*+_Praise † Grace_+*

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ  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. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times r...

Read Part 1 A for Adoption  (Ephesians 1:5-6) That brings us to A for Adoption. In V5, God predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. And in Christ, this adoption comes a glorious inheritance. 1 Peter 1:4 says that this “inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for us.” An inheritance that will never go away and can never be destroyed? I would love to have it! And yes, as adopted sons and daughters of God, we will surely have it! A rich man walks into the orphanage. Every kid in the house is excited to see him. He is the richest guy in town and owns great possessions of gold and silver, of giant palaces with roads of precious stones. He is also the most generous man, willing to share his possessions with anyone he pleases and with anyone who loves him. The rich man walks into the orphanage and choose you for adoption. This is the day you’ve been waiting for. So he walks up to you and told you: “Today, you will be my son. Though...

If there is one thing I do not want to lose as I grow older, is the fascination at learning new things. That excitement to learn something new is thrilling. It drives me to explore, to try, to learn and to have fun. I don't want to lose that good feeling I get when I "wow" at something that I never knew. I don't want to stop fascinating at things I've never seen before; knowledge that blows my mind and views that takes my breath away. I don't want to grow old and to find learning new things boring. I think our generation lacks the passion to pursue knowledge. Our education systems have made studying boring and learning dull. So many of my friends got lost in this wild goose chase of good grade when their purpose in university should be the pursuit of knowledge. Many of my friends stop fascinating at the new things they learn. They stop finding the "wow" and "aha" moments in finding out something they never knew. My father did ...