Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:3-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:3-5   "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 to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will..."   The blessings that Chinese people talk about are often the secular kind, and they often carry selfishness and flesh.  On blessings that are spiritual in nature and from God can bring us true peace and joy.  So, what are spiritual blessings in Christ?   First, God gave us the role of children of God.  Those of us who were redeemed by the Lord are called children of God, and that is a precious grace.  One time I went to a retreat in a Christian campsite, and I need to use the restroom.  On the doors of the restrooms the words "Princes" and "Princesses" were written.  My first reaction was that I must have found the wrong restrooms, because there should be some that were reserved for "ordinary people."  Then I realized that in the kingdom of God we are princes and princesses; although I was familiar with such truth, I only came to understand clearly how true and precious it is to be children of God on that day.  Since we are children of God, God will become the provider and protector in our life.   Second, God wants us to become holy in Christ; not only did He give us the role as His children, He also wants us to be holy.  Being holy is to take on the form of Jesus Christ in our life, not to depend on our own strength, but we must be in Christ.  "In Christ" is not some vague concept, but it's to depend on the work on the Holy Spirit.  A person cannot become holy by examining oneself; if a person is in the dark, he won't be able to see how dirty he is no matter how hard he examines himself.  Only with the shining light from the Holy Spirit would it be possible for us to rebuke ourselves for sin, righteousness and judgment.   On the other hand, even if a person sees his own filthiness, he might not have the strength to change himself.   It's only possible for us to have the strength to change if the Holy Spirit comes upon us.  Holiness is God's desire for us, and it's also a process.  It may not be just one or two days, but it can take one, two, ten or even twenty years.  No matter how we see ourselves, we just don't look like Jesus, but in 1 John 3:2 the Lord promised that "But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."  Hallelujah, may the Lord give us a heart that depends on Him for the rest of our time on earth.                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because in Christ you have given us such precious blessing, and you made us children of God.  You also want us to be holy, and even though we are not quite like you yet, we trust that the Holy Spirit will work inside us till we are more like you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!