It's Already Yours – Ephesians 1:3

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.
– Ephesians 1:3

It's Already Yours!
In the movie Trading Places, Eddy Murphy plays a down-and-out street hustler who because of a bet between two wealthy businessmen, is taken from the streets and thrust into the lap of luxury.  He is given a new, fully-furnished luxury town home (complete with butler, limousine,  and chauffer), a new job with a Wall Street investment firm, and enough wealth to sustain him for the rest of his life.  In the scene where he is taken to his new town home for the first time, "Valentine" (Eddie Murphy's character), starts taking the nick-knacks and valuable antiques from around the living room and hiding them in his overcoat – his face is all lit up like he just hit the jackpot or won the lottery.  The two businessmen just look on and chuckle in amusement, and they try to explain that he doesn't need to "steal" the valuables because they are all his to do with as he pleases.  In a classic comedic move, Valentine looks directly into the camera with a huge grin and a "Can you believe this?" look on his face.  It isn't long before we see Valentine fully integrated into his new life and living as a successful Wall Street executive.  He is even giving investment advice to seasoned stock brokers and market analysts.  He is no longer the down-and-out street hustler – he has become a new man – a new creation if you will.

I can picture God standing by with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, chuckling in amusement as we discover the blessings that have always been available to us, and are ours for the taking.  I think that too often we timidly approach God, and with feeble prayers, we ask for a small blessing when all the time there is a huge blessing in the waiting.  God is just waiting for us to get to a point in our lives when we have the faith to take it, and to be ready to handle the responsibility of receiving it.  Like a parent eagerly waiting for a child to open a marvelous gift, He delights when we discover the blessings He has already designed for us.

Scripture tells us that God has already blessed us in the heavenly realms with EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ.  It doesn't say that He WILL bless us – it says that we are ALREADY blessed.  We just have to have the faith to take and accept what is already ours.  And once taken, we have to be mature enough to live the blessing and take on the new life in that blessing.

Example?  You ask for and believe/have faith, that God will bless you with a boldness to preach the Gospel.  God sees that you are spiritually ready, high-fives Jesus, and sends the Holy Spirit to the "Heavenly Storehouse" with instructions to deliver your blessing.  Next thing you know, you receive an invitation to give your testimony in front of the congregation at church.  Afterward, someone who just happened to be visiting your church, comes up to you and says, "You know,  I am headed to India for a missions conference, and I want to pay your way to go with us and tell your story on the opening night of our conference – there will be thousands in attendance!"  You had a small street ministry in mind, but God already had a global outreach blessing ready for you . . before you were even born!

I know not everyone is called to be a speaker or a preacher, but I think you get the idea.  So how do I tap into these blessings that already mine you ask?  It's simple really – you ready for it?  Here it is:

Love the Lord with ALL your heart.
Love the Lord with ALL your soul.
Love the Lord with ALL your mind.
Love the Lord with ALL your strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself.

The key is love – the love OF Christ and the love we find IN Christ.  If we can just figure out how to stop loving ourselves so much, and stop focusing on what it is that WE want, and how WE want our lives to unfold, then we can put our focus where it belongs.  The blessings which are already ours and have always been waiting for us, will be at our disposal and we can realize the abundance of life that God has designed for each one of us.

Prayer
Father, I thank You for the blessings that You have waiting for me.  I pray that I can take hold of the faith to handle the awesome magnitude of Your vision for my life.  Teach me to love with all that I am so that I can claim the  spiritual blessings in Christ that Your Word promises.  Grow me Lord, so that I can handle the blessings once I receive them.  I look forward to seeing the direction my life will take because of Your great love for me.  Help us all Lord, to catch Your vision for our lives and to have the faith to believe in them . . . like You believe in us.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Thrive where You Are! – Jeremiah 12:5

5 "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"
- Jeremiah 12:5

Thrive where You Are!
Have you ever asked the Lord to get you out of your present environment because of all of the evil people around you?  Perhaps it was a job or maybe even your own family!  In today's scripture, the Lord is answering Jeremiah's complaint about all of the evil people that seem to prosper in this world.

God is basically telling Jeremiah, "Look, I know what's going on the world.  After all, I'm the One who gave all of these evil people over to their own lusts and desires and I will deal with them if they don't change their ways.  Besides, I have your back while you are here so I don't need you to complain to Me about any of this - just make sure that you live YOUR life according to My Word so that you don't get corrupted along the way."

Of course, this is just my interpretation of the conversation but I really think that God, as patient as He is, must get frustrated with us when we complain about our situation.  I am just as guilty as anyone else, I mean I would love to work in an all Christian environment or live in a world where everyone LOVES the Lord and is living accordingly?  I have a feeling though, that if that were the case, I might find something else to complain about - hmmmm.

It's really a profound statement (of course it is dummy - God said it!), and it spoke to me today even though I have read it many times before.  God has me where He has me so that I can strengthen my faith in Him and in that, effect change in this crazy and caustic environment.  I mean really, I am so blessed to be living in a country where I have the freedom to serve God so openly and if I find it difficult because of those around me now, how weak will my faith prove if I am ever put in a real hostile environment.  I'm not facing a choice at the point of a machete or looking down the barrel of an automatic weapon; my family isn't being threatened because of what I believe;  I'm not being thrown into prison for my faith.  If I can't openly and freely serve God here in this "safe land," then I'm going to be in real trouble when my time of testing comes.

Our way of  life and our freedom to worship God are being attacked in this country like never before.  Even now, the freedom to pray openly in public settings is being seriously challenged - if... your prayers are Christian prayers.  If you want to offer Islamic or Hindu or Buddhist prayers, then you are given all of the courtesy to do as you wish.  It isn't really that far-fetched to imagine a tough time ahead and we really need to be ready to stand firm in our faith, battle-tested and ready for the persecution that may come.  Are you ready?  I'd like to think that I am, but I'm not so sure.

I have decided to thank God for all of the challenges that I work with every day, and I really need to show God's love to the witches and the heathens and the "other" religion zealots and even to those who openly oppose me.  I am purposing to be salt and light in the very environment that God placed me in and as I learn what faith really is and I put it to practice, maybe . . . just maybe, those challenges around me might want to know a little more about the God that I serve.  I will serve God where I am until He decides it's time for me to move, and I will no longer question why He has me where I am.  I am where I am because that's where I'm supposed to be so I will serve Him where I am - with all that I am!

Prayer
Father I am so sorry for murmuring about the people who don't even choose to acknowledge that You exist, yet seem to prosper in all that they do.  Their prosperity and the way that they live have nothing to do with my Faith in You.  They have nothing to do with my serving You in this place.  I pray that as I draw closer to You that my faith will increase to the point that the evil around me will start to envy MY God and that they will see how good life can be in You.  Maybe they will start to question who it is that they serve and they will want to know how they can be reborn into Your kingdom.  I pray that I can be the light that leads them straight to You!

Have a blessed day everyone!

-Richard