TerryLema

I usually start my Bible Reading plan on January 1 with Genesis, Psalms, and Matthew. Today I started with Ephesians.

When I read Ephesians, I usually notice words like redemption, predestined according to, heavenly realms, spiritual blessing, adopted as his sons, etc. This time as I read, different words caught my attention, such as the phrase in 1:13, “and you also were included …” [NIV]

Paul had begun the paragraph by stating, “In him [Christ] we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”  [vs 11-12 NIV]

Whew! The depth and grandeur of that statement leaves one breathless. But then he says simply, “And you also were included in Christ.”

Included in Christ. What a wonderful thought to realize that we are included in Christ, just as Paul, and the other Apostles, and those who were touched and healed by Jesus, and those who sat at his feet and heard His words. We too, are included.

It is awesome to realize that I am included in Christ, in His body, as part of His family – for all eternity – and to know the blessings eternal that are included in that small phrase.

My favorite games as a child was “Hide & Seek.” I remember the neighborhood kids gathering after supper. We lived in Sewickly, PA, in a complex of duplexes. All the backyards were open, no fences in sight. We would get together and decide what game to play and “Hide & Seek” was usually it. It didn’t require any equipment, just a bit of imagination. Someone would be designated “seeker” and would shut their eyes and count to 50 or 100 and all the others would scatter seeking places to “hide.” If someone could hide and not be found, they were declared the winner as they emerged from their hiding place.

Gen 3:8-9: “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” [NLT]

God would come in the cool of the day to the Garden and Adam and Eve would fellowship with Him. Until that one day when Adam and Eve began a game of “Hide & Seek” with God. God had only given them one rule of law to obey, don’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They could not even keep that one law.

The enemy of their soul convinced them that the true path of knowledge was found not in obedience, but in disobedience. He lied. They sinned. And we all suffer the consequences.

Everyone born into the human race since has played the game of “Hide & Seek” with God. We hide. He seeks. And unlike the game we played as children, we become winners when we are “found” and called out of our hiding place. To remain hidden is to lose, to lose everything.

I was looking for a recipe online for scalloped potatoes last week. Suddenly, my inbox, my newsfeed, Facebook … everywhere I looked online I found scalloped potato recipes. (Which wasn’t nearly as bad as when I looked up incontinence.)

Funny. Except. I also recently clicked on an article about why people are leaving Christianity, and the same thing happened. Article after article on what is “wrong” with the Church, and why people are “leaving” (according to those secular authors) “in droves.”

The world has gotten quite efficient in getting its message out to everyone. One click, one search will inundate us with like-articles and ads. Not bad when we have a variety of scalloped potato recipes appear – not good when we have a variety of worldly “opinions” on the aspects of our faith and faith-walk.

Way back in Paul’s time, he also combated misinformation about the resurrection of Christ Jesus our LORD and our faith. He said, “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things [that there is no resurrection from the dead and that we should feast and drink for tomorrow we die], for ‘bad company corrupts good character.’” [1Corinthians 15:33 NLT]

That corrupting “bad company” now invades our home via the internet, online games, etc. And its message once given is repeated and repeated. We must be so very careful what we “click” on and allow to mold our thinking to the world’s message.

Holy Spirit, keep our minds and thoughts on things that strengthen our faith and faith-walk. Amen

I was praying through one of the prayers in my prayer book the day after Christmas when I encountered a thought that stayed with me. May I … “Never make the multitude my model …” [Valley of Vision, Edited by Arthur Bennett]

Later in the day a few commercials flashed across the television announcing the Golden Globe Awards. I realized we have entered the “awards season,” when Celebrities pat themselves on the back repeatedly. It starts with the Golden Globes and then they’ll roll by at lightning speed, the Emmy’s, Grammy’s, People’s Choice, Critics Choice, MTV … on and on and on.

