As we have walked through the first few verses of Ephesians 1, we see the phrase "In Christ (Him)" repeated. Paul is painting an elaborate and beautiful picture of the what is offered to those who live in relational connection to Jesus. We often times lump all the unique and wonderful blessings of God into the salvation experience. Do they all begin at salvation? Yes, I believe they largely do; however, each facet of what we acquire and lay hold of at salvation is an ongoing adventure and experience with God. We can too easily gloss over the promises of God in Jesus and forget that each one of them is an overwhelming expression of the love and nature of God......forever.

*A bit of context. The prop that I used in this episode to help people visualize my topic is a suitcase that has 'Predestination' written on the front along with Eph 2:10 as well as "God's Will". Inside are promises, not only from these verses, but also from Rom 8:29-30.

The life we have in Christ is one of mystery, adventure and abundance. In this episode we look at what is predestination. What has God predestined for those who are IN Christ? Does He ultimately decide who is saved and who isn't? How can we know or understand what God has for each one of us?

I again take a humble approach to a very controversial topic. I am not saying that I know more than the millions of other Christians before me who debated this topic for centuries. However, I do feel that the Lord has pressed it upon me to share what I do believe.

This week we discussed Ephesians 1:4 where it talks about God choosing us IN Christ. What does it mean that he chose us before the foundation of the world? Do we really have free will? As I share my beliefs and how I interpret these verses, I am well aware that many people smarter and more learned than me have argued these points for centuries. I am humbly sharing my beliefs. This is a pretty large and sweeping topic, so I hope you will be able to understand and follow what I am saying.

Buckle up and come along for the ride!