Thoughts for the Day

God blesses us as Christians

We praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in very many ways. Because we belong to Christ, we enjoy all the good things that come from heaven. God blesses our spirits with those good things. Before God made the world, he chose us to be his people because of Christ. He chose us so that we would please him. Because we belong to Christ, God accepts us as completely good. This shows how much he loves us. Long ago, he already decided to accept us into his family as his children, because of Jesus Christ. He chose us to belong to him because it made him very happy. As a result, we praise him, because he is great and he has been so kind to us. He has given us so much because of his Son, whom he loves very much. When Christ died as a sacrifice on the cross, he paid the price to make us free. Because of Christ's death on our behalf, God has forgiven our sins. God is so very kind that he has done all this for us!

(Lectionary, Easy-to-read Version)

Thoughts

The first time I read the whole of the Bible aloud I was really shocked on the last day to start reading the Epistles to the new Church. The reason was practical. There was frequently no space to take a breath! Many of these letters were written with few if any full-stops! Verses 3 to 14 of Ephesians Chapter 1, is like this. It was written as one long paragraph with additional clauses piled on clauses. So today I have given us an "Easy-to-read" version of the text which puts in the full-stops, and I have only produced the first seven verses above.

The letter (which was perhaps written by St Paul, or perhaps not!) was written to Gentile Christians to explain what it meant to be a Christian, and the opening long section is a Benediction, that is a Blessing. We are accustomed to receiving a blessing at the end of a Service in Church, but the writer of Ephesians says God has given us His Blessings in many ways. He blesses our spirits, and because of His love for His Son, Jesus Christ, he gives His gifts to us, notably:

• God chose us to be His people.
• God accepts us as His children because we believe in Jesus.
• God forgives our sins because of the sacrifice made by Jesus.

Our response is simple. We must thank God for all his blessings, and turn to Him in praise.

Lord God Almighty,
we praise and thank You
for all Your blessings to us this day,
of which Ephesians reminds us.
You blessed us by sending Your Son
to effect a rescue plan;
You blessed us when You called us
to be Your children;
and You bless us by forgiving the sin,
that we humbly confess this day.
Make us worthy of all Your blessings
as we start this New Year, we pray.
Amen.