kunbibalogun.com

First verse in itself holds a lot of lessons for us to learn. Apostle Paul describes himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and nothing more! He could have easily blown his own trumpet considering he was a learned scholar and a PhD holder as well; however, he was content, very content to address himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. It is indeed a huge privilege to be an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. He also makes us realise that his being an apostle of Jesus Christ was purely and entirely the will, purpose and choice of God. He was not ordained by a priest or pastor, he was chosen by God. To know more about Apostle Paul (formerly known as Saul), read about how he persecuted Christians in Acts 8 and how he got converted in Acts 9.

It is a great honour to be called by God, which is why we must forever thank and praise our God for the mercies upon our lives. If you are born again and a true believer, you cannot but thank Him for helping you find your way to Him. I once had the opportunity to listen to a wonderful man of God, Dr Okey Onuzo, teach on the Book of Ephesians. He mentioned that he would forever bless the name of the Lord for the day he got converted. Why? Because so many people were at the event on that fateful day but only a handful gave their lives to Christ. He mentioned that he still wonders what would have happened to him had he not given his life to Christ that day. We must forever be humbled by the fact that a God who is blameless and holy can call us to Himself and love us as He does. Who are we to think He requires anything from us? If He has called us to work in His vineyard, who are we to think we are doing Him a favour?

Apostle Paul bestows grace and peace from God upon the saints he wrote to. This is indeed a great prayer as grace grants us enabling power. Grace can transform the life of a believer, granting us the ability to do what we could never dream of doing before. Peace is so vital in our lives! Imagine the “peace which passes all understanding” – Phil 4v7, being at peace even in the midst of a storm.

As stated by Apostle Paul, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing stored up for us in the heavenly places. God chose us before the foundation of the earth and He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him. We all have a divine destiny, determined by God even before creation. However, for this to be fulfilled, we must walk in the path of God and obey His voice. Yes. God chose us in Him; however, He chose us in Him to be ‘different’, ‘separate’, ‘set apart’ for God and blameless (without blemish) in His sight. We must dare to be different, different and ‘set apart’ (for God) without apology. Why? Because this is the nature of our calling such that people must see the difference in us wherever we go. Matt 5v14 tells says “you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Our lives should be a great example to everyone we meet wherever we go. The struggle to be blameless is real but we must consistently and tirelessly strive to get there; when we do so, we grow daily and take progressive steps to achieve our goal. When the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11v26), those who called them Christians must have noticed they were “different” and clearly “set apart” to have called them such.

 More on the summary of Ephesians 1…

Word of the day…

Ps 34:8 – Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.