Today OUr Daily Bread Eph 1 ( From Rock Church's Daily Reading list) & Ro 16:19-20 & Acts 17:6

Ephesians 1:1-23 GreetingRedemption in Christ1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Redemption in Christ3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both F25 which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14who F26 is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding F27 being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.Footnotes
F25: 1:10 NU-Text and M-Text omit both.
F26: 1:14 NU-Text reads which.
F27: 1:18 NU-Text and M-Text read hearts.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
Did you know every word has a deeper meaning than what appears? Those who study the word of God find the hidden things in the word of God, that any casual observer would not see. "The saints at Ephesus…" Think of a spiritual location on your spiritual journey of growth in Christ. You’re "at" a certain place in your walk with God and there is a grace of God on you to be where you are at a certain time. Such as, a newborn Christian who has just come to know Christ, may not have all habits and worldly behaviors just "taken from them" when they come to know Christ. There is a grace from God on their lives to lead them towards change, the grace carries them towards the change, and when change is evidenced in their life they don’t really need as much grace in that area anymore. Now when new growth is being prompted in another area of their lives, again they will need God’s grace to bring them from revealing conviction, towards the Spirit-led change. The word- Ephesus means, "permitted". That’s where those saints were at as a whole in their walk with the Lord. There may have been a bit of permission to live as they lived, a grace on them to be discipled and learn as they grew and to get to that next place of growth in the spirit. I also think of permit in Matthew 18:18. There is a certain power given each human being by God on earth. Other spirit beings do not have this power on earth given to them by God. God gave this power in the Garden of Eden to Adam & Eve and Jesus reminded us of this power. It is the power of the will. The old KJV says, whatever you bind will be bound, and whatever you loose will be loosed. (both in heaven and earth- speaking of prayer decisions made towards change) The New Century Version says it this way: "I tell you the truth, the things you don't allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.
This is where we move from the permissive will of God, which should be leading us to the perfect will of God. Permissiveness is like grace, it is only for a time, until. Until what? Until faith comes and our minds and decisions come into alignment with His. The famous prayer of Jesus needs to become our prayer in every area of our walks with Christ- NOT my will, but YOURS (Father) be accomplished, now, not after I die, but now where I live to be an example for Christ. I bet that this fellowship of believers were young in their walks and there was grace upon them to go on to reach the place of being in the perfect will of God. That does not mean I have to attain some certain success, it means y love for Christ has developed enough through a continual walk with Him, to want to respond favorably towards His will, my will being changed to the same will as His.
How can a mere human being be holy and without blame in the sight of God? By growing their faith through exercise, by loving God with all of their hearts, by conforming their minds to the will and word of God, by being in fellowship with other believers who will teach and train them in the ways of the Lord. It’s not about having arrived, it’s about getting there on purpose and not quitting. This is the biggest part, really expounded on yesterday, that the stains of guilt are washed away with faith in the shed blood of Jesus. Not allowing sins and mistakes to keep you back from growth in Christ, but going onward, by confessing sin and receiving the cleansing of guilt and shame through faith in His ultimate sacrifice for you. This is how enemies (of your very soul) get placed underfoot. Our obedient love and our continued repentance and conformity to God’s word and will, keeps us victorious with Him, as He is so are we, as we abide (or live) in Christ.
Romans 16:19-20 19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Acts 17:6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.