blessed, accepted, adopted, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, loved

artwork by Tamara Peterson

This delightfully beautiful work of art by Tamara Peterson illustrates so well the joyous, loving, and encouraging Truth from God’s Word contained in the first chapter of Ephesians.

When I was recently asked to speak to a ladies Bible study group, I shared this Truth that encourages me on a daily basis. Because I have been so encouraged by the study of Ephesians Chapter One, I wrote a series of 12 word studies on that chapter here.

These Truths from God’s Word encourage me, and I pray they will be an encouragement to you, too!

You are who God says you are…

In Christ, you are...

BLESSED with every spiritual blessing, 
         ACCEPTED in the Beloved Son of God, 
                 ADOPTED as a child of the King, 
                         CHOSEN before the foundation of the world, 
                                 REDEEMED by His Blood, 

                                          FORGIVEN by His Grace, 
                                                   LOVED with an everlasting love, and
                                                   underneath are the everlasting arms.

When you feel betrayed, God says: You are BLESSED
“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.” (Ephesians 1:3)

When you feel ignored, God says: You are ACCEPTED
"According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:5-6)

When you feel abandoned, God says: You are ADOPTED
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

When you feel inadequate, God says: You are CHOSEN
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)

When you feel rejected, God says: You are REDEEMED
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:7-8)

When you feel condemned, God says: You are FORGIVEN
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:7-8)

When you feel forgotten, God says: You are LOVED

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)  “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

Lord Jesus, Thank You for this encouraging Truth from Your Word, that in Christ, we are who You say we are. Thank You for the free gift of salvation, that we are justified on the basis of Your finished work on the Cross. Thank You that, right now, we are under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because we have placed our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are redeemed by Your precious blood. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that God’s love for us and approval of us will never be determined by our performance is the most encouraging promise to which we cling—what great things You have done! We love You, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Ephesians 1 …pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on Ephesians 1 …pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on Ephesians 1…pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.


* If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ


Weekly LinkUps…

Jesus is calling...

artwork by Tamara Peterson

This beautiful work of art by Tamara Peterson seemed to go so well with the anointed and captivating new hymn by Elevation Worship, O Come to the Altar, which begins with the compelling questions, Are you hurting and broken within? Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin? …Have you come to the end of yourself? Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Jesus is calling. O come to the altar, the Father’s arms are open wide. Forgiveness was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ…O what a Savior! Isn’t He wonderful?... Bear your cross as you wait for the crown…tell the world of the Treasure you've found. This drew my heart to a study of the word, forgiving, from Colossians 3:13…

NASB: bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Amplified: Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

NET: bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

Phillips: Accept life, and be most patient and tolerant with one another, always ready to forgive if you have a difference with anyone. Forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you.

Wuest: bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a matter of complaint against anyone. Even as and in the degree that the Lord forgave you, in the same manner also you forgive.

Young's Literal: forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if anyone with any one may have a quarrel, as also the Christ did forgive you -- so also ye;

Forgiving from the Greek word charizomai (given as an act of grace) from charis (grace) means literally to give freely and unconditionally or to bestow as a gift of grace and then to remit a debt, and hence to forgive. The verb charizomai means "to show kindness or favor." The concept came to include both the gracious action and agreeable human qualities. The present tense calls for this to be our continual practice, the middle voice means that we are to initiate the action of forgiving others and to participate in the effects or results of forgiveness. Charizomai is used of God, Who in grace freely bestows on believing sinners the gift of salvation. Charizomai means to forgive freely, graciously, not grudgingly, granting to another as a favor. Charizomai also includes the ideas of favor and goodwill and therefore, if we forgive “just as” God in Christ forgave us, we will "do it with a smile on our face" or perhaps better with a "smile" in our heart. This is the idea of releasing from a debt one who cannot pay. This is exactly what Jesus did for us! How can we do less? And now He even gives us the transforming power, through His grace and His Spirit, to do that which we could not do.

Pastor John MacArthur writes, “The text uses a reflexive pronoun, so it literally reads, “forgiving yourselves.” The church as a whole is to be a gracious, mutually forgiving fellowship. By including the phrase, “just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you…” Paul makes Christ the model of forgiveness. Because He has forgiven us, so also must we forgive others.”

Forgave, also from the Greek word charizomai, means God bestowed forgiveness as a gift out of the marvelous, infinite riches of His grace. He gave help to those who did not deserve and could never earn it. He canceled our humanly unpayable sin debt. So here the Apostle Paul is saying that believers now are to forgive others because God forgave us. Not only that, but that we are to forgive others to the degree that He forgave us which is full and unconditional.

Pastor John Eadie writes, “Christians are to forgive one another because Christ has forgiven them, for His example has all the force of a formal command. They are also to forgive one another as He has forgiven them—fully and freely, at once and for ever; not pardoning seven times, but demurring to the seventy times seven; not insulting him who has injured them by the rigid exaction of a humiliating apology, or stinging him by a sharp and unexpected allusion to his fault; not harboring antipathy, but forgetting as well as forgiving; not indulging a secret feeling of offence, and waiting for a moment of quiet retaliation; but expelling every grudge from their hearts by an honest and thorough reconciliation.”

