Ephesians 2:11-13 Jesus the hope of the world!

As we prepare for 2025 we can pray God intervene in our lives, in the lives of those we love and all of our neighbors. In their peace we have peace.

Exodus 19:8 Then  all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

Abraham by faith believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Through him Israel became God’s covenant people. They were to be a  kingdom of priests to serve God. God is sovereign and all things are His and under His control. It was a works religion based on the moral law of the 10 commandments. 

Exodus 21:1 -36 Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:

The civil law was established by the more than 600 moral laws made by the Israelites.  These judgements were set by God. 

Exodus 28:1 Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, 

The ritual part of the ecclesiastical  law was established for the priests. The priesthood was given for the religious system that would carry out worship. It all pointed to the shed blood of Jesus the Christ that would wash them clean from their sins. The blood of animals could only temporarily cleanse them from sins but only Jesus, all God/all man could cleanse us completely and forever.

Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Gentiles included all the people of the world that were not of Jewish descent. In them, starting with Abraham, the world would be blessed. Once strangers from the covenants we are now brought near to God in Jesus. The Jews were elected to be the chosen people and through them to bring knowledge of God to the world. Carla

Paul urges the Gentile believers to recall their life before Christ, just as the Israelites were often told to remember what God had done for them. 

Uncircumcision was a derogatory term emphasizing that non-Jewish people are outsiders in relation to God’s covenant with Israel. This category includes most members of the churches planted or empowered by Paul. The Greek word used here, cheiropoiētos, portrays circumcision as a human rite. In the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), this word is used to refer to idols. 

Paul may be emphasizing the Gentiles’ lack of knowledge or relationship with Christ. Alternatively, he may be comparing the Gentiles to the Jews, whom God entrusted with the promises about the Messiah. Gentiles were separate from Israel; they were without the law and without God. Despite this separation, God revealed Himself to them through Christ and called them to Himself. In addition, Paul was made a minister to them. Alienated from the citizenship of Israel refers to the covenants between God and His people in the Old Testament. Paul probably is referring to the covenants God made with Abraham (Genesis 15:7–21; 17:1–21), Isaac (Genesis 26:2–5), Jacob (Genesis 28:13–15), Moses (Exodus 24:1–8), and David (2 Samuel 7:14–16). Each of these covenants involved a promise from God. Faithlife Study Bible

Because the sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision, the Jews proudly referred to themselves as the Circumcision. Somewhat less kindly, they called Gentiles the Uncircumcision. 

workmanship ( Gk.  poiēma) (2:10; Rom. 1:20) Strong’s #4161: The word literally means “a thing made”; it comes into English as poem. The word indicates a handiwork, a masterpiece. God’s church is His “poem,” His masterpiece, His workmanship, just as all creation is (Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:20). As He is the Author of His handiwork, He should get all the credit (Psalms 19:1–6).

Paul painted vividly the bleak condition of pagans. They had no hope, for God had not reached out to them to establish a covenant relationship. However, the shed blood of Christ could bring the Gentiles back to their Creator. The NKJV Study Bible

Ephesians 2:2–3  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 

Ephesians 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Genesis 2:4 (ESV) "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens."

God did chose to communicate His Truth using a style the original culture could readily understand, which sometimes means the stories in Scripture have similarities to other narratives in Ancient Near East. 

The second section of Genesis (12-50), the story of Israel, started with one man named Abram (also called Abraham) and God's stated purpose to bless the entire world through him (Genesis 12:1-3). Throughout the stories of Abram's family, we'll see a lot of brokenness, but God gently corrected His people and reestablished order, all while moving the storyline toward His promised blessing for all peoples through one family.

