Ephesians 2- Part 2

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Study and learn. Be changed.  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
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66 Ways God Loves You

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As many of you know, my 12 year old just had his 4th surgery for a tumor beside his spine.  It is entangled in three vertebrae so the surgeon can only debulk it, but couldn't remove all of it.  After removing more than his fist-full of tumor, the surgery was over...and now we wait.  Wait for the pain to subside, wait for the swelling to go down, wait to see if it comes back.  On top of this, there are other day to day struggles that can leave you wondering, "God, do you really love me?"  

 Thankfully, I just was given the book, 66 Ways God Loves You by Jennifer Rothschild.  Jennifer know a thing or two about struggle.  She lost her eyesight to a retinal disease when she was a teen and had to adjust to this devastating loss of sight while going through the difficult teen years. So how does Jennifer stay grounded in God's love when life is hard?  How do we stay planted in God's love when we feel He must not love us because He has allowed/caused  XY and Z.   Well, we must fall back on what we do know, which is just what Jennifer Rothschild has done in this book.  She goes through the 66 books of the Bible, and displays how each book reveals God's love for me, for you... for us!   She begins with Genesis, noting that God  breathed life into man and fashioned us with His hands, while speaking the rest of creation into existence. We bare God's loving fingerprints on us!    Likewise, in Mark, she explains that the storms are loving opportunities for God to show that we can trust Him, even when we detect no good in the storm.   How do we trust Him?  Because we know His character and His great love for us! An unfailing love.   Psalm 36: 5 declares that His unfailing love is as"vast as the heavens".   
(Photo of a page in 66 Ways God Loves You)

She continues to proclaim God's love for us in the each and every book in the Bible.  In Psalm 143:8, we see that we must rely on His word, to be reminded of His unfailing love, which leads to our trust in Him.  This is one reason that Jennifer's new book is helpful to the new believer as well as the veteran Sunday School teacher.   Since we all have hard roads to walk and need to be reminded of His Unfailing Love, get your own copy of this book to assist you as you read through His word.

 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8 

  We all know the game of "He loves me, he loves me not" as we pull the petals of the daisy.   However, with God, it is always, "He Loves me, He Loves me, He loves me" ... no matter what your heart says. 

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