Female celebrities will be adorned with dresses barely there, sparkling jewels, and imaginative hairstyles. Male celebrities will try to outdo each other in wild tuxedos and formal wear. They will be photographed and fussed over and adored. And if we are not careful, we might think this is something to imitate. (Unfortunately, many of our young fall into this trap of the enemy.)

Paul made it clear whom we should imitate. “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” [1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT]

If you want to know how Paul imitated Christ Jesus, read 2 Corinthians 11:22-28. Read about prison, hard work, lashings, beatings, shipwrecks, long journeys, dangers, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, homelessness, and burdens and concerns for the church.

Let us “never make the multitude [our] model.” Amen

The hoopla of the holiday season is behind us. Most football is also behind us with just a few playoff and championship games in the next few weeks. (In case I haven’t mentioned it, I like football.)  January begins with a bang but ends much differently. Winter is setting in across the nation. Routine will be the theme of the next months.

Some will make resolutions; some might even keep them. At least for a while. We’ll go back to work, possibly lamenting the extra money we spent (or the extra pounds we gained). All the flashy sales are over; the great deals are gone. It’s back to “usual.”

Our “usual” might be health issues that we still must deal with, or problems in relationships. Maybe we’re still out of work or working but unable to keep up with our increasing economy. Maybe we’re struggling in school, or with addictions or with home situations that are volatile or dangerous.

Our “usual” might seem more than we can handle. If that is so, we need to remember God’s “usual.”

God is in His “usual” place, on the throne. He has not, will not, cannot abdicate His glorious LORD-ship. He is, “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” [1 Tim 6:15-16]

Nor will God ignore the plight of His people. How many times do we read the pronouncement in the New Testament? “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” [2Thess 1:2]

So today, as we contemplate our “usual” in the new year before us – let’s never forget that God’s “usual” is always ours and that it trumps all difficulties and problems we might face. Blessed be His Holy Name.

I want to begin 2025 with a last thought from the past Christmas season. That age old discussion that comes up every year at Christmas – just when was Jesus was born. Some groups say April is a better option. Others says Jesus was conceived in December. I say, who cares.

I mean does it really matter the date we CELEBRATE when God came to be with us, Immanuel. What matters is that He did come. He did live and die and was resurrected the third day. He did ascend into heaven to be seated at the Right Hand of the Father. And He is coming again to receive His own.

 I think sometimes the enemy of our soul loves to get us down in the weeds arguing over some trivial fact rather than focusing on the grand scheme.

God sent His Son to us, in the fullness of time, meaning at just the right time. If that’s April, great. Or July, great. Or December, great. What is important to me at least, is not the when, it’s the why. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” [Gal 4:4-5 NKJV]

God sent His Son so that I might be redeemed from the marketplace of sin to be adopted as His daughter. If the world wants to celebrate that fact on December 25 each year, I’m fine with that … because I’m celebrating that every day in every month in every year. I’m bound to get it right at least once a year!

Wonder of Wonders!

Tomorrow is a new year; in a way it is a new beginning. But I thought it would be great to end this year with this verse from Galatians 4:7: “Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Therefore. The reason the therefore is there for is to remind us that this is the outcome of what preceded it. Because God brought forth His Son in the fullness of time, because God brought forth His Son so that we might be redeemed and receive the adoption as sons and daughters, because God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts so that we might share the same intimacy Jesus had and call God our Father, we are now no longer a slave but a son, and in addition an heir of God through Christ.

No longer are we a slave bound to sin, serving the god of this world, frightened by death and the grave, outcast, shunned, unclean, full of evil thoughts and desires. Now we are a son and have been qualified to “share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”  [Col 1:12 NIV]

Too often as we approach a new year, we look back on the old one thinking only about the things we want to do differently. We want to eat better, lose weight, make better choices, save money, spend less, be more thankful, find a new job, etc.

This year however, I want to approach this New Year knowing that I certainly did something right so many years ago when I came to Christ. I want to remember that I am “no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

“Wonder of Wonders!”  See you in the New Year!

