Jesus the Living Seated One

…according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1.19b-20)

We meet with God in Jesus. There is no diverting this path. One cannot approach the Father without meeting with the Son. One cannot please the Father without first recognizing the Son. If we aspire to nearness with the Father and atonement from our sins against Him then there is no other means of access than to draw near to Jesus, the very image of the invisible God, and find our forgiveness in His self-sacrifice on the cross.

And in-here rests another beauty of our Lord Jesus. Jesus is our risen Lord, our Savior raised by the Father and seated with all authority, power and dominion within His hands. Jesus is above all! And yet in His unparalleled supremacy He is still our access-point. Jesus is the Shepherd and the sheep-gate. He is our guide through this life but He also our entryway to life itself.

Led by the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul aims to express the bounty of what the Father has done in our lives through Jesus the living, seated one. He longed for the Ephesians to see the same miraculous power that the Father exercised in raising Jesus is at work in us. Paul prayed that the Church would come to know three powerful realities for our lives in Jesus: the immense hope of our calling, the incomparable riches of our glorious inheritance and the immeasurable greatness of God's power directed toward us. All of these we find as we drawn near to Jesus, living and seated His eternal throne.

Jesus, thank you that even as you sit enthroned in glory you are thinking of me, interceding and inviting me home. You are stoking the flames of my hope, securing my inheritance and working in my heart.

Jesus the Forgiver

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us (Ephesians 1.7)

Have we stopped recently and rejoiced in the immensity of our redemption? One cannot truly fathom the depths to which the Lord descended to redeem us, the pain which His heart endured to purchase us from our own failure, the strong love that held His arms to the cross for our salvation. May we run from any glimmering sense that we can atone for our own sin, that so many prayers, so many good deeds, so many self-flagellations can counterweight even one sin from the condemnation of our souls.

Only in Jesus our forgiver do we find redemption. Only in the blood of Jesus, who freely gave His life for us, do we find forgiveness for our sins. And in true God fashion, Jesus does not just give us a morsel of redemption, a barely visible taste of salvation. No, our Savior King Jesus lavishes His grace on us. Jesus washes over us with deep mercy. Jesus pours out redemption over us from his ceaseless riches.

O, what cause for rejoicing! Jesus our forgiver has seen us in our lowly state, burdened with death and sin and, stretching out His hand, embraces and envelopes us in His love. Today is a day of rejoicing! No past chain of sin can hold our arms from reaching high toward our Lord seated in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father! We are free! We are His! And Jesus is ours!

Jesus, how can I find words enough to express my tears of joy, my warmth of heart, my love borne from your love? Jesus, I love you.

Jesus the Conduit of Blessing

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1.3)

Blessing. Such a small word but what a trove of emotions can be found within it. As followers of Jesus we find ourselves in blessed relationship with God. We may find ourselves in the struggles and difficulties of this life, we may even find ourselves estranged from earthly comfort and calm, but our blessings are born in heavenly places. Our souls are secure in the love and presence of Jesus. In the desert we must drink deeply of this truth. We are united with Christ. We are in union with our Savior who is at the right hand of God the Father.

In this world we will face trouble, we will face persecution, but we are not alone. We are united with Christ and He is in the heavenly places. God has blessed us through Jesus and Jesus has endowed us with every spiritual gift. Jesus is risen from the dead. In His hand is power over sin and death and He has blessed us with eternal life! Jesus has seen the confusion and insecurity seeded in our lives through lack of understanding and He has revealed to us the mystery of His will. Jesus has seen the discord and disunity of our sinful humanity and He has blessed us with the body of Christ, the Church, for life-giving fellowship. Jesus blesses us through His love and blesses us through His people. Jesus is the avenue of the Father’s favor in the face of our adversaries. Jesus is our conduit of blessing.

Jesus, thank you for blessing me beyond my understanding or imagination! It is a comfort to my soul knowing I am are united with You in the heavenly places.