Category Archives: Blessing

Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Gifts, Giving, Love, Modeling, Pleasure, Scripture

SUPER ABUNDANTLY

EPHESIANS 1:8

“which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight”

Have you ever seen an elaborate, over-the-top gift or giving? I remember one time at a children’s home where I served, we had a Christmas party sponsored by a local insurance company. This company had adopted one of the cottages on campus where eight teenage boys lived. When we arrived at the party, each boy had their own round dining room table (you know, the big fold up kind) stacked about four or five feet high with gifts. It literally took four vanloads to get all the gifts back to the cottage. Those boys had been lavishly blessed.

To catch the full context of today’s verse, glance back at the end of verse 7. Paul said, “according to the riches of His grace.” So, Paul is referring to God lavishing His grace on us. That even further intensifies yesterday’s blog. But what does the Greek word for “lavish” mean? According to Strong’s, it means, “to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous.” It comes from the Greek word, perissos, which already means “beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation.” That means God gives us grace that super exceeds our expectations, more than we can imagine. Hallelujah!

APPLICATION

I found something interesting about this word for “lavished” used in today’s verse. It is the same word used over in Luke 9:17 for “left over.”  “And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.” Think about that. Jesus not only fed 5,000 men (not counting the women and children), but he lavishly provided leftovers for the crowd. I had missed that in my previous readings of that story.

This word is also used by Paul over in 2 Corinthians 1:5, “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” In this verse, it is translated as “abundance” and “abundant.” We like the last part of that verse but not necessarily the first part. Who wants to be lavishly given sufferings? Not me and probably not you. But there it is, right there in God’s Word.

Don’t worry, though. If God lavishly gives us anything, we know it is for our good and because He loves us. You don’t lavishly give anything to anyone you don’t care about. How can you lavishly love someone today? How can you bless them? I love it when the Lord tells my wife and I to lavishly bless a server at a restaurant. It blesses me that we can bless them that way. Do it today. Lavishly bless someone.

O Lord, You are too, too good to me. Thank You for Your lavish gifts You give to me.

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Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Filled, Grace, Redemption, Salvation, Scripture

ACCORDING TO

EPHESIANS 1:7

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace”

Let me just say to begin with that time and space do not allow me to dissect and teach the depth of this verse. We could literally spend weeks discussing each phrase of this verse and not finish. So, I want to zero in on two words, “according to.” They may seem superfluous or unimportant but oh the depth of their meaning.

Paul knew the riches of Christ came to him according to the wealth of God’s love towards him. Can you imagine how Paul felt after all the hurt he had imposed on the early church? All that was forgiven “according to” God’s salvation, “according to the riches of His grace.” I read recently “Grace is Paul entering heaven to the cheers of those whom he martyred.” I can’t even begin to imagine how grateful Paul was.

APPLICATION

But wait just a second – shouldn’t we be just as grateful? Our sins are just as heinous as Paul’s. We may not have killed someone, but our sins stink in the nostrils of God. “According to” is a simple little Greek word, kata. It can mean according to, by way of or against. Let me explain this word another way.

Suppose you had a very wealthy friend who had promised you a monetary gift. Now, if they give to you “out of” their wealth, it could be a small or large gift. It is simple out of it. But if they give to you “according to” their wealth, then that gift is measured up against the entirety. It would be given in proportion to their wealth.

God has given us grace “according to” the deep wealth of His grace. In other words, He has flooded us with grace. His grace is everlasting. His grace is above and beyond anything we could imagine. You can never deserve it. You just have to accept. It is free grace but not cheap grace. It cost God His only begotten Son. As Paul says in the verse, our redemption is through His blood. Amen? Amen!

Lord, I praise You for the riches of Your grace and that You have given to me according to and not out of.

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Adoption, Bible, Blessing, Chosen, God's Will, Pleasure, Salvation, Scripture

HIS GOOD PLEASURE

EPHESIANS 1:5

“He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”

Most children, contrary to popular belief, want to please their parents. They want to be told they have done well by their father or mother. When a child presents his mom with a piece of art they have completed in class, they love to hear how wonderful it is. They love to hear words of affirmation after cleaning their bedroom (can I get an Amen?).

