Stand Firm and Take Heart

Read 1 Peter 5:8-14
Title in NIV: The devil, your enemy.
Closing remarks and greetings.

The first two words convict me greatly: "Be self-controlled...". I feel like Paul in Romans 7:14-24 "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do no want to do-- this I keep doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (we will answer that in a moment!)

If you are a person who feel better when you know "every one is doing it," then ... feel better! 1Peter 5:9 "you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering."

Have faith and be encouraged that God will not leave us in this miserable state. God "will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." Even the next vs. of Romans says it too: Rom 7:25 says, "Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" He is the one who rescues us!! Thank the Lord.

Stand firm in the Lords grace. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all you who are in Christ.

I hope you have enjoyed reading 1Peter as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is for the glory of God.
Have a blessed week!See you back next week. Don't forget to read the sidebars!

Flock Attitude

Read 1 Peter 5:1-7
Title in NIV: Instruction for elders to shepherd God's flock.

I want to focus on God's flock-us; all who are not an elder. We, the flock, are led by our shepherds. We are under the shepherds care. They are our overseers. We should allow them to fulfill that role. We should look to them as examples. We should be submissive to those who are older. We should be humble toward one another because vs. 5b says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Acts 11:29-30 says, "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders by Barnabas and Saul." A flock helps the rest of the flock via the elders.

1 Timothy 5:19 says, "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses." Careful! I'm not sure this means to gossip about something you don't like about the leadership and search out people to be on your side so you can find two or three. What happens when the two or three of you find two or three more and they find two or three more? This is called division of the flock. The one should have prayed and alone gone to an elders meeting to express his opinion.

In vs. 6, Peter compares God's love and care for us to the elders love and care for their flock. He also compares our attitude toward God and our elders: they should be the same. We should humble ourselves to our leaders. We should cast our anxieties on Him/them because they care for us. James 5:14 says, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord."

Let us have the same attitude towards God's spiritual leadership in our life as we have toward the earthly leadership in our life. Because we are really just practicing our attitude toward God in how we treat our earthly leaders.

Be a blessing! Allow some one to be a blessing to you.

An Attitude of Prayer, Love, and Service

Read 1 Peter 4:1-11
Title in NIV: Exhortation to pray, love and serve.

Vs. 1 Peter says, "arm yourselves also with the same attitude". What attitude? Suffering in our bodies. When we consciously suffer in our body, our attitude shows spiritual matters are more important to us than the comforts of this world and flesh. We may suffer financially to help someone (our comfort is not as important as someones need for groceries, clothes, rent or a car part); we may suffer by loosing time (our comfort is not as important as providing for some one's need); we may suffer for not joining in with others (our comfort is not as important as compromising our morals and clean conscience); we may suffer when we loose a friend to selfishness (out comfort is not as important as praying, interceding and forgiving this person). You get the point. Making a stand is sometimes uncomfortable, but we need to be bold and sacrifice our comfort.

Vs. 3-5. I have a note in my bible to read this to my kids when they get picked on in school for not joining in something they do not feel is right. I will try my best to refrain from the question, "If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?"

Pray: Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. The word 'sober' comes to mind. Titus 1:8 tells us to be sober-minded in KJ. Sober means not under influence of substances that alter behavior; serious, sensible, not flashy; orderly, able to reason, sanity and self-control; mental and emotional balance. So you see, sober does not only mean not drunk, but it also means not holding onto offense, not sinning in anger, not being bitter. A sober-minded person has love and forgiveness for those who have hurt them. Luke 6:28 says, "bless those who curse you and, pray for those who mistreat you." A sober-minded person is not influenced by substances or emotion. A sober-minded person can forgive even when 'emotionally' they do not 'feel' like it. God wants us to be clear minded and sober-minded so that we can pray.

Love: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Sound familiar? Jesus loved us so deeply that he was willing to give his life to cover over the whole worlds multitude of sins. We need to love that much. Love so much that we are not offended and that we cover over sins in love.

Serve: Offer hospitality. We never know when we will be entertaining angels (Heb 13:1-3). Use your gifts to serve others. I see a lot of people NOT using their gifts. As a church family, we should know what every ones gift is in our church because we have seen them use it. Like the 'body' illustration in 1 Cor. 12:12: I know what my big toe is for- balance. I know what my ear does- hear. I know when I stub my toe, it hurts. We should know what talent the people sitting beside us at church have.

