Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Friday, August 21, 2026

QT 8/21/2026 Eph 1:11-14, A promised inheritance dependent entirely on God

Ephesians 1:11–14 (ESV) —

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

NOTE: In Jesus, we have an inheritance that we have been predestined to according to God's will. In other words, God chose us and with that comes an inheritance. When we heard and believed, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who remains in us as as the promise of that inheritance until we acquire possession. Intermingled in the midst of predestined and acquisition of a future inheritance, is "we heard and believed," and yet it is also all predestined. In God's infinite mind, this all fits together as a perfect puzzle. But in our finite mind, it doesn't. God did it all, even before the beginning of time, and then somehow, later in a moment in time, we freely chose to believe the gospel. How do we reconcile?

 

I choose to believe what God has revealed in the Scriptures as truth. My lack of understanding does not sentence God but rather exposes my limited human knowledge and understanding. I admit that compared to the infinite I am literally stupid. And that is true of comparing myself to many others with finite minds as well.

 

I don't understand predestination and free will. But I do understand promise. God has promised an inheritance and has sealed me with his Holy Spirit as a guarantee of that future inheritance. God is on the line, so to speak, for everything. I wait and praise him for his overwhelming kindness and mercy to me.

 

PONDER:

  1. Am I secure in my salvation? Have I heard and believed?

 

PRAYER: Lord, I'm not sure I will even ask this question in heaven because I probably still will not understand. But I do believe that I am predestined to a future inheritance. And I know that I chose to believe after that fact. It does all fit together in your mind.

 

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