The goal of all Scripture is to testify about God's redemptive plan (John 5:39), and Genesis gives us a view into how that plan has been taking shape since the beginning. Perhaps most importantly, Genesis introduces us not only to what our God is doing but to who our God is and how He's so very good. First5

“My faith demands—this is not optional—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.” Jimmy Carter

And a reminder—mostly to myself—that within each of us there is a light. And that this light—of hope or dignity or delight or passion or justice or beauty or wonder or grace—still shines, regardless of the dirt that may cover it. Yes, there are times we forget. However, there are also times when a simple act of kindness, or gift of compassion, rekindles the light in our own spirit. This gift we give to another, becomes a gift we gratefully receive. Sabbath Moments

Romans 8:19-22 For God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus!

“The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.” Jimmy Carter’s closing remarks during Nobel Peace Prize address

The Covenants of our almighty, triune Godhead, gifted us salvation in Jesus! 

The unmerited and undeserving love of God for His creation.

In His image we were made!

Genesis 3:19 

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread 

Till you return to the ground, 

For out of it you were taken; 

For dust you are, 

And to dust you shall return.”

The covenant made with Adan still exists to this day. We live in a world that is under the curse BUT Jesus has ended it in His birth, death and resurrection! It is finished in Him. Those He sets free are free indeed!! Believe in Him who accomplished what we could not.

Genesis 8:20-22 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

The covenant made with Noah is the start of the thread of God’s salvation  for His creation because in His image we are made.

Genesis 9:5-7 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

Mankind was made in the image of God and life was breathed into us by the very hand of God. Life is precious and we only  love others because He loved us first!

Genesis 9:12-17 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Never again will God destroy the world in a flood. This is an everlasting promise to Noah and in this covenant to us.

Romans 8:19-22 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 

In that scarlet thread of the blood of Jesus redemption has arrived for mankind which God prepared beforehand since the beginning of the fall of Adam. All of the evil that was wrought in satan will be reversed into the glorious gift of salvation in Him.

Romans 2:24-27 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The whole of creation waits for  the rising of the sons of God through Jesus. Carla

The revelation of the sons of God refer to the final unveiling of God’s family of glorified humanity—those glorified through faith in Christ. Sin affected more than humanity’s relationship to God; creation itself was spoiled and suffered decay. The one who subjected it is usually identified as God, acting in response to the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:17–19). In contrast, the presentation of a hopeful future is characteristic of God (Romans 15:13). Creation will benefit from the freedom afforded to the children of God through Christ. The created order is in turmoil. Like God’s people, it is longing for Christ’s return, when He will liberate the world from death and decay (Revelation 21:1). This restoration is a prominent theme of the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 35:1–10). Faithlife Study Bible

Earnest expectation literally means “to watch with outstretched neck.” Creation is impatient to see the revelation of the sons of God. Futility, which means “vanity, emptiness,” refers to the curse on creation (Genesis 3:17–19). Creation awaits the coming glory because it also will be delivered. The bondage of corruption further describes the futility of verse 20. Nature is a slave to decay and death because of sin. The NKJV Study Bible

Acts 3:21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 

2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Our world lost a bright light today.
President Jimmy Carter died peacefully, age 100.
In his words, “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands—this is not optional—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson prompted us, “To know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived, this is to have succeeded.”
So, let us pause today, to honor President Carter by remembering that because of him, life is healthier, better, and safer not just for one life, but for millions.
Here’s what does my heart good; he reminded us that kindness and gentle acts of goodness really do matter. And they make a difference. Sabbath Moments

Covenant Blessing of Israel

God established a covenant to bless a man named Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. This covenant passed from Abram to his son Isaac, then from Isaac to his son Jacob, then from Jacob to his 12 sons, who became the nation of Israel. The covenant blessing was given from father to son but was confirmed and carried out by God Himself.

In its simplest form, covenants are binding agreements that define a relationship between the parties involved. In Genesis, there are human covenants between one person and another (Genesis 21:27-32; Genesis 26:26-31; Genesis 31:44-54) as well as divine covenants between God and people (Genesis 9:11; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:21). These covenants always included an oath and often included food - "a meal and a deal." Divine covenants tell us about God's expectations for us in relationship to Him and about God's faithfulness in relationship to us. First5

Matthew 24:9 Love prevails!

