Ephesians 1:4 Choosing Us

I was one of the youngest in my class, what didn't help was that I was also blessed with the McCord speed, so I was also one of the slowest.  Youngest, slowest, smallest..... This usually means your also one of the last picked.  Oh the humiliation, my eyes staring down at the ground as all the other kids were picked.  A glimmer of hope as I somehow thought that maybe I would be picked before the boy with one leg or the blind girl; but no.  The slow walk as the other kids ran off to assume their positions of grandeur out on the field, my slow walk to right field to some other obscure spot.  dreaming of being any place other than where I was at.  OK, so maybe it wasn't that bad.  There were times when a buddy of mine was captain and I might get picked earlier than usual.  One glorious summer I didn't get to play little league with the rest of the kids in my class because of the age cut off date, I had to play with the two grades below me.  What a glorious summer that was.  I wasn't batting 9th, didn't sit on the bench.  I felt like an all star.  I think we all remember that feeling.  I gotta belief that God knew how I felt when I was one of the last picked.  In knowing,  he pushed Paul to write one verse addressing that lonely little boy.  That verse is...

Ephesians 1:4
For he chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In Love.

I remember the few times that I was a captain and allowed to chose.  Carefully measuring and plotting out just who to pick.  For a few brief moments I was as focused on this task as any Major League Scout.  Should I pick a friend or pick one of the fast kids.  I didn't get to chose that often, I think the largest part of that reasoning being that I did deliberate, did take to long to choose; after all, there is only so many minutes in PE class.  What is comforting about this verse is that it tells us that God did chose us.  This tells me that before anything existed God knew that I would come into being, that events would occur in my life that would lead me to him and that I would accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  It's easy to think that with all the people that have ever existed, all the Christians that have ever accepted Christ into their Hearts, all those people that are some day going to walk the streets of Heaven; he chose me.  He chose that short, chubby slow kid from Buffalo Oklahoma.  The kid that couldn't hit a ball because he was too ashamed to wear his glasses.  He chose him.  It's amazing to me to think that before everything, he knew of me.  To me this puts a personal aspect on my faith.  Christians number into the millions, how easy would it have been for God to have kicked back and said I'll take the top 50 percent or maybe the first 2 million to follow me.  It is amazing because what this verse states is that he knew me before the big bang, if science is right that's well over 13.7 billion years ago. 

The time thing is awe inspiring, but what is truly inspiring is that he chose me.  He chose me knowing everything I have done, every thought I have ever had or will have.  My life hasn't been perfect, far from it.  I've had my ups and downs.  I've done some things I'm proud of, but allot of things I am not proud of, allot of things I'm ashamed of.  13.7 billion years ago Jesus knew this and he said "I want that guy".  He didn't pick me at my best, he chose me knowing my worse.  I keep hearing that God is a vengeful God.  I've read this in the bible and I know it is true.  But what I also know is that in spite of all my faults, all the sin in my life, Christ knows me and he chose me.

Here is God the Creator, he created everything, knows everything.  Mountains, the Universe, Life itself: He created all of this in 6 days.  With just a mere thought he could wipe out or destroy everything.  He has power that I can not even fathom.  To sit there and think that God the Creator, God the Judge chose me is one thing; to sit there and say he wiped away my sin is another.  

The second part of this verse says he chose us to to be holy and blameless in His sight.  To do this something had to happen.  Something big had to occur, because I know that I am far from being Holy and Blameless.  What did happen is that he loved me.  How much did he love me?  He came here in the Flesh, Roman Soldiers ripped that flesh from his body, He was hung from a Cross, suffocating.   Not only did he choose us, but he also died for us.  I remember the day my buddy J.D. picked me to be first on his dodge ball team.  What a glorious day that was.  We lost that day, the short chubby usually isn't buddies with the greatest athlete, but it did feel good to be picked first.  That feeling is nothing though compared to the feeling that God the Creator chose me 13.7 billion years ago, he chose me knowing I was a sinner, knowing I wasn't perfect.  He chose me knowing that his sacrifice, his blood sacrifice, the death of his Son on the Cross would make me "holy and blameless in His sight"  and he did it out of Love.   I'd play Dodge Ball for him any day. 