God does things just to please Himself, like adopting us as His sons and daughters. That is what Paul says in today’s verse. I am not going to get into the topic of predestination for obvious reasons. Let’s concentrate on what God has predestined us to (whenever you think that happens). The Pulpit Commentary says, “but the point here is simply that it pleased God to choose and ordain the Ephesian believers to the privilege of adoption through Jesus Christ. This is presented as a ground of praise, a reason for their blessing God.”

APPLICATION

In John 1:12 we read, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,” He gave the right! It was pleasing to Him. It was according to His good pleasure. And when we are made His children, we inherit all He has for us, as we are told in Romans 8:17, “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

The President of the United States typically issues numerous pardons to individuals who are in prison during his last few days in office. He has the sole power to do that. No one tells him he can. He just can. And why? Because he wants to. For some reason, which he may or may not divulge, he has decided to set these people free.

God, in a much bigger way, has decided to pardon us. He has chosen us as His child. He has given us a pass on our certain damnation. But He tells us why. It’s because He loves us. It’s because He had planned before the foundation of the earth (verse 4 from yesterday’s blog) to do this. His plan all along, since He formed us in our mother’s womb, was to save us, to redeem us. For that reason, we praise Him. We bless His name forever.

Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You, Lord, for making me whole.  Thank You, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation rich and free.

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Age, Belief, Bible, Blessing, Chosen, Devil, Eternal Life, Eternity, Foundation, God's Will, Redemption, Salvation, Satan, Scripture

BEFORE ANYTHING

EPHESIANS 1:4

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love…”

Can you remember your life before it began? Of course, you can’t. No one can. Our finite minds are limited to our degree of consciousness. We cannot comprehend a time before we could think or act. What is your first memory as a child? I remember growing up in Southwest Georgia and playing with my siblings in the yard. I remember this red, metal tractor that we used to pedal around the yard. My life before that is only remembered through photographs.

Paul refers to a time in today’s verse that existed before anything, “the foundation of the world.” When was that? Well, it was literally before anything. Why would Paul bring this up? To show us that God’s eternal plan of choosing us has always existed. There has never been a time when we weren’t on His mind. Can you imagine? Our life has had a purpose that long. So, how can we ever doubt His love for us.

APPLICATION

In John 17:24, Jesus refers to this time before time. “‘Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.’” God loved His Son before the foundation of the world. He loved us before the foundation of the world. He has loved us as long as He has loved His own Son. Wow! How can we doubt His love?

1 Peter 1:20 tells us, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” Jesus, who the Father loved before the foundation of the world and was known before the foundation of the world, had an eternal purpose before the foundation of the world. What was that? To come and die for us, to redeem us back to His Father.

Our salvation has always been the Father’s plan. There was never a Plan A and Plan B. There was only ONE plan – Jesus. Before you ever came into existence, God had you on His mind. Again, I ask you, how could we ever doubt His love for us. We only doubt because we listen to the evil one’s lies. Read this verse several times today. Better yet, memorize it and repeat it over and over. Never doubt His love. He loved us before anything!

Father, although I cannot imagine a time before anything, I believe You loved me that long.

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Bible, Blessing, Following, Glory, Heaven, Praise, Scripture, Spiritual

BLESS YOUR HEART

EPHESIANS 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

“Bless your heart” can be an expression of disgust or an expression of wishing someone well. It’s really our choice how we use it. It’s kind of joke here in the South when you use that expression “bless your heart.” It usually means you feel sorry for the person. You see yourself as smarter or wiser than them. If only they could measure up to you.

That is not how Paul uses it here. He is truly worshipping God. He is praising Him for “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” The word “places” is not in the original Greek. Actually “heavenly places” is one word, epouranios. It means the heavenly sphere or the sphere of spiritual activities.” Paul knew we live in a spiritual dimension, not just a physical. And he knew God operates in our lives through the spiritual.

APPLICATION

Let’s look at both sides of this “blessing.” Paul first blesses God. Some people think we are not told to bless God. In Luke 2:28 we read this about Simeon, “then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God…” Over in James 3:9-10 where James talks about the tongue, we read, “9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.” Our blessing of God is lifting our praise to Him, recognizing all He has done in and through us.

