100 Days Of Favor (42 page)

Today’s Scripture

Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. —Ephesians 1:5–6

D
O YOU BELIEVE
that you are beloved and highly favored by God? Ephesians 1:6 says, “to the praise of the glory of His grace [unmerited favor], by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” It is not possible for us to make ourselves accepted. We are made accepted by the glory of the Lord’s unmerited favor. The word “accepted” in Ephesians 1:6 is the Greek word
charitoo.
Now, the root word for
charitoo
is
charis,
¹
which means “grace.” So
charitoo
simply means “highly graced” or “highly favored.” In other words, you are highly favored in the Beloved!

For the devil’s temptations to work, he cannot remind you that you are God’s beloved.

Now, we know that “the Beloved” in Ephesians 1:6 refers to Jesus. If you read on, it says in the next verse that “In Him [Jesus the Beloved] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace [unmerited favor].” Now, why didn’t the Bible just say that we are highly favored in Jesus or in Christ? (There are no insignificant details in the Bible.) Why did the Holy Spirit choose specifically to say that we are highly favored “
in the Beloved”
?

“Beloved” is a warm and intimate term that was used by God at the Jordan River to describe Jesus. The Bible tells us that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, as soon as He came up from the water, “He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My
beloved Son,
in whom I am
well pleased’
” (Mark 1:10–11). In these scriptures, you can see the triune God—God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This tells us that there is something very important for us to learn here.

God the Father spoke publicly and His words were recorded for you to know that to be “accepted in the Beloved” means that God is
well pleased
with
you
today. See yourself sandwiched right smack in the midst of Jesus, God’s Beloved. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you in your failures and shortcomings. He sees you in Jesus’ perfection and loveliness! Because you are in Christ, God says to
you, “
You, _______________ (insert your name here), are My beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is well-pleasing to God because He kept the law perfectly. You and I are well-pleasing to God because we are accepted and highly favored in the Beloved, who took all our sins and fulfilled the law on our behalf!

Immediately after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The devil came to Jesus and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3). Now, don’t forget that Jesus had just heard the voice of His Father affirming Him with the words “You are My beloved Son.” Years ago, as I was studying Jesus’ temptations by the devil, the Lord asked me, “Did you notice that the devil dropped one word when he came to tempt My Son?”

I had never heard anyone preach this before or read this in any book, but God opened my eyes to see that the devil had omitted the word “beloved”! God had just told Jesus, “You are My
beloved
Son.” But shortly after that, the devil came to Jesus, saying, “If You are the Son of God…” The word “beloved” is missing! The serpent had deliberately left out the word “beloved”!

The Lord then showed me that for the devil’s temptations to work, he cannot remind you that you are God’s beloved. The moment you are reminded of your identity as God’s beloved in Christ, he will not be able to succeed! It is no wonder that the devil wants to rob believers of their sense of being God’s beloved. So don’t fall for the devil’s trick. Remind yourself today and every day that you
are
God’s beloved!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I thank You that You accept, love and favor me because I am found in Christ, Your Beloved. I did not do anything to deserve this—it is all Christ and Your undeserved favor. Help me to always be conscious of the fact that I am Your beloved child. Thank You for showing me that the more conscious I am of this truth, the more the devil’s temptations cannot succeed in my life. Today, I expect good things to happen to me—just because I am Your beloved child!

Today’s Thought

I am God’s beloved and highly favored in Christ the Beloved.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 97

Feed On God’s Love Daily

Today’s Scripture

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

M
Y FRIEND
,
G
OD
wants you to live each day knowing that you are His beloved child, in whom He is well pleased. That is your daily nourishment from Him—to know, believe and confess that you are His beloved and that you are well-pleasing to Him all the time.

Live each day feeding on God’s love, grace, perfect acceptance of and unmerited favor toward you.

So live each day feeding on God’s love, grace, perfect acceptance of and unmerited favor toward you. When you do so, you are reminding yourself that you are His beloved no matter what happens to you. When you are constantly full of the consciousness of His favor on your life, nothing can get you down. You will have such a confidence of God’s goodness toward you that even when the devil starts throwing lemons at you, you know that God will turn those lemons into refreshing lemonade for you! You begin to have a confident expectation of good even when circumstances in the natural don’t look so great. That is walking by faith in Jesus’ goodness, and not by sight. You are no longer looking at your challenges. You are looking at Jesus’ face shining upon you and imparting grace into your situation.

When you are confident that you are God’s beloved, not only will you overcome the devil’s temptations, you will dare to ask Him to bless you even in the little things. Many years ago, Wendy and I went to a restaurant for dinner when she was pregnant with Jessica. As we were about to order our food, a man seated not too far away from us took out a pack of cigarettes and prepared to take a smoke. I really didn’t want Wendy to take in any of that secondhand cigarette smoke, but there was no nonsmoking section in that restaurant. So guess what I did? I prayed! Under my breath, I told the Lord, “Lord, I know that I am Your beloved. Please stop that man from smoking in this restaurant.” That was all I said—a quick and simple prayer.

Guess what happened? That man tried to light his cigarette, but he just could not get his lighter to work! He persisted and kept trying, but no matter what he did, the lighter simply would not work. After some time, he shoved his cigarettes back in his shirt pocket in frustration. Praise Jesus! Even in the little things, God hears and answers the prayers of His beloved. Nothing is too big or too small for your Daddy God. If it matters to you, it matters to Him. When you know that you are His beloved, you can walk in constant expectation of His unmerited favor in every situation!

Some years ago, I was taking a cab in New York and I took the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with the driver. Her response was quite typical. She said flippantly, “God loves everybody, man!”

It is absolutely true that God loves everybody, but to experience His love firsthand in your life, you have to
personalize His love for you.
Jesus died for you and do you know that even if you were the only person on earth, God would still have sent His Son to die on the cross for you? That is how precious YOU are to Him!

You need to personalize John 3:16 by declaring, “For God so loved _______________ (insert your name), He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for _______________ (insert your name).” Be like the disciple John, who personalized the Lord’s love for him by calling himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

The sun shines on every blade of grass in a field. But if you put a magnifying glass over one particular blade of grass, it will center the heat from the sun over that blade, and that blade of grass will burn. That is what you must do with God’s love. Put a magnifying glass over your life and imagine God’s love being focused and concentrated on YOU! When you personalize God’s love for YOU, when you live each day knowing that God loves YOU,
you
will be blazing with a supernatural ability to overcome every challenge in life!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I thank You that I am Your beloved child, precious in Your sight. Because You are God, You can so love the whole world and still love me with a personal love. Your goodness toward me enables me to soar above the storms of life. Even when the devil throws lemons at me, You will turn those lemons into refreshing lemonade for me! Today, I see You smiling on me as I stand under the spotlight of Your unconditional love and unmerited favor. I call this day blessed and full of right happenings for me!

Today’s Thought

I can ask God for big or small things. If it matters to me, it matters to Him because I am His beloved!

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 98

Rest In Jesus’ Finished Work

Today’s Scripture

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace [unmerited favor] in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. —Ephesians 2:4–7