“Livin’ Large is experiencing the new life we have in Christ. It is living the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit and it is practicing (Ephesians 4-6) our position (Ephesians 1-3).”
Ephesians 1:3
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
In this topic verse for Ephesians 1:3-14, the Apostle Paul begins his discussion of our blessings in Christ with a positive statement of praise to God. Literally the verse affirms God’s “blessedness” for blessing us. God, by virtue of His being and actions, is worthy of our blessing. He is to be praised with all of our devotion. Psalm 100 affirms this when it states:
“1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Our praise and thanksgiving to God should overflow out of us. We should be both intentional and spontaneous in our gratitude and expression of praise. God is blessed and He has blessed us. Praise the Lord!
Take some time to reflect on the “blessedness” of God. Write down on a piece of paper ten things that are true of God and cause you to give thanks and worship Him. Take each of the attributes and actions of God that you wrote down and specifically speak them back to God in words of praise.
Livin’ Large is living a God-centered life. Practicing a life of praise is not only appropriate to the nature of God, it is also a healthy way of living out our calling: “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Eph. 4:1)