You Are Alive - Efesin - Ephesians 2:1 --- Ephesians 2 whole chapter

“And you He made alive, when you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1)

Aren’t you glad that Jesus came to give us life? Think about that for a minute right now. You used to be dead in your sins and trespasses; you used to have no hope. You used to live in fear. But once you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you weren’t dead in your sin anymore. You now have hope for the future. You are alive in Christ! God wants you to live life to the fullest today. It doesn’t matter how you may feel or what you are facing, start thanking God for giving you life. Even if He didn’t do another thing for us, giving us eternal life is more than enough reason to praise and thank Him every day. Thank Him for eyes to see and ears to hear. Thank Him for the air that you breathe. Thank Him for loving you and giving you life today. Praise opens the door to blessing. As you thank Him for the little things, you’ll begin to see God moving in your life in a big way. He’ll pour out more of His favour and blessing on you, and you’ll move forward into the abundant life He has for you!

Pray This: Father, thank You for making me alive in Christ today. Thank You that I am new. Show me how to live every day to the fullest so that I can enjoy life the way You intended. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Ephesians 2

Made Alive in Christ

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Footnotes:
Ephesians 2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.






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GREATNESS WITHIN

"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves" (II Corinthians 4:7, AMP).

Did you know that you have greatness inside of you? As a believer, the Holy Spirit actually dwells within you. You have all the power and authority in heaven and earth living on the inside of you!All throughout life, God gives us opportunities to discover that greatness on the inside of us. When we overcome obstacles, we are tapping into that strength and greatness within. One thing I've learned is that God doesn't allow big challenges to face small people.You may be facing something big today. It may seem like it's over your head, but that is a sure sign you’re a big person with a big destiny. You may feel small, you may not see how it's going to work out, but you've got to remember who you are; a child of The Most High God. You have been created in His image. You're wearing your crown of favour, and you are carrying His greatness on the inside of you. Have the attitude that says, "This may be extraordinary, but I know I'm an extraordinary person serving an extraordinary God." Stand in faith knowing that you have the victory because you have His greatness living on the inside of you!

A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your greatness on the inside of me. I choose to stand in faith today knowing that with You, I will overcome every challenge and every obstacle. I bless Your holy Name. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

EFFICACIOUS NOVENA OF THE THREE HAIL MARYS TO OUR LADY

Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes

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In Honour of the Power, Wisdom and Loving Mercy of the Blessed Virgin Mary

I - Oh Immaculate Mary, Virgin most Powerful, I beseech you, through that immense Power which you have received from the Eternal Father, obtain for me

purity of heart,

strength to overcome all the enemies of my soul, and

the special favour I implore in my present necessity. {name special need}

Mother most Pure! Forsake me not, despise not my prayer, graciously hear me for God's glory, your honour, and the welfare of my soul. To obtain this favour I honour your Power by reciting one Hail Mary.

II - Oh Virgin Mary, my Mother, through that ineffable Wisdom bestowed upon you by the Incarnate Word of God, I humbly beseech you, obtain for me

meekness and humility of heart,

a perfect knowledge of the Divine Will, and

strength to accomplish it always.

Oh Mary, Seat of Wisdom, as a tender Mother, lead me in the path of Christian Virtue and perfection, enlighten and enable me to do what is most pleasing to your beloved Son, and obtain my petition. To obtain this grace I honour your Wisdom by reciting one Hail Mary.

III - Oh, Mother of Mercy, Mother of penitent sinners, I stand before you sinful and sorrowful, beseeching you through the immense Love given to you by the Holy Spirit for us poor sinners, obtain for me true and perfect contrition for my sins, which I hate and detest with all my heart, because I love God.

Mother most Merciful, help me in my present necessity. Turn then, those eyes of Mercy toward us, Oh Clement, Oh Loving, Oh Sweet Virgin Mary! To obtain this precious gift, I honour your Loving Mercy by reciting one Hail Mary.

THREE WAYS GOD WANTS TO USE YOUR EXPERIENCES

Three ways God wants to use your experiences
by Rick Warren

I like chocolate chip cookies. I like them so much I know how to make them. I don’t even need a recipe. But if I eat the individual ingredients, they taste like turtle spit! Ever ate a little shortening? Don’t try it. Raw egg? Bad. Salt and sugar by itself ? Yuck. Baking soda? Not good. Chocolate chips ? Now that’s good. One out of six isn’t bad. Somehow when you mix five bad things with one good thing and stir them up together, it tastes so good that you eat half the dough before you make the cookies.
Pastor, that’s what God wants to do with your experiences. He wants to take bad+bad+bad+bad+bad+good and turn you into Mrs. Fields! He’s a pro at it. God does not want you to waste your experiences. He wants to use them to make you a more effective minister.
There are three ways that God wants to use your experiences to make you a better minister.

1. Use them to minister to others.Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:6-7 (LB): “We are in deep trouble for bringing you God’s comfort and salvation. But in our trouble God has comforted us – and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure.”
God comforts us, helps us, and strengthens us when we’re experiencing problems, so then we can comfort, help, and strengthen others when they go through the same things. God helps us, so we can help others. God wants to use every experience that you’ve gone through to help somebody else.
Who can better help somebody going through cancer than somebody who’s been through cancer? Who can help somebody dealing with an addiction than somebody who’s been through the addiction before? Who can better help parents who had a kid who went off the deep end, than somebody whose son or daughter went off the deep end?
God never wastes a hurt. I’ve said that a thousand times at Saddleback. It’s true for pastors as well. He wants you to use them to minister to other people. What you’re most embarrassed about, what you most regret, God wants to use to help others. But, pastor, before that can happen, you’ve got to be honest about it. If you open up about that pain, it can become you’re greatest ministry. You always help people more through your weaknesses than your strengths.

2. Use them to motivate others.
Your experiences can be inspirational to people because you have been through things and been places that they have not. And you can motivate them.
The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (TEV): “Encourage one another.”A big part of our job in ministry is to help, encourage, and build up others. Your experiences can help do this.
Your experiences give people hope. You show them they can get through their problems.
Give people hope and you take away the fear that plagues them. When you go on a roller coaster that you’ve never been on, it’s comforting when the guy in front of you in line says, “This is a great ride. I’ve been on it five times.” You realize that you're going to live. If the guy in front of you lived, you’ll probably live too. That’s encouraging!
Pastor, your preaching can do this for people. When you speak from personal experience, it’s always more effective than any other kind of teaching. The most powerful way to say anything is the most personal way to say it. When you speak from your own personal experiences, particularly difficult ones, you’ll motivate others to keep going through their troubles.

3. You use them to model for others.Paul says in Philippians 3:17 (NLT): “Dear brothers, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example.” Paul tells the church of Philippi to follow his example; he’s going to be the model.
Paul knew that we all need models. It is human nature to imitate. Just about everything you learn in the first five years of life you learn by imitation.
There’s nothing wrong with your church members imitating you. You’re not perfect, and I’m not perfect; only Jesus is perfect. But it’s better to have people following you as a model than some Hollywood celebrity who is obsessed with himself or herself. You’re trying to follow Jesus. If you’re trying to follow Jesus, then it’s a good thing if others are following you.
You need to have models in your own life, and you need to be a model. If you’re not being a model, you’re wasting your experiences. God never wastes experiences – good or bad. He wants to use your experiences to make you a more effective minister. Will you let him?