August 10, 2016 – Ephesians 1:4-5

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  Ephesians 1:4-5Such immense love for God to love us before we were, seeing us as holy and without fault.  He saw us as family through Jesus.How do we respond?  That is the question.  How do we respond to the God creates such rich beauty, design and glory, we call the world.God did even more — He sent His Son Jesus to show us the way to live and love God.After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”  Matthew 3:16-17.  Our sins and the sins of every living person were nailed on the cross with Jesus.  How we respond and live to this great love tells God whether we love Him or not.  God lets us choose.  His plan is that we accept a package deal — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that will live inside us.  Do we respond with impure thoughts and words every day?God laid out his plan.  How we respond determines our destiny.  Are we living for the here and now, or for eternity with our Lord?  And this is the plan:  At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth.  Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,  for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to his plan.  Ephesians 1:10-11