TEXT:

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ – Ephesians 1:3

THOUGHT:

As a Christian, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is for you too. It is not just an historical record, or religious writing. It is God’s living word and it has the power to change your life for the better.

One of the best ways to draw strength, inspiration and direction from the Bible is to personalise it. Realise that the promises are to you too, because you are in Christ. God’s Word says, ‘All the promises of God in Christ Jesus are Yes and Amen’ – 2 Corinthians 1:20.

The requirement to benefit is to be in Christ. That only happens when we repent of our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. A whole new world opens up to us. We are born again and become like a new baby entering this world, everything is brand new. Then we can start discovering who we are in Christ, what are our rights and privileges, and what we can do through His name and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Reading the Book of Ephesians is a wonderful experience, greatly enhanced by personalising it. So I have rewritten the following passages, inserting my name for the promises, protection and practise of Christianity, and have inserted the name of my wife Jenny when praying for others. David spoke to himself, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God’ – Psalm 42:5. Talking to oneself in a positive way reaps many benefits.

• Personalise the Blessing from God’s Promises

³ Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed Norman with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose Norman in Him before the foundation of the world, that Norman should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined Norman to adoption as a son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made Norman accepted in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him Norman has redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward Norman in all wisdom and prudence, ⁹ having made known to Norman the mystery of His will,– Ephesians 1:3-9

• Personalise the Protection from God’s Armour

 Finally, Norman, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God that you Norman may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For you Norman do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you Norman may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore Norman, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you Norman will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit – Ephesians 6:10-18

• Personalise the Practise of Christianity in Today’s World

That you Norman put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you Norman put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness – Ephesians 4:22-24

²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth Norman, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you Norman were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you Norman, with all malice. ³² And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you Norman – Ephesians 4:29-32

• Personalise the Prayer for Fellow Christians and Non-Believers

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to Jenny the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of her understanding being enlightened; that Jenny may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power – Ephesians 1:17-19

That He would grant Jenny, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in her heart through faith; that Jenny, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that Jenny may be filled with all the fullness of God – Ephesians 3:16-19

All you have to do is take the names out and replace them with yours and the ones you are praying about. As you constantly do this, I guarantee that within a few weeks, your life and those you are praying for will radically change for the better.

Try it and see, then let me know