But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Eph 2:4-10
I love this passage and while reading, I thought of the story about the dry bones (Ezek 37:1-6) and how those bones were not only dry but dead and dry. Naturally, there was no way those bones could live… (Imagine a hot desert or Death Valley with a bones lying around everywhere) Oh but God! He breathed and they quickly assembled themselves and they did live again! Such as it is with us; immersed in His rich mercy, embraced and wrapped with His love, He took my dead life, breathed, and made me alive and new; encouraged me in the process of coming together and being one with Him, so that I could share the richness of being in Him and not boasting, but knowing that all things are done by and through Him.
Certainly, by no goodness of my own, He has allowed me to sit in heavenly places in Him. He had established a quality of life for me even before I knew me (Jer 29:11). Most of the time, we live beneath our priviledges because we don't allow God to lead us into our purpose or our destiny. We are His masterpieces of creative artistry, his workmanship created, formed, shaped, and molded for good works unto Him. He ordained us even before from the womb just for Him, in order to partake of His overflowing riches and blessings. We were designed and crafted to share of His goodness, His majestic love, His unfailing mercy; to offer this free gift and encourage others to come and grab hold of life eternal made available only through Christ Jesus.
It is exciting to meditate and ponder on how we were creatively and artistically fashioned; we can rejoice in knowing that we are experiencing the showers of His grace, His kindness in abundance, and His intentional and unconditional love... His workmanship for a time such as these!
Until the morning, be blessed!
Cynde
I love this passage and while reading, I thought of the story about the dry bones (Ezek 37:1-6) and how those bones were not only dry but dead and dry. Naturally, there was no way those bones could live… (Imagine a hot desert or Death Valley with a bones lying around everywhere) Oh but God! He breathed and they quickly assembled themselves and they did live again! Such as it is with us; immersed in His rich mercy, embraced and wrapped with His love, He took my dead life, breathed, and made me alive and new; encouraged me in the process of coming together and being one with Him, so that I could share the richness of being in Him and not boasting, but knowing that all things are done by and through Him.
Certainly, by no goodness of my own, He has allowed me to sit in heavenly places in Him. He had established a quality of life for me even before I knew me (Jer 29:11). Most of the time, we live beneath our priviledges because we don't allow God to lead us into our purpose or our destiny. We are His masterpieces of creative artistry, his workmanship created, formed, shaped, and molded for good works unto Him. He ordained us even before from the womb just for Him, in order to partake of His overflowing riches and blessings. We were designed and crafted to share of His goodness, His majestic love, His unfailing mercy; to offer this free gift and encourage others to come and grab hold of life eternal made available only through Christ Jesus.
It is exciting to meditate and ponder on how we were creatively and artistically fashioned; we can rejoice in knowing that we are experiencing the showers of His grace, His kindness in abundance, and His intentional and unconditional love... His workmanship for a time such as these!
Until the morning, be blessed!
Cynde
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