The Bible under the guidance of Holy Spirit is powerful for enlightening us to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 26:23 (ESV) "that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."

The failure of the covenant made with Adam and Eve released Satan into mankind. He only wants to destroy the scarlet thread of redemption in the blood of Jesus. He failed the first time and he will fail again. It is finished in the  birth, death and resurrection of the only begotten Son of God…all man/all God.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Until Christ’s return there will always be enmity between good and evil. The head of the Body is Jesus the Christ and He is love and our only protection from the enemy. In Him there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free. We are all one in the salvation of the precious blood of Jesus the Christ. In Him the curse is ended. We only need to accept Him in faith.

Matthew 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Matthew gives the list of the generation of the line of Jesus since Abraham. Satan tried to disrupt the shedding of the precious blood of Jesus that would be given for the redemption of the sins of mankind. From the first man Adam to the birth of Jesus, satan did his best to thwart the coming of Israel’s redeemer King. But God always protects His own and His covenant people brought forth the light of the world. 

Jeremiah 31:35-36 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): 36 “If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

God is always in control of the universe. In Him the world exists in harmony. Nothing can stop Him from His plan and His Word never returns void. Even in our disobedience and even when we are unfaithful He never is. The Blood of Christ will prevail and all of God’s  promises will be fulfilled.

Matthew 24:9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

As hate increases in the world God’s love will put an end to it. The Israelites will be hated because of their being God’s covenant people.  Satan breeds hatred and contempt because he hates the Son of God. In his pride and hate he seeks to usurp the  power of the Blood of Christ but it will never happen. In Jesus it is finished! Carla

Jesus has expressed elements of this passage elsewhere in Matthew. In the early church and its subsequent history, such persecution frequently led to martyrdom. Faithlife Study Bible

The sorrows in verses 7 and 8 literally means “birth pangs.” The earth continually has birth pangs today (Romans 8:22); during the tribulation, these “sorrows” will increase in intensity and frequency until Jesus returns in glory. NKJ Study Bible.

The prophecy first respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward the close, points more particularly to the latter. What Christ here said to his disciples, tended more to promote caution than to satisfy their curiosity; more to prepare them for the events that should happen, than to give a distinct idea of the events. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Matthew 10:17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 

John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 

Matthew 10:21–22 Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 

John 15:18–27 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…

Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Paul understood that darkness is a reality in our broken world ... but for believers in Jesus, it is not our fundamental reality. Through His resurrection, Christ proclaims light for both Jews and gentiles, offering eternal victory over sin and death to all who believe in Him (Acts 26:23). 

"But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles - to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to lightand from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:16-18, emphasis added). First5

…I smile real big, when sharing Mary Oliver’s outlook, “You can have the other words--chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. I'll take grace. I don't know what it is exactly, but I'll take it.”

Here’s the deal: Any time we give one another the gift of embracing the present, of being glad to be alive, or a generous word and gentle hug when times feel unkind, then grace is alive and well. And this I know: Joy is born in the soil of that grace. 

Another joyful and liberating teaching from Jesus is that of love. Love yourself, love one another, love your life. We are desperate for love. Feeling unloved plunges us into the depth of real hell. We will deny our own beauty and value if we thought by doing so would make us loveable. But Jesus told us differently. Again and again he showed us how much we are loved just as we are not only by his words, but by his actions. He provided food, and companionship, and healing, and understanding, and compassion, and encouragement, and clarity.

Rejoice! A new way of life has been given unto you. Be glad of heart. Let peace reside in your soul. For one has come in the midst of our troubled world and psyches with tidings of great joy. You are loved beyond measure. You are whole of spirit. You are amply provided for and forgiven of all trespasses. You belong to the universe and are treasured in the kingdom of heaven. With Love and Joy,” (Thank you Rev. Patty Becker) Sabbath Moments