The Friday after the Festival of the Ascension of our Lord
Posted on May 15, 2026 by under
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14 (NKJV)
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Devotion
Through the waters of Holy Baptism we are buried in Christ. We are clothed with Christ. His blood covers us and washes us. We are in Christ, and He is in us. It is faith that does this; the faith that was created and implanted in us by the work of the Holy Ghost through baptism. It is His blessing that He has placed upon us through the Word connected to baptism, by which we receive “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” To be in Christ, and for Him to be in us through faith, we are “adopted as sons.” This our Lord has determined “before the foundation of the world.” And it all begins in baptism, in which we are forgiven by the blood shed for us on the cross.
What was begun in baptism is sustained and strengthened through the Lord’s Body and Blood given in bread and wine. As we hear in the Divine Service, in the Exhortation, “whoso eateth of this bread, and drinketh of this cup, firmly believing the words of Christ, dwelleth in Christ, and Christ in him, and hath eternal life.” By this meal, that which was begun in baptism is kept alive. The faith we were given is sustained, so that we may continue to cling to the promises of our Lord Jesus. He continues to bless us with “every spiritual blessing,” especially forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended into the heavens, so may we also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with Him continually dwell; Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
