godly love you have instilled in me and the unwavering hope that I have in you is enough to cover my weaknesses. Strengthen and equip me Lord for your kingdom. Thank you for the platform that you are already providing me. Help me to be guided by the Holy Spirit at all times.

In Jesus mighty name I pray ,

AMEN