Then Paul says God has blessed us. We read in Hebrews 6:13-14, “13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, ‘INDEED I WILL GREATLY BLESS YOU AND I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOU.’” God promised His blessings to Abraham, and He promises them to us.

In one of Christ’s last acts on earth He blessed the disciples. Look at Luke 24:50-51, “50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” Wow! The last thing the disciples heard from Him was His blessing. He is still giving it today. Do you hear Him?

Thank You, Father, for blessing me beyond what I could ever ask or think.

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Bible, Blessing, Faith, Faithfulness, Greetings, Letters, Love, Messages, Scripture

THE FAITHFUL

EPHESIANS 1:1

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are  at Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:”

How you begin a letter can set the tone for the rest. It may determine whether the reader will actually read the rest of the letter. For instance, if you received a letter from a company to which you had applied for a job, and it started with “We regret to inform you,” you would probably just throw it in the trash. Let’s look at how Paul, the apostle with the most letters in the New Testament, starts Ephesians.

Paul knew how to start. Look at how he addresses the readers. He calls them “saints” and “faithful.” Paul loved these people, many he had personally met during his time there, because of their love for Christ. Paul spent over two years there teaching them how to live in Christ. Now, as he sits in a Roman prison (his first imprisonment), he is thinking about them and writes to further instruct them.

APPLICATION

Are you faithful? Is this a word that would be used to describe you? If I were to have a tombstone, I would want it to read, “Here lies the remains of Carl Willis, a faithful servant of Christ.” What could be more flattering? In Matthew 25:21 we read this regarding the master’s words to his slave to whom he had given the talents while he was gone. “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’” Isn’t that what you want to hear from Jesus?

In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul says this about Timothy. “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.” Paul didn’t hand out that description lightly. He saw faithfulness in the life of Timothy and told others.

We are faithful to our Lord because He is always faithful. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is there when we are low and when we are high. He is there in our hurts and our joys. God is the Faithful One. I pray your faithfulness will grow. I pray you will strive to please the One who has given you everything. Be faithful.

Father, thank You for giving me a faith that grows and grows.

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Bible, Blessing, Goodness, Gospel, Humility, Kindness, Love, Scripture, Service

JUST DO GOOD 

GALATIANS 6:9 

“Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.” 

I enjoy doing good. Don’t you? I mean, I really enjoy watching the reaction of people when I get the chance to do something good. Maybe it’s an unexpected, extra tip to a waitress. It could be secretly paying someone’s utility bill when you know they are struggling. We should never tire of doing those things when we have the opportunity. 

Why does Paul bring this up in today’s verse? He has just finished talking about reaping and sowing, flesh and spirit. He needs to remind the Galatians that doing good is admirable and is definitely Spirit driven, not flesh driven. He also knows that doing good, especially towards the unbelievers in their midst, could open doors for evangelism and the spread of the Gospel. 

APPLICATION 

Paul says over in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” In other words, don’t quit. Don’t give in. God’s work is never done. There is plenty to do. 

Paul even tells us there is a promise if we don’t give up. We will “reap, if we don’t grow weary.” Over in Colossians 3:23-24, Paul says, “23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” 

What work are you doing right now? What good? Don’t stop. You may never hear a thank you from the person you are helping. It’s not about them. It’s all about being obedient to the Lord when He tells you to do something. That’s where you will receive the reward from one day. Don’t grow weary. 

Father God, give me the strength to serve others as You direct. 

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Bible, Blessing, Giving, Kindness, Money, Scripture, Teaching

TEACHERS OF THE WORD

GALATIANS 6:6

“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” 

I have had some great teachers in my life. Some were in Primary School while others were in High School. Some of my favorites were in College and Seminary. But my favorite teachers are the ones who have taught me the Word. I did not know the gravity of this verse back then. If I had, I would have followed it more precisely. Good teachers are hard to come by.

Paul tells the Galatians in today’s verse that they, as students of the Gospel, need to provide for and help maintain those who have taught them the Word. Now, Paul is not purely advocating for himself. He fully trusted the Lord for his provision. But he also knew that God expected those who had been blessed to be a blessing to others.

APPLICATION

In 1 Corinthians 9:11-14, Paul tells the Corinthian church the same thing. “11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.”

