Eph 2 To whom You belong

Ephesians 2
Made Alive with Christ
1Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. 2You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else.


4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, 5that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!) 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms--all because we are one with Christ Jesus. 7And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.
8God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Oneness and Peace in Christ
11Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders by birth. You were called "the uncircumcised ones" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from God's people, Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.
14For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us. 15By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups. 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near. 18Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

A Temple for the Lord
19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. 20We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Lena's Journalin'
We are God's living moving breathing house. What are we representing, saying, living? We are living witnesses in this world. Our words mean nothing to the world unless we provide life back up. they believe what we do. So what are we doing with God, with His word, with His spirit, with His love?
Note the repeated words = "were, former, used to, refuse, were born, were under- just like everyone else"....
Do you ever remember telling your ma, "Hey ma, everyone else does it?" She usually answered somethinglike, "We aren't everyone else" or "So, WHAT!".
Today I want to say the same thing. "Don't be like everyone else, or who the world would tell you is everyone else!"
My husband used to ask me, "Who's everyone? Who's "they?""
I'd read A book and when I'd tell him about the book's contents I'd use the words, "They said"
he'd be like- "Who's "They"?"
Who's words are we putting stock in? Whose are we living by, whose words sway us into action that is of eternal benefit? I hope if no other words and if no one else's we'd listen and harken to God's.

Do you get yet how much God loves you?
Do you get that?
Come on, that beating was taken willingly because of love, for you, for us, for the world.
If you're a parent you have a sense of doing almost anything for your child, even to the point of dying. Where do you think we got that loving and protective sense from?

Did you know Jesus is Savior of the whole wide world?
But He is only Lord of those who receive Him and live in covenant relationship with him all of their days long.
It is time to lay down petty offenses, against God, against His church body, against other men and live the Christian life, going all the way, leading others to righteousness.
Time is very, very short (at least for us in the light of eternity) we only have so much time here left to engage in His loving work. Isaiah 58:12 Daily repetative verse - Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.