Chocolate, Paradise, and Every Spiritual Blessing

{Welcome my friend and mentor – though she may not have realized that last one! – Kathy Howard.  One of the biggest blessings of starting Scripture Dig has been getting to know Kathy.   To wrap up our first week of Starting Well, she is sharing about a great Bible study she is going to begin next week on her blog.  If you are looking for a place to start in Bible study this year, THIS would be perfect!!}

Chocolate surrounded me. Left, right, ahead, and behind. Everywhere I turned, chocolate lay in great mounds. Every shape and size, wrapped and unwrapped, with nuts and without, cream-filled and nougat, round and rectangle. I have dreamed of a chocolate paradise such as this many times, but this wasn’t a dream.

Ephesians Bible Study www.kathyhoward.org

This time I stood in an actual chocolate paradise. This was not some average, American chocolate shop. I had the joy of salivating in a European chocolate establishment. (And yes, Hershey, they do it better.) The chocolate aroma overwhelmed me and I had to squash the thought of Eve eyeing the forbidden fruit.

Everything I could have hoped for was here – plus many I could have never imagined. The tantalizing smorgasbord of tastes and textures excited me. Chocolate with coconut for my husband? Three choices! Sugar-free chocolate for my diabetic father-in-law? Oh yes, more than he could ever eat! The experience far surpassed my greatest chocolate fantasy. I left with gifts in one hand and my own personal stash in the other.

This morning I fondly thought about this chocolate shop visit when I read through the Bible book of Ephesians. Here’s a couple of passages that thrilled me:

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. Ephesians 1:3, NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20, NIV

I know my chocolate experience is a weak analogy for these glorious promises, but no physical comparison can measure up to the spiritual blessing God desires to pour into our lives. (So everything considered, being set loose with an unlimited chocolate selection was a good choice.)

Are you experiencing “every spiritual blessing in Christ?” Have you witnessed God do “immeasurable more than all you can ask or imagine?” I honestly can’t say I have, but I’m growing that direction. Want to come along?

You’re invited to join me in a study of the book of Ephesians. “Growing Up Together – a study of Ephesians,” begins Wednesday, January 18th on my blogsite. You can visit my blog now for a bit more information.

Do you long to experience God’s blessing in your life? In what areas do you feel your faith needs to grow?

www.kathyhoward.org

Kathy Howard calls herself a “confused southerner.” Raised in Louisiana, she and her husband have lived all over North America. She doesn’t know whether to say “coke” and “ya’ll” or “pop” and “you guys.” But this Southern girl loves to encourage women through teaching and writing about God’s Word. Find out more about Kathy’s Bible studies and speaking ministry and get lots of free resources at www.kathyhoward.org

Read the Psalms this summer with Scripture Dig!

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