I make my living as a minister of the gospel. To be exact, I am a missionary who relies on others to support me financially. It is a humbling thing to ask people to give to you. But I am commanded by the Lord to do so. Those who are part of our ministry support team tell me how blessed they are by the privilege they have to give. You need to give to those who teach you. Don’t hold back their wages. Bless them and you too will be blessed.

Father, thank You for the opportunity You give us to be a part of someone’s ministry of the Word.

(If you would like to give to our ministry, you can do that at www.twr.org/carl-willis.)

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Attitude, Bible, Blessing, Boasting, Comparison, Examine, Holiness, Influence, Modeling, Scripture, Testing

EXAMINE YOURSELF

 

GALATIANS 6:4

 

“But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another.”

 

Do you remember those days in school when your teacher would announce a pop test? I hated that. I was a pretty good student, but I didn’t like those surprise tests. But then she would say when everyone was finished, “Okay, I want each of you to grade your own paper as I call out the answers.” Now you would see how you did on that unexpected test. Only you and the teacher would know the result, unless you shared it with someone else.

 

Paul tells the Galatians to take out that clean sheet of paper and prepare to examine themselves. It did not matter what others thought about them. It only mattered what God thought. They were to measure themselves not against someone else but only Jesus and His expectations of them. Then and only then would they have reason for rejoicing, and even then, only in Him.

 

APPLICATION

 

Proverbs 14:14 says, “A good man shall be satisfied from himself.” A good man (or woman) shall examine himself according to God’s law. When he finds himself in agreement with God, he can rejoice. Albert Barnes says this in regard to this verse. “Here is the true secret of happiness. It consists: (1) In not forming an improper estimate of ourselves; in knowing just what we are, (2) in leading such a life that it may be examined to the core, and (3) in not being dependent on the fickle applause of the world for our comfort.”

 

What is your measure of yourself? How do you measure yourself? Each week in a weekly meeting I am in, we have to measure ourselves in about seven or eight areas. One of those is our walk with God. Another is our family life. These categories give us a snapshot of that particular week. My score changes weekly. I am never the same. Things change every week and how I respond to those things change as well.

 

But there is one area in which I shall never change, in which I can measure myself well. That area is in my personal relationship with Christ. I know it is secure. I know I am sealed for all eternity under the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Nothing will ever change that. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

 

Father, examine me and show me my faults so that I can better represent You to others.

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Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Faithfulness, Fruit, Goodness, Holy Spirit, Joy, Love, Patience, Peace, Scripture

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, PART 1

GALATIANS 5:22

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

When I was a Children’s Pastor, one of the favorite music videos of the kids was one of Uncle Charlie’s entitled “Fruit of the Spirit.” It was fun and interactive for the kids. But it also taught them about the fruit of the Spirit which we will see in today’s and tomorrow’s blogs. Those fruit that are listed are not of us. They come from the Spirit. Let’s take a look at some.

Paul lists seven of the nine fruit of the Spirit in today’s verse. Many scholars argue about Paul’s lists throughout his letters. Many of them say that the first thing he lists kind of characterizes the rest of the things in the list. That may be true here, because none of these are possible without “love,” which is the first thing listed. MacLauren says this, “‘The fruit of the Spirit,’ says Paul, not the fruits, as we might more naturally have expected, and as the phrase is most often quoted; all this rich variety of graces, of conduct and character, is thought of as one. The individual members are not isolated graces, but all connected, springing from one root and constituting an organic whole.”

APPLICATION

How do you show joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness if you do not have love, specifically the love of Christ? Paul says over in Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” It is because of that indwelling Spirit that you have love for Him and others. As a result, the fruit is produced.

You may have heard people say, “Well, we can’t judge but we can sure be fruit inspectors.” That’s a dangerous view and one I have been guilty of. Of course, we expect a believer to be a fruit producer if they are walking with Christ. But sometimes life gets hard, and we experience a crop failure. There isn’t any fruit.

Then what do you do? You return to the One who gave you that love to begin with. Remember the words of Paul over in Ephesians 1:13-14, “13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” You’ve been sealed. That love is sealed in. Therefore, let that Spirit of Christ produce in you what He wants to produce.

Father, I want to yield a bumper crop of fruit for You.

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