When missionaries in northern Alaska were translating the Bible into the language of the Eskimos, they discovered there was no word in that language for forgiveness. After much patient listening, however, they discovered a word that means, “not being able to think about it anymore.” That word was used throughout the translation to represent forgiveness, because God’s promise to repentant sinners is, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Pastor D. L. Moody used this illustration in one of his sermons: “Picture our Lord Jesus Christ saying to Peter, ‘Go, hunt up the man who put the crown of thorns on My head and tell him that I love him. Tell him that he can have a crown in my kingdom, one without a thorn. Find the man who spat in my face and preach the gospel to him. Tell him that I forgive him and that I died to save him. Find the man who thrust the spear into my side and tell him that there is a quicker way to my heart.’ That is how our Lord Jesus has forgiven us. Now it is our turn. We are to forgive others and make an end of our quarrels. Whether in our home, at work, on the playing field, or in the church, we are called upon to exhibit the spirit of our Lord Jesus. God’s forgiveness, which must coordinate with His justice, is based upon the payment of the penalty by a substitute. Jesus Christ, His Son, paid the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross...Looking at Calvary, God is now free to forgive those who come to Him through the blood of Christ.”

Missionary Stan Mooneyham was walking along a trail in East Africa with some friends when he became aware of a delightful odor that filled the air. He looked up in the trees and around at the bushes in an effort to discover where it was coming from. Then his friends told him to look down at the small blue flower growing along the path. Each time they crushed the tiny blossoms under their feet, more of its sweet perfume was released into the air. Then his friends said, "We call it the forgiveness flower." This forgiveness flower does not wait until we ask forgiveness for crushing it. It does not release its fragrance in measured doses or hold us to a reciprocal arrangement. It does not ask for an apology; it merely lives up to its name and forgives—freely, fully, richly. What a touching example of outrageous forgiveness!

Corrie ten Boom told of not being able to forget a wrong that had been done to her. She had forgiven the person, but she kept rehashing the incident and so couldn't sleep. Finally Corrie cried out to God for help in putting the problem to rest. "His help came in the form of a kindly Lutheran pastor," Corrie wrote, "to whom I confessed my failure after two sleepless weeks." "Up in the church tower," he said, nodding out the window, "is a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the sexton lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on swinging. First ding, then dong. Slower and slower until there's a final dong and it stops. I believe the same thing is true of forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we've been tugging at our grievances for a long time, we mustn't be surprised if the old angry thoughts keep coming for a while. They're just the ding-dongs of the old bell slowing down." "And so it proved to be. There were a few more midnight reverberations, a couple of dings when the subject came up in my conversations, but the force—which was my willingness in the matter—had gone out of them. They came less and less often and at the last stopped altogether: we can trust God not only above our emotions, but also above our thoughts."

Who can forget the Vietnam War picture of Kim Phuc, a 9-year-old girl running naked in terror from her village, hoping to escape the horror of napalm that was burning her skin? The day was June 8, 1972. The pilot of the South Vietnamese plane was carrying out orders to bomb enemy troop positions in the village of Trang Bang. Twenty-four years later, Kim Phuc was invited to Washington in 1996 to speak at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to place a wreath of flowers to honor the US troops who had given their lives during the war. Kim had said previously that if she could talk to the pilot who dropped the napalm on her, she would forgive him. The person who introduced Kim stated, "An innocent victim of war, she holds no anger at the United States. She feels no anger at the government of Vietnam. She feels no anger at the man who dropped the napalm on her." How could she forgive those who were responsible for causing her so much pain, for scarring her for life? Kim had become a Christian. She understood forgiveness--how to give it and how to receive it (Colossians 3:13). She had been forgiven by Jesus for her own sin, and she was allowing the cycle of forgiveness to continue.

When others affect the course of your life, you face a moment of decision. Though you cannot change the past, you can affect the future by your response to the wrong you suffered at their hands. You can feed the fire of bitterness, or you can hold your scars before God and ask for grace to forgive others for what they have done in the past. As Christians, we have been forgiven a debt so massive that we could never repay it. If you want to show Christ to a world that is seeking love, remember what Christ has freely given you, and then extend that mercy to others. Jesus provided for this through His finished work on the cross. He died so that we would be pardoned and restored to the Father. When we come to Jesus, He forgives our sins of the past and all the sins we will ever commit. But we who are forgiven much must love and forgive others much! Do you need to forgive someone today? What relationship needs restoration? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas where you need to practice forgiveness. God is ready to provide the grace to enable us to forgive and to experience being fully forgiven ourselves. Then we will know the joy God gives as we move from grudges to grace and are ready for prayer.

