ODJ: abundance
March 14, 2014
READ: Ephesians 1:3-14
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ (v.3).
The other day I took my son to a baseball batting cage and paid for eight sets of 25 pitches. To our pleasant surprise, when the round finished, the balls kept coming—and coming. The machine had malfunctioned and as a result it kept delivering an abundance of pitches. This reminded me of the time a friend’s 5 year old daughter woke up and said, “Last night I had the best dream. I was at the beach and more toys than I could ever hope for washed up on the shore for me to have!”
In reality, rarely are earthly possessions and recreational activities showered upon us in abundance. To the contrary, most of us must work to earn money for batting machine rounds and for the toys, cars and homes we desire.
As we abide in Jesus Christ, however, Paul reveals that God has . . .
• loved us and chosen us even before the world was created (Ephesians 1:4).
• made us holy and perfect (v.4).
• adopted us into His family (v.5).
• showed us His grace (v.6).
• forgiven our sins (v.7).
• showered us with kindness, wisdom and understanding (v.8).
• enabled us to hear and understand His salvation plan (vv.9,13).
• given us an inheritance (vv.11,14).
• placed within us His Holy Spirit (v.14).
From God’s abundance “we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17).
Today, consider what God has lavished on you and the blessings He offers you through His Son Jesus! —Roxanne Robbins
365-day plan› Judges 16:22-31
Read what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19 and consider what it says about God and how He will provide for your needs.
How have you seen the essence of Matthew 25:29 unfold in your own life? What does it mean for God to give us abundantly what we need but not what we might want?
