by Julia Bruce
Ephesians 1:3-14 gives praise to God for the blessing He has provided. Throughout these verses, Paul ties together the ideas of predestination, God’s glory, salvation, and the inheritance we have as children of God. Our inheritance is two-fold. First is becoming a child of God, which gives us a right to expect an inheritance. Second is spending eternity in heaven and dwelling in the presence of God. Because we are His children, we are blessed because God chose to save us but that salvation came at a great cost to Jesus. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross and because we are Children of God, we can have confidence that God will bring us to heaven to spend eternity with Him just as he promised.
Have you ever thought about the idea that God planned a glorious life for us? He planned every detail about us: the family we’d belong to, our DNA, our personality. You are not here by chance. Just as God planned out every detail about who you are, he planned out every detail about your salvation. You did not become a Christian by chance or coercion or unaided choice, but by the enabling of God’s Spirit. The word “predestined” (found in verse 11) means “determining beforehand,” “deciding ahead of time.” So, God determines certain things to occur ahead of time. Romans 8:29-30 tells us that God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. At the same time, the Bible says in John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10 that we all have a choice. So then, somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God to salvation. As such, He has a very specific plan just for you. Long before you ever heard about Christ, in fact before the earth was formed, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are reading this verse on this website right this very moment. And long before you knew about Him, he had his eye on you with a purpose that He is right this very moment working out in you.
It is only in a relationship with Christ that we can truly find out who we are and why we exist. Life only has purpose and meaning when we develop passionate relationships with Christ and live our lives aligned to His will in every way. (click to tweet) Then we bring Him honor and glory. Then we are able to discover the glorious and abundant life that is God’s absolute best for each one of us.
#verseoftheday #predestined #gloriouslife #WCM
Be a part of our future and join Phase 1 of our land & building campaign through buymeacoffee.com. For the cost of a coffee, your tax-deductible gift can help make an eternal impact to the kingdom of God as we lead the lost to Christ, help Christians develop passionate relationships with God, and help couples reignite their marriages. Give either a one time contribution today or set up a reoccurring monthly gift.
- Every gift will be acknowledged on our “Donor Wall” on our website. Just leave your name the way you wish it to appear in the message box as you make your gift.
- Every $50 gift will receive a free signed copy of Julia’s book, “God, Love & Marshmallow Wars”
- Every $500 or more gift will receive the “God, Love & Marshmallow Wars” Couple Event for their church with Julia’s speaker fees waived (host site is still responsible for travel expense and other costs of the event).
Wellspring Christian Ministries is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.
We have a new product line of Christian apparel and gifts available in our Teespring Store and our new Spreadshop Store. You’ll find tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, socks, leggings, tote bags, mugs, iphone cases and more. All proceeds will make an eternal impact through the expanding ministries of Wellspring Christian Ministries. Thank you for helping us grow!
Click here to view the Teespring store.Â
Click here to view the Spreadshop Store which has a 15% discount through August 9, 2019
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel
Â
Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.
Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.
Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.
With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities.
To request more information or a booking,Â
fill out the online form here.
Or call us at 904.524.8073