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” [Galatians 4:6 NKJV]

 Because we are sons (and daughters). I love the present tense, especially in Scripture. We are already sons and daughters of God. We are not waiting until we get there to become sons and daughters. Our adoption is a done deal.

Isn’t it interesting that in the Old Testament God is not addressed as Father? He is referred to as THE Father, but the intimacy of addressing Him as Father is absent. Not until the New Testament when Jesus arrives on the scene do we hear God addressed as Father, and not just Father, but OUR Father.

God, as part of the redemption brought to us by Christ, has now placed the Spirit of His Son in our hearts so that we can share the same intimacy that Jesus had. We can boldly approach God as our Father and not fear that we will be spurned or ignored.

We need to remember that this intimacy comes to us when the Spirit of His Son is in our hearts. It is not an intimacy shared with those who have rejected God’s plan of salvation. They may think of God as a Father, such as the Father of Creation, but without the Spirit of His Son, which comes to us through redemption, they cannot understand the intimacy found in those two little words … OUR FATHER.

“Wonder of Wonders!” 

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” [Galatians 4:4-5 NKJV]

God had a plan for Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child. When the fullness of time arrived for Jesus to be born, God’s plan was working right on time. God’s plan for us, unveiled in that Child was also right on time. That plan was redemption, so that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Adoption is a wonderful word to me. Bob and I have grandchildren that carry none of our genes but all of our hearts.

Little Carter (our first) miraculously appeared, 9-months old, big blue eyes, blond and beautiful. He became my ‘bud’ and was my only grandchild until Marcus arrived eight years later, and Travis six years after that. Recently, we added four more grandchildren and one great grandchild. The love I have is the exact same love for all of them. Each one is a delight in their own way, each one fills my heart with joy.

When we came to Christ in our helpless state, He redeemed us by His sinless life, His death on a cross, and His Resurrection and Victory over sin and death. That redemption allowed us to be adopted into the family of God, to be called children of God, sons and daughters of the King.

God’s plan for each of us might be different here on this earth, in the here and now. It might take us to different places, involve different ministries and life experiences, but the one thing that is sure in God’s plan is our adoption. The love that He has is the exact same love for His adopted sons and daughters as it is for His Only-Begotten Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord.

“Wonder of Wonders!”  What a thought to focus on as this year 2024 winds down!

I remember a time when Bob and I drove to California to spend Christmas with our son’s family. We were hoping for non-eventful-weather driving, checking the Weather Channel for what we thought was the best day for winter traveling.

Hopes for uneventful travel were dashed about 25 miles from home when we encountered snow, which at times became sleet. Roads were slick. Turning south at Jordan Valley, snow got heavier. At Winnemucca we had heavy rain. Over Donner Pass we added fog to the heavy rain, and one lovely microburst which pelted us with rocks. Finally, around Sacramento, the sun came out with 55-degree temperatures.  We laughed and noticed that we hit everything but hail. Shouldn’t laugh at Mother Nature. We had hail and fierce winds on Christmas Eve in Modesto. All in all, a typical winter trip of 635 miles and about 12-hours. At least it was in a warm comfortable car.

It is about 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, that’s how far Joseph and Mary traveled … with Mary 9-months pregnant.  I wonder what the weather was like then. I wonder how many days it took and if there were places to rest along the way. I wonder if they understood that the Child she carried had to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecies. I wonder if they truly understood God’s plan or if they were simply obeying the king’s decree to be registered for military and tax purposes.

“When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” [Gal 4:4 NKJV]

That first Christmas “the fullness of time had come.”  God was appearing in human flesh, in Bethlehem, in humility. God had a plan, and the time had come for God’s plan to be unveiled.

God has a plan for each of us. We don’t always see the pieces and parts as they fall into place, any more than probably Joseph and Mary understood all the reasons behind this arduous trip at this time, a trip that ended in a most humble place, a gathering place for animals.

God, in flesh appearing. “Wonder of Wonders!”