Ephesians 1:3-4 - God CHOSE us

Ephesians 1:3-4 (ANIV)
‘3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.’

Read that last bit again… For he CHOSE us in him BEFORE the creation of the world to BE holy and blameless in his sight.
No matter what sins we have committed, even today, even right now, NEVERTHELESS, the power of God is SO GREAT & so awesome & so complete, that His will CAN NOT be outdone. We ARE holy & entirely blameless in His sight.
That is absolutely awesome, & completely undoes me!

There’s a similar idea in Romans, where the apostle Paul writes…

Romans 8:38-39 (ANIV)
‘38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Notice that last part: nor ANYTHING else (at all) in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing AT ALL, can separate us from the love of God. No awful, horrible, terrible, sinful deed, that we do EVER, EVER, EVER can take away the love of God for me & you.
That is fantastic news!
REMEMBER that truth.

What is Hell? Eternal separation from God.
I pray that people who don’t know God, & who say that they don’t ever want to know God, will NOT get their wish. Sounds strange, but if they do get that wish, then when it comes to the last judgement of Jesus the Christ, He will simply agree to give them what they have said they want all their lives. He will give them eternal separation from Himself. That’s what the Bible calls Hell: eternal separation from God.

We often don’t know what we are asking for. People who think that they don’t want God in their lives do not really understand or realise that they are under His grace & enjoying life under His loving kindness, whilst saying they don’t want God in their lives. Trying living one hour outside the love of God! Not to have that loving kindness is awful… not wanting anything to do with Jesus today, & on into eternity is asking for far, far less than you experience in the here & now; even if you don’t believe in Jesus/God.
I pray that the eyes of your understanding will be opened & that you will finally realise what God has, is & will do for you in your own life. I pray that you will never, ever get what you ask for: eternal separation from God.
Another name for that condition of not having God in your life AT ALL, is Hell.

I’m deeply concerned about my family, friends, neighbours, even complete strangers, who have not accepted Jesus as their personal saviour. There is an urgency within my heart for these people. As more time passes I am becoming more & more concerned for other people. I’m concerned about scientists like Stephen Hawkins, Richard Dawkins, astronomer Brian Cox & many others.

But I realise that we have all been given free will by God & so our ultimate, eternal fate is IN OUR OWN HANDS. It is not up to me what happens to all of these people, regardless of how concerned for their souls I am now, or become. I can pray that they’re “spiritual eyes” will be opened & that they will become aware of the amazing love of Jesus for each of them, but I am powerless to MAKE anyone believe. Whether or not anyone I am deeply concerned about chooses to accept the free gift of eternal life that Jesus holds out to them is actually up to them. All I can do is pray & leave it all in the hands of God.
I am convinced that God is FAR more concerned about our eternal future than we are. He knows the awful truth that awaits anyone who refuses his help. Yet, I believe God is utterly committed to our freedom of choice too, & like a great gentleman He will not override our choice, even to save us from Hell.

Prayer…& faith in a loving, just God.
I am not being passive: since PRAYER is the most powerful thing in the universe to effect positive change. But I know that God will never over-ride anyone else’s free will, so the decision is theirs & theirs alone. In the end, no matter what someone I love or care about decides, I have to respect their decision. In the end, I have to give the issue of someone else’s eternal future over to the God in whom I trust. I know He will deal with everyone entirely fairly, & entirely according to their own decision making. We all go where WE choose to go: either to Heaven (by accepting Jesus as our personal saviour, as I have done) or to Hell by rejecting His involvement in our lives, as an atheist does.

I simply hope that everyone will come to see Jesus as the amazing, creative, wonderful lover of us humans that He is. He made the universe, & loves it deeply. He sustains all things. He offers hope to anyone who will accept Him, no matter what they have done. His offer of life is always in His open hands, no matter at what stage in life they come to Him, even if you were on your death bed, Jesus still offers you eternal life. It’s not too late.