Today Our Daily Bread Eph 3

Ephesians 3:1-21
God's Secret Plan Revealed
1I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles. 2As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles. 3As I briefly mentioned earlier in this letter, God himself revealed his secret plan to me. 4As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this plan regarding Christ. 5God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.
6And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God's children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus. 7By God's special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10God's purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church. 11This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome. 13So please don't despair because of what they are doing to me here. It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged.
Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Empowering
14When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, F4 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:F4: Some manuscripts read the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
We have got to stop separating ourselves from others, as though we are more worthy of God’s promises and love than they are, or as though their sins cause them to be lower than we are. Jesus died for ALL people. Prejudices separate us from even the potential of sharing the love of God with people. The walls of pre-judging others must fall down for the gospel to have its purposeful effect. Why would anyone in any condition be exempt from His promise of salvation other than to outright deny Him, as in the rebellion of satan himself? Even when humans say with their mouths, that they do not believe in God or whatever they speak. Many times they do not know or recognize the condition of their own hearts and it is just ignorant mumbo jumbo. The comments are rather cries of desperation to see if he’d know them even if they reject Him. His cry is to know them, for them to really know Him and that some miraculous day they’d also make His name known in the earth where He’s set them to be on earth. Are you at all willing to risk your own comfort for the gospel sake? Can you step out in faith for the unlovely or undeserving? Dear God, GIVE us a heart of flesh, just like yours, that above all we’d desire Your kingdom to come, above all other desire, goals and plans, we’d have to see Your kingdom come! The kingdom is within us and can be within all who believe. Contrary to some opinions, this revelation and passion is not Lena’s new fad or a passing call or dream to fulfill my ministry on earth. This call is for all who believe in Him and receive Him, all who would be His disciples. It is our life we now live, in Christ. Looking at vs 10, it IS the reason we were born. We were not born to ride, or sail or paint or sing etc, we were born to Love, because Love conquers all. Love goes and saves, Love disarms the enemies of God! It takes down strongholds that have come against God’s covenant nature from before humans existed. Do you know God created us, humans, to bring back the peace of the atmospheric realm? God set us here to orchestrate oneness in rebellion? If you did not know that, please be informed today. It is God’s plan, it is true, You are God’s plan for more than just the earth, but the whole universe ( remember uni = One, verse = Word), to bring back One word, God’s word, rather than the words of rebellion satan spoke in God’s face and set into motion a rebellion that continues to spread lest we Go and bring the message of peace, the message of Good News to any and all who will hear it.