[Monday's Devotional] - A Letter to the Saints

1  A Letter to the Saints This week, a look at the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.   We often skip through the opening verses of letters, but they have a lot of say to us.  Paul writes,   Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1: 1, 2 [NIV]   To whom is Paul writing?  To the saints.   These are not some sort of spiritual elite, but real people, just ordinary Christians.  The word 'saint' just means 'set apart' or 'holy', so Christians are people whom God has set apart to belong to him.   And this is who we are: set apart by God, and belonging to him.  What a privilege!   Paul prays two things for his readers: grace and peace.   Grace is a Greek greeting.  It sums up God's undeserved love for us. Peace is the Hebrew greeting 'shalom', which is rich in meaning: peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquillity.   So Paul prays that we may know both God's love for us, and the peace that comes through a restored relationship with him through our Lord Jesus Christ.   "You made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you."  [Augustine]   Father, thank you for setting me apart as one of your people.  May I know more of your love and peace today.  Help me to minister that love and people to others.  Amen.   David Long   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!