If you do not know what your talent is, pray and God will show you what he wants from you. He may have to get through all your cobwebs, he may have to climb your walls, he may have to swim your oceans of doubt, he may have to hike over your mountains of lethargy, he may have to chip away at your fears, but He will show you. I am guilty of not using what God has given me, too. Sometimes I get tired of teaching. I have many unfinished stories and devos. But, I continually look for what God is trying to teach me and what he wants from me.

We should do all things- serve, sing, write, teach, speak- to glorify Him.

Deepen Your Personal Relationship with the Lord

Read 1 Peter 3:8-22
Title in NIV: Suffering for doing good.

Apply this list of qualities and make this your legacy. Make these qualities what people remember about you.
* live in harmony with one another
* be sympathetic
* love as brothers
* be compassionate
* be humble
* do not repay evil with evil
* do not repay insult with insult
* repay every one with blessings
* keep tongue from evil
* seek peace and pursue it
* turn from evil
* do good

In doing these things you will inherit a blessing from the Lord (eternal life) and you will be a blessing to others, too.

Vs 13 basically says you won't have any enemies if you are eager to do good. And, even if you do suffer for doing right, you will be blessed. Sometimes people do not understand your motives and will be offended even when you are doing a good deed. That is okay! If you are serving the Lord, do not be frightened of what man can do. If you have a clear conscience about your motives and actions, be content.

Vs 15. One day I thought about this verse. I wondered if I was prepared to give an answer to someone about the hope I have. I took pen and bible in hand and wrote my answers for hoping and trusting in the Lord. This answer will be a little different for every one. I challenge you to answer these questions and be ready:
* Why do you have hope?
* Why do you believe in God?
* Why to you have the peace you have? (assuming you have peace in Jesus Christ)
* How can you have joy in loss? (assuming you have joy that is in all situations)

Vs. 20. Noah was saved through water (literally). Even though he did not understand fully, he obeyed and did not allow any negative darts to penetrate his armor. He had a clear conscience toward God and only he and his family were saved. We are told to pledge our good conscience to the Lord through water, also. It is called baptism. If we are truly God's child we will want to please him, obey him, submit to him, serve him and be in good standing with him. I think of a relationship between a woman and a man. At some point it is time to get married or break-up. If they get married they pledge their lives to each other for as long as they live. At some point in our relationship with God we will want to pledge our life to him, too. That pledge of faith and commitment is baptism. It is a very personal experience between man and God; not admittance into a church.

Have a blessed day. Go out and be a blessing to someone today. Grow in your personal relationship with Christ.

Beautiful Motives in Marriage

Read 1 Peter 3:1-7
Title in NIV: Godly relationships in marriage.

I don't believe Paul is saying, "Don't wear make-up, don't wear jewelry, don't braid your hair." I think Paul is saying, "Don't make these things a priority in your character." People will, of course, see the outside first. Aim to make your character stand out more than your clothes, physical appearance, hair and jewelry. Aim to make your gentle and quiet spirit shine through the exterior. Let humility and strength, love and acceptance be what people remember when you are gone. Our biggest challenge in life is to become more and more spiritually minded and less and less worldly.

Christians define beauty differently than the world does. We know God made each one and that he loves each one unconditionally. How shallow for someone to regard hair, make-up, jewels and the like as more important than the inner beauty of love, humility, faithfulness and forgiveness. God made us exactly the way he wanted us. He gave us our hair color, our eye color, our skin type, our body stature and our personalities. Why mess with perfection? Everyone is perfect: God made you. I wonder if God ever looks at us and says, "Who are you? I didn't give you that eye color. I didn't give you that hair color. I didn't give you that tan. Do you not like what I, GOD, have given you?"

Be careful not to allow these material things to take time away from God. And make sure your motives for enjoying these things are not to impress others, look younger or keep up appearances for a social status. Next time you get your hair or nails done or buy or receive a piece of jewelry, thank God for allowing you to enjoy them. Ask God to help you put Him before material possessions. Remember the saying, "Where your treasure is, there your heart is also." What you put your money, time and energy into, there will your heart be also.
Think about it: Do you spend more time, money and energy on shopping, hair, nails, ect. a week or reading, studying and spending time and money on others? Getting pampered is not a bad thing, but allowing these things to take the place of God is.

