<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Ephesians 1;11&amp;12<div><br></div><div><b>11. &nbsp;In him </b>(Jesus Christ)<b>, according to the will of him</b>&nbsp;(God the Father) <b>who accomplishes all things according to the council of his will,</b></div><div><b>12. &nbsp;we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Our old nature,&nbsp;naturally&nbsp;lives for the praise of itself. &nbsp;</div><div>The new-man, born in the waters of holy Baptism is supernaturally&nbsp;<i>“destined” </i>&nbsp;to live for the praise of God.</div><div><br></div><div><span>&nbsp;To have a destiny indicates a guiding, divine hand. &nbsp;Our future in Christ&nbsp;is not ours to mold according to our own selfish&nbsp;carnal desires. &nbsp;We have a destiny. &nbsp;</span><i>“And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” &nbsp;</i><span>(Philippians 1;6)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Our destiny is not an end which is against the&nbsp;will of the new-man. &nbsp;We are not prisoners, being carried forward to some evil execution. &nbsp;We retain the power to separate ourselves from the will of God. &nbsp;But, to do so is rebellion,&nbsp;we still&nbsp;have that power and old sinful&nbsp;will to rebel,&nbsp;by&nbsp;yielding to our old carnal desires, and refusing&nbsp;to deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and follow Jesus.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The new-man loves the Father’s will, just as did Jesus. &nbsp;<i>“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own&nbsp;will,&nbsp;but&nbsp;the will of him who sent me.” &nbsp;</i>(John 6;38) &nbsp;We are divine soldiers, serving a just cause,</span><span>&nbsp;a deadly war, which we know in Christ we win. &nbsp;It is our destiny. &nbsp;This is the will of the Father now at work in us, that we daily die with Christ to selfish&nbsp;sin.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><i>“For&nbsp;God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” &nbsp;</i>(Philippians 2;13)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>We are <i>“appointed” &nbsp;m</i>eaning we are under orders. &nbsp;We live now under the dominion of the will of the Father. &nbsp;We are no longer under the dominion of sin. &nbsp;<i>“Let not sin therefore reign </i>(rule)&nbsp;<i>in your mortal bodies, to make you obey your passions. &nbsp;Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. &nbsp;For sin will have&nbsp;no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” &nbsp;</i>(Romans 6;13&amp;14)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The new-man yearns to do the will of the Father. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>The will of the Father is that we live </span><u>in Christ.</u><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><div><br></div><div><span>Living in Christ is more joyous that playing for the Lions when they win, or the University of Michigan Wolverines when the win, or the Spartans, if you hail from East Lansing.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Think of how people decorate their homes with team images&nbsp;and flags, paint their faces with team colors, wear team jerseys,&nbsp;spend huge amounts of money to celebrate and witness a bowl game, even tattoo their own flesh with team logos, they are even&nbsp;excited to sit and&nbsp;suffer in the freezing cold just&nbsp;to witness and glorify&nbsp;their chosen teams…. they do it out of love.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>So now by faith&nbsp;does the new-man&nbsp;in us even more,&nbsp;act&nbsp;out of love. &nbsp;He&nbsp;lives for the praise of the glory of Christ. &nbsp;Jesus said, <i>“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.” &nbsp;</i>(John 12;23). Our own joy is greater, lasting, and full of life for us. &nbsp;(When a sports team which we support wins, we ‘feel’ joy, but it is empty of power to give us true life. &nbsp;Their win is ultimately meaningless. &nbsp;It goes into a record book, but that book is not the Book of life.) &nbsp;The joy and life we are ‘appointed’ to glorify,&nbsp;is true, lasting, and life giving, we do not simply witness what Christ has done, we become a part of it!&nbsp;&nbsp;Christ’s victory is our real present and future life. &nbsp;We have been joined into him and he into us. &nbsp;His victory, his suffering, death, and resurrection,&nbsp;translates into eternity for us <u>in him</u>. &nbsp;<i></i></span></div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, increase our faith to find our true life and&nbsp;joy in Christ. &nbsp;Bless us to joyously,&nbsp;willingly, live for the praise of the glory he earned for us&nbsp;in death and darkness. &nbsp;Grant us to share in his sufferings. &nbsp;For Jesus prayed, <i>“I am glorified in them.” &nbsp;</i>(John 17;10). This&nbsp;we pray <u>in Jesus</u>, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div><a></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Ephesians 1;11&12
11.  In him (Jesus Christ), according to the will of him (God the Father) who accomplishes all things according to the council of his will,12.  we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.
Our old nature, naturally lives for the praise of itself.  The new-man, born in the waters of holy Baptism is supernaturally “destined”  to live for the praise of God.
 To have a destiny indicates a guiding, divine hand.  Our future in Christ is not ours to mold according to our own selfish carnal desires.  We have a destiny.  “And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1;6)
Our destiny is not an end which is against the will of the new-man.  We are not prisoners, being carried forward to some evil execution.  We retain the power to separate ourselves from the will of God.  But, to do so is rebellion, we still have that power and old sinful will to rebel, by yielding to our old carnal desires, and refusing to deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and follow Jesus.
The new-man loves the Father’s will, just as did Jesus.  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”  (John 6;38)  We are divine soldiers, serving a just cause, a deadly war, which we know in Christ we win.  It is our destiny.  This is the will of the Father now at work in us, that we daily die with Christ to selfish sin.
“For God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”  (Philippians 2;13)
We are “appointed”  meaning we are under orders.  We live now under the dominion of the will of the Father.  We are no longer under the dominion of sin.  “Let not sin therefore reign (rule) in your mortal bodies, to make you obey your passions.  Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”  (Romans 6;13&14)
The new-man yearns to do the will of the Father.   The will of the Father is that we live in Christ.  
Living in Christ is more joyous that playing for the Lions when they win, or the University of Michigan Wolverines when the win, or the Spartans, if you hail from East Lansing.
Think of how people decorate their homes with team images and flags, paint their faces with team colors, wear team jerseys, spend huge amounts of money to celebrate and witness a bowl game, even tattoo their own flesh with team logos, they are even excited to sit and suffer in the freezing cold just to witness and glorify their chosen teams…. they do it out of love.
So now by faith does the new-man in us even more, act out of love.  He lives for the praise of the glory of Christ.  Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.”  (John 12;23). Our own joy is greater, lasting, and full of life for us.  (When a sports team which we support wins, we ‘feel’ joy, but it is empty of power to give us true life.  Their win is ultimately meaningless.  It goes into a record book, but that book is not the Book of life.)  The joy and life we are ‘appointed’ to glorify, is true, lasting, and life giving, we do not simply witness what Christ has done, we become a part of it!  Christ’s victory is our real present and future life.  We have been joined into him and he into us.  His victory, his suffering, death, and resurrection, translates into eternity for us in him.  
Prayer:  Merciful Father, increase our faith to find our true life and joy in Christ.  Bless us to joyously, willingly, live for the praise of the glory he earned for us in death and darkness.  Grant us to share in his sufferings.  For Jesus prayed, “I am glorified in them.”  (John 17;10). This we pray in Jesus, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”





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