Ephesians 1 v 9 - 14

This secret which God has revealed is a mystery in the sense that it had been long hidden and now was revealed in the coming of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who came not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles also: the whole of humanity! The divisions which were plainly there before Jesus can now have disappeared. There was no longer any reason for Jew to hate Gentile. God had been working through His will to bring about this day of unity and it has been, is now and will be in the future for all those who recognise that the meaning to life is to be found in Jesus Christ alone. Each nation had its part to play in bringing about this unity and the Jewish contribution was religion. They had been preparing for hundreds of years for the coming of the Messiah and when He came there were many-a minority, but the very early Church consisted of Jews almost entirely, that is why they met in Synagogues and at the Temple (Acts 3 v 1). The Gentiles-Greeks, Romans, etc-also received the Word when they heard it, turned to Christ and received the Holy Spirit (read the story of Cornelius the Roman centurion in Acts chapter 10). The Holy Spirit was the seal guaranteeing their eternal safety and their deposit on their future inheritance. The more we study the books of the New Testament the more we come to recognise that it is all of God. We are called to co-operate, to work with Him, to exercise discipline, to 'Fix our thoughts on what is true and honourable and right and pure and lovely and admirable' (Philippians 4 v 8), but it is all of God. He alone can see us through and He is wholly committed to that happening. Please do not focus on failure today, but turn your eyes upon Jesus and know that you are in His hands, bless you!