Lord Jesus, I do not deny the pain that I have experienced, but by Your grace I give You those painful wounds, no matter how deep they are. I realize that I am powerless to fix the past or to change others, but I also understand that Your love can heal me. I give You my scars, O God, and I thank You for the peace and mercy and joy that will flourish within me in the absence of bitterness. Thank You that You’ve forgiven me so many times that I’ve lost count. Each time I fail You, You scoop me up and put me back in right standing with You. When I owe a debt of forgiveness, remind me of the times You’ve forgiven me. Give me Your heart for each person who wrongs or offends me. Help me to walk in forgiveness daily because daily You forgive me. Help me to have a forgiving heart. I need to learn how to receive Your forgiveness and how to forgive those who have wronged me. Create in me a free and forgiving spirit that sees others as You do, responds to them with Your heart, and prays for them with Your love. Help me to forgive others in light of the unconditional love I have found in You. Help me to see past my anger and to resolve disagreements with wisdom and grace. Help me to measure my words and actions before I speak or act. When others wrong me, may I remember all the times You reached down and covered my wrongs with Your mercy, and may I be filled with Your love for them. Draw me into Your Loving Arms as You call me, as I bow at the altar, help me bear my cross as I wait for a crown, and tell the world through forgiveness of the Treasure I’ve found in You. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Colossians 3:13

Look In—as you meditate on Colossians 3:13 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on Colossians 3:13 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Weekly LinkUps…

if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed

Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart Encouragement Challenge for this week is simply, “Pour out a little love with your words…simply write an encouraging blog post and then link it up here with us.”

My Daddy, Eston Willis, was a wonderful Bible teacher. One year he led a small Bible study in our home. Each week, we would gather, open in prayer, open our Bibles, and he would begin by quoting the same Scripture, Romans 8:1, at least seven times before we began...
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Something about the repetition of those God-breathed words moved God’s Truth from my head to my heart.

The 1996 Steven Curtis Chapman song, “Free,” puts lyrics and music to this Truth…

“God’s grace has broken every chain and given us these wings...If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed!” (John 8:36)

From the first chapter of Ephesians, we know that we know that we know that in Christ, we are...

BLESSED with every spiritual blessing,
         ACCEPTED in the Beloved Son of God,
                 ADOPTED as a child of the King,
                         CHOSEN before the foundation of the world,
                                 REDEEMED by His Blood, 

                                          FORGIVEN by His Grace,
                                                   LOVED with an everlasting Love.

Are these words encouraging to you? Please feel free to leave your comments in the box below. I’d love to hear from you!

re-wallpapering my mind with Truth

As I pray God’s Word, fear, doubt, and discouragement leave and His peace renews my heart and mind. As I experience His peace, I recognize when I have been held captive by controlling thoughts. As I stand in agreement with God, saying the same thing God says about my specific thoughts, I see the lies I have believed as wallpaper in my mind.

I ask God to help me tear down the lies wallpapering my mind and re-wallpaper my mind with the Truth of God’s Word...to starve the flesh and feed the Spirit. I ask God to help me see situations in my life the way He sees them. The more I see the way God sees, I become saturated with the favor of God, seeing His view of me through the blood of Christ, I become favor-minded, re-wallpapering my mind with Truth...

When you feel rejected, God says: You are ACCEPTED

"According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:5-6)

When you feel abandoned, God says: You are ADOPTED

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Eph. 1:4-5)

When you feel betrayed, God says: You are BLESSED

“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.” (Eph. 1:3) 

When you feel inadequate, God says: You are CHOSEN

“You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he” (Isa. 43:10). “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.” (Eph. 1:4)

When you feel afraid, God says: You are REDEEMED

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isa. 43:1).

When you feel condemned, God says: You are FORGIVEN
 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” (Eph. 1:7-8)

When you feel forgotten, God says: You are REMEMBERED

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isa. 49:15-16)

When you feel insecure, God says: You are SECURE

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deut. 33:12).

When you feel worthless, God says: You are CALLED

“You are a chosen [woman], a royal [priest], a holy [daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9)

When you feel unloved, God says: You are PRECIOUS and I love you

“You are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you” (Isa. 43:4). "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

When you feel unable or unstable, God says: You are ABLE

“The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” (Hab. 3:19). "God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

When you feel it’s impossible, God says: All things are possiblE

"Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27)

When you feel exhausted, God says: I will give you rest
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

When you feel you can’t go on, God says: My grace is sufficient
"But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When you feel you don’t know what to do, God says: I will direct your steps
"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When you feel you can’t go on, God says: You can do all things
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

When you feel it’s not worth it, God says: IT WILL BE WORTH IT
"We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28)

When you feel you can’t forgive yourself, God says: I FORGIVE YOU
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

When you feel you can’t manage, God says: I WILL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS

"God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:19)

When you feel worried and frustrated, God says: CAST YOUR CARE ON ME
"Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”(1 Peter 5:7)

When you don’t know what to do, God says: I WILL GIVE YOU WISDOM
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

When you feel all alone, God says: I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut.31:6)

Here's a wonderful new song to re-wallpaper your mind with God's Truth from Matthew West ... Hello, My Name Is...

 How about you? In what ways do you re-wallpaper your mind with God's Truth?