Each day, all praise to God
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 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. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.Ephesians 1:3-6
The apostle Paul was expressing how grateful he was for the blessings God continually bestowed him. It is good to begin each day by recognizing God’s faithfulness. The root word in Greek of the word “bless” is “good.” It is also like what James said in James 1:17; “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Consider to think how God has given you everything good and to not take them for granted but instead give Him the praise He deserves. From the passage, Paul identified specific good gifts you received because of the sacrifice Christ did on the cross. God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, invited each one to receive the redemption that He offers. When you respond to His invitation, you are then adopted to His family. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). Everyone is familiar with the idea of getting hurt because of the rejection they received. But in God, Jesus Christ took the penalty of sin by paying it with the ultimate sacrifice and opened up His arms wide open longing that you will respond to His offer of knowing Him as Lord and Savior. As Paul said, God did this so that you will know that even in the beginning of time, He was already thinking about you and that He has a plan so that you will reflect the life He gave you. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). No wonder, God wanted you to begin each day by acknowledging His good and perfect gift, the life of Christ in you. Do not just pay lip service in acknowledging the blessings of God but in your actions toward others manifest who you are in Christ.
Blessings.