Ephesians 1:3 Powerfull stuff!!!!

Ahhh....  Ephesians. Definitely a different tone from Galatians, but still your meat and potatoes of our faith.  I love it that Ephesians gets right to the heart of the issue.  The "Holy Trinity".  I fondly remember early Sunday School lessons.  3 in 1.  The Father, Son and Holy Ghost all together as our one true God.  Yet what about those parts of the bibles where Jesus prays to God, where he cries out on the cross, "Father, why has though forsaken me?"  Who was Jesus talking to?  John 3:16 "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son"?  If he God gave us his son, then how could they be one?  All of these were questions that in truth still cause questions.  Now don't get me wrong.  I do believe in the 3 as 1.  I understand we have our father about (the creator), Jesus (God in the Flesh) and the Hold Ghost (Christ Spirit on Earth).  All three coming together as a total package.  Much like football has a Quarterback, Linebackers, and a Kicker are come Together to form a team.  Ephesians helps spell that out for me. 

Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, in Christ.

To me this passage is deep.  The initial part of the verse spells out the distinction between God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This part explaining what has caused my questions, That questions being "So there is a separation between the 3".   When I look and I think about part that states who has blessed us, I begin to understand that this is something that God has done. ( An action, a verb ).  It's comforting knowing that God has done something for us.  He isn't just sitting on a throne waiting for us to fulfill our duties as Christians, he isn't saying once you do this I will do this.  It simply states who has blessed us.  Meaning God did something for us, he reached out to us.  This is huge in that it separates from the other major belief systems in the world, which state their followers must fulfill these actions prior to experiencing this.  Pretty heavy stuff if you ask me.  My mind spins farther when I start thinking about every spiritual blessings in heaven.  My big question is, how can that be?  If I've been blessed with all of this then why is life so hard.  The understanding comes when you read the simple words "in Christ".  It is through him that we have all of those blessings.  The portal or door to these heavenly blessings exist solely through him.  The reason it exist through him is that our God and Father of our Lord Did something.  He reached out to us through his son.  In reading, in understanding this passage I begin to see that their is a tie in between the 2.  God our Father and Jesus.  This tie in is an action that God did, that through this action we can achieve all the heavenly spiritual blessings promised us in this verse.  Wow......  Powerful stuff

Galatians 4, 5, and 6

I love reading Galatians, to me it is the meat and potatoes of Christianity.  I guess that one of the big questions that everyone has in this life is what happens after we die.  If there is a Heaven and Hell, what do we do to get to Heaven.  Pretty good questions. What I love about Paul is that he is blunt.  In Galatians no words are minced, no speaking around the subject; Paul pretty much says "Here is the truth, believe it, live it, accept it."  Just as I love Paul's bluntness I also love that Galatians is a great summary to the old Testament.   A great perspective setter.  When I read through the bible I remember all those nights I sat reading about sacrifice, about temples, the begats,  about the rules of worship; Crazy stuff.  I remember my head spinning as i tried to make since of it all.  Galatians does that for me.  It spells out the one truth about the new testament and that is that Christ is a game changer.  Not only was he the one true sacrifice that made all those others obsolete, but his death on the cross made all those rules and issues of worship obsolete.  He is the risen head of the Church, the reason for this faith.  It is his sacrifice that purified us, washed away our sins.  We owe nothing, he paid the price.  It's amazing and troubling sometimes to think about.  Paul spells it out, that as easy as the truth is that he puts out, it is sometimes easy for us not to see it.  It's not our actions that get us into heaven, its our faith in him, our faith in his grace, in his sacrifice.

