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Day 333, or November the 29th. Keep your eyes

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open. Our thoughts today are rooted in Ephesians

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chapter 1, verse 18. I pray that the eyes of

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your heart may be enlightened, in order that

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you may know the hope to which He has called

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you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in

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His holy people. And now the big picture surrounding

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this verse. Paul takes a familiar theme of his

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as he writes to the church in Ephesus. He urges

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them to recognize their wealth in Christ and

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live their lives to the full. He describes their

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riches in Christ in the first half of the letter,

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and then spends the second half encouraging them

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to practice what is theirs already. The church

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in Ephesus was the most influential of the churches

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of Asia Minor, which was the western part of

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today's Turkey. Paul's letter was written from

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prison, and is one of four produced during his

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first imprisonment. He begins by reminding the

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Ephesians that they have been chosen by God,

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redeemed by Jesus, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

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he reminds them that they used to be dead to

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God but now they are alive to him and now our

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action step for today. Whilst I am not an avid

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fan of darts, I was impressed to learn that the

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greatest player ever, Phil the power Tailor was

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twenty-six years old before he took up darts

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seriously, and only then because he moved house

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and his wife bought him a set of darts for his

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birthday. How sad it would have been if he had

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never fulfilled his potential! This theme of

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missing out is in Paul's mind as he writes to

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the Ephesians, pleading with them to realize

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what God has done for them and how unbelievably

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rich they are in the things of God. When a baby

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fails to fulfil its potential, it's a real shame.

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The tragedy is no less when a babe in Christ

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fails to mature and realize all that God offers.

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One of the joys of ministry is spotting potential

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and encouraging folk to see it too. This privilege

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is not limited to leaders. It's open to all of

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us. Look for potential in others, then tell them.

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and watch them grow.