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And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:1-7

While holding meetings in Southern California I took the inter-urban car one Saturday to go from Los Angeles to a well-known beach resort. We had hardly left the city when a rather peculiar-looking lady (I suppose she was a lady; at any rate, she was of the feminine persuasion), attired in a strange garb that made her look as though she was dressed up in red bandanna handkerchiefs pieced together, and who wore a shawl on her head with a lot of spangles over her forehead, came and sat down beside me, and said, "How do you do, gentleman? You like to have your fortune told?" I said, "Are you able to tell my fortune?" She held out a winsome little palm and said, "Cross my palm with a silver quarter, and I will give you your past, present, and future." "You are very sure you can do that if I give you a quarter?" I said. "You see, I am Scotch, and should hate to part with a quarter and not get proper exchange for it." She looked bewildered for a moment, but then said very insistently, "Yes, gentleman, I can give you your past, present, and future. I never fail; I have wonderful second sight. Cross my palm with a quarter. Please, gentleman. I will tell you all." I said, "It is really not necessary, because I have had my fortune told already, and I have a little Book in my pocket that gives me my past, present and future." "You have it in a book?" she said. "Yes, and it is absolutely infallible. Let me read it to you," I said, and I pulled out my New Testament. She looked startled when she saw it, but I turned to this second chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians and said, "Here is my past, 'And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.'" "Oh, yes," she said; "it is plenty, I do not care to hear more." "But," I said, as I held her gently by the arm, "I want to give you my present also, 'But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.'" "That is plenty, gentleman,' she said; "I do not wish to hear any more." "Oh, but," I replied, "there is more yet, and you must get it; and you are not going to pay me a quarter for it either. I am giving it to you for nothing. It is my past, my present, and my future. Here is the future, 'That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.'" She was on her feet, and I could not hold on any tighter lest I should be charged with assault and battery, and she fled down the aisle, saying, "I took the wrong man! I took the wrong man!"

From In the Heavenlies: Practical Expository Addresses on the Epistle to the Ephesians by H. A. Ironside. First Edition, 1937.

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