Galatians 3:11
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for The just shall live by faith.

Having just returned from Africa, it's amazing that God led me to read exactly what it is that I needed to read.  Not only does Galatians talk about Faith, Religion and Judaism; it also directly addresses Islam.  How powerful is it that Paul addresses this faith in Galatians 5 by stating..


Galatians 4:29-31
29. But as then he that was born after the Flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit even so it is now.  
30. Nevertheless what saith the scripture?  Cast out the bondwoman and her son:  for the sons of the bondwoman shall not be heirwith the son of the freewoman.
31. So then, brethren we are not the children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

This was written prior to Islam, yet it addresses it directly.  The Fulani people are still an amazing people and will always be close to my heart.  Yet their lives are dedicated to Islam.  The lives of the People of Afghanistan are dedicated to the same.  Their practice and adherence to their faith is something I do admire and respect, yet it is religion, it is controlled by adherence to their laws.  Paul is spelling out in Galatians that it is not adherence to rules, be it of Judaism or Islam; it is adherence to our faith in Christ.  We must see his sacrifice for what it is.  His sacrifice is the one act of love that sets us free.  The one act that fills that empty area of our souls, that area we so desperately attempt to fill.  He alone can fill it.  He alone can take our yoke, shoulder our burdens.  It is through love that he created us.  Created us for fellowship with him.  His love led to his sacrifice, his very human actions.  What a perfect God it is that we have.  It is not our actions, it is not our sacrifices that allow us into heaven, it is our faith.  When I have faith in him everything is possible.  My faith is what allows that fellowship that we were created for.  My faith in him means that I realize what he did for me, I see what his sacrifice meant.  I stand amazed at it, awed by it.  It is faith, not actions.  How amazing that is.  I know times are tough, I know I have difficult days ahead.  God doesn't promise it will be easy.  But what he says is that I've already paid the price, all you have to do is believe.  All you have to do is have faith.


Galatians 6:17
17.  From Henceforth let no man trouble me:  for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For me this is an amazing verse, one I had to think about.  Deeply.  The more I think, the more I realize it's importance.  Let no man trouble me.   Wow.....  almost humanly impossible to do.  Are there marks on my body. Yes. Marks put there by the pain I have felt by living a human life, a life of the flesh.  Scars on the outside and in.  Did Jesus put them there.  If he is the creator you got to say yes.  Yet those marks and those troubling mean vindictive people I find in my life, should they trouble me?  If i truly am a man of faith, if I live my life as Paul tells me too and realize the importance of that faith.  Then  no, they shouldn't trouble me.  It is my faith that tells me that my God is a loving God.  He created me for a purpose, all lessons will lead to his glory, all scars, everything.  Faith can move mountains, yet without Love, without his love, it is like cymbals clanging in the wind.  Jesus, you da man!!!!!!

Answered prayers.

Learned a big lesson last week. When you pray, you'd best be expecting an answer.  Allot of crazy stuff happened last week.  Started off with me praying about following God's will.  Then he answered my prayer.  Monday morning I found out I'm not going to be working at good old Perry next school year.  My principal told me he wouldn't be recommending me for re-employment.  I know how I would of taken this previously, but it honestly felt like a relief.  Don't get me wrong, i hate the prospect of unemployment, but if you earnestly say to yourself and pray for his will to be shown.  Maybe being scared isn't something that worry about when his will is shown.  Now is my opportunity.  Instead of being frightened, I'm excited.  What does God have in store for me.  On the same day I found out that I was going to have an article written about me in the Stillwater  Newspaper titled head of class.  Fired and named area teacher of the month all on the same day.  God does work mysteriously, and with a sense of humor.  Then at the end of the week Kurt, my buddy I've coached with before begins talking with me about coaching at another school.  Whammy....  Like I stated before, its hard for me to picture God exposing me to Afghanistan and Niger, without a grander purpose in mind.  I pray that I become a vessel through which he can work.  As brother Monroe says a "Soul Winner".  I know before that i would have let anger fill my and tarnish my soul.  I remember anger, I've drank it, tasted it, lived it.  At one point in my life it consumed me.  I know I have reason to be angry.  The reason I'm being fired is because my principals son is getting a D in my class and the kid doesn't like me.  Several kids don't like it that they have to work in my class and are dropping out.  He uses this as an excuse to fire me.   It is a struggle teaching and trying to push kids to learn.  I know what lies in front of these kids and it scares me for them.  Teaching is tough.  It would be easy to just let things slide, easy to look the other way.  Be their buddies, but I can't teach that way.  I have a passion for teaching, a passion for these kids.  To lessen my teaching would be to betray the importance I feel about it.  Crazy thing is I can see several students do realize and do appreciate my teaching.  I do know I am doing the right thing, God has pressed that into my heart.  I pray for these kids here at Perry.  Many do want the easy way, to do as little as possible, and that isn't the way that is going to bring them success in life.  This generation of student is different.  I look at the obesity I am now seeing.  It is scary.  I look at how tough it is to teach from the heart and my heart burst open, yet all I can do is control what I teach, how I teach and keep my head up.  God has put me here for a reason.  he has put conviction in my heart for a reason.  I just pray that as I find out that reason that he strengthens me and prepares me to please him.  It is through him that I was given life,  Through him that I find grace.  Through him that I find strength.  In my weakness, in my sorrow he is there to lift me up. 

Dear God please answer my prayers, guide me, show me your will.  Thank you for the many ways you have blessed me and my family.  I am excited about the future, I'm learning from the past.  My past doesn't define me, yet it did create me.  It did shape and mold me.  Through Christ I am reborn and I pray that through him I learn to serve to glorify him.  In the Name of Jesus I pray.... Amern

Following his will.

Hard to believe I've been back a week already from Niger.  Before I left my Uncle told me you never really leave Africa, I know deep down he is right.  It's hard to close my eyes without seeing the faces, or open my ears without hearing the sound of Africa.  Deep down I know I will go back, must go back.  This week has been full of lots of questions.  Deep questions about what I'm doing now, what i want to to.  Questions about God's plan for my life.  I remember being so fired up after returning from Afghanistan.  Putting myself in debt taking classes.   I want to do the same now.  In my heart I want to enter the seminary, become a preacher.  But can I do this when I have a family that relies on my paycheck.  There are allot of question marks about my current job.  Will it be there next year?  Do I want to be here next year?  Would my heart be in it if I stayed.  It's hard for me to think that the Lord would take me to the places he has, allow me to see the things he has, place the desire in my heart that is there; without having a purpose for it.  Being a Christian means truly taking your desires out of the picture and allowing his will to be yours.  I learned this lesson at Stilwell.  If it had been my will, we would have stayed.  Instead we came to Perry.  If I hadn't of came here I would never of went to Africa. These dreams and desires would have never been brought back up.  I can now see the purpose and reason for coming to Perry, a year ago I was still questioning.  My faith was easy with Brother Monroe and Brother Haney, here it has struggled.  Teaching and Coaching were easy there, this last year has been tough.  But the truth is God brought me here for a reason.  Here I have been tasked with learning new skills, teaching new subjects.   Through God I was able to put up the schools website, i have also learned allot of lessons I might not have been able to learn in Stilwell.  Lessons that I know deep down have made me a different and stronger person.  I know now that true strength comes from being able to bow down on bended knee, look up into the heavens and pray for strength and answers.
        
Dear Lord I pray to you now that it is your will that guides me, I pray that through Grace I experience peace and patience.  I pray that your love flows through me and allows me to have a positive impact upon the students that I teach and the community that I am apart of.  Lord thank you for the many blessing you have bestowed upon me.  It is in your name that I pray, Jesus Christ, Amen.