I could go on and on. The point is: have pure servant-like motives and not self-centered, materialistic and selfish motives. God gives us things to enjoy like chocolate and salons, but not at the cost of loosing our focus from Him.

Vs. 5 and 6 says that women made themselves beautiful by having a gentle and quiet spirit. They were also submissive to their husbands. The way you treat your husband is a reflection of your true feelings toward God and His authority in your life. In other words, all of us have an authority over us- men and women alike. How you react to that authority (be it a husband, a boss, an elder in the church)shows your attitude toward authority in general. If you have a problem with people in authority, you more than likely have a problem with God's authority in your life. Do you deny what God is calling you to do and planning for your life?

Vs. 7 Women have to accept the fact that we were created as the help meet, the weaker partner'. NOT weak in terms of knowledge or contributing to family, society, church or career, weak in terms of hierarchy of leadership. When sin came into the world, God gave man 'rule over his wife'. God intended for the man to be the spiritual leader because, after all, Eve messed up. Examples of this are numerous in the bible. There are examples of the husband being evil in the sight of the Lord and he and his whole household were destroyed (Num. 16). He spiritually lead his family to destruction. There are examples of husbands believing for the first time and he and all his household were baptized (Acts 11:14; 16:13-15;31). He lead his household to be saved. We, as wives, should allow our husbands to be the spiritual leaders God wants them to be. Think of your motives in all situations.

Blessings to you!

Die to Sin and live for Righteousness

Read 1 Peter 2:11-25
Title in NIV: Live lives that glorify God.

How can we live lives that glorify God? This chapter has a long list.
*abstain from sinful desires, they war against your soul
*be an example with your good life; others will see you and glorify God; some will want what you have and seek God
*submit to earthly authority: king, supreme authority, governors
*live as free men,..., live as servants of God; be a free servant- can that be possible? Yes. You can be free from sin, free from condemnation, free from guilt and blame (justified)and also serve others needs. Its sounds contradictory to those not in Christ.
*show proper respect to everyone
*love the brotherhood of believers
*fear God-holy respect (spiritual)
*honor the king (worldly:give Caesar what is Caesars concept in Rom 13:7)
*submit yourselves to your master: since we are now slaves to righteousness, God and Christ Jesus is our master
*Follow Christ's example: servant in love
*have no deceit found in you
*do not retaliate
*make no threats
*entrust yourself to God
*die to sin
*live for righteousness
*Return to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul.

If you are like me, you have to return daily to God by confessing and praying and refocusing on our Overseer again and again. I struggle with things I want to to get rid of in my life that I continually do. I struggle with things I want to incorporate in my life that I don't have the will power to do. Instead of this constant war getting me down, I remember what the Lord told Paul. Paul had a thorn in his flesh that the Lord would not take away. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So, I endure my weaknesses over and over but I remember Christ's power works in me not my own. I return daily to him for HIS strength and try to leave my strength at the foot of the cross. His weakness is stronger than my strength (1 Cor 1:25).

Make vs. 24 your life's ambition:"die to sin and live for righteousness."

Be a blessing to someone today.

Read 1Peter 2:1-3
Chapter 2 begins with the word 'therefore'. I believe it is referring to ch. 1:24-25 It states (paraphrased) that men are only on earth for a moment and their glory is short lived. But the word of the Lord stand forever. Therefore, get rid of all the unholy things in your character such as:
*malice- desiring harm for another, being spiteful
*deceit-represent what is false as truth; trick; fraud; lie
*hypocrisy-pretending to be what one is not; pretend to be better than you
really are
*envy-feeling ill of another's advantages or possessions; resentful; jealousy
*slander-statement uttered that damages a persons character (most if not
all gossip is slander! think about it: does it build up or tear down a persons
character?)
Vs. 3 anticipates that you will desire to live holy without all these characteristics because you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1Timothy 3:5 says, "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance."

We are called to crave pure spiritually milk like infants. But also, like an infant, we are called to mature and grow up. I gave a lesson at to the ladies at church about being an infant craving milk and maturing. I believe spiritual milk is passive. It is listening to the word, studying the word and reading the word. Basically, all the ways you can ingest the word by sitting is the milk of the word. Becoming mature is the action, application and use of the word. You can have all the knowledge of the bible, you can have the whole bible memorized, but if you do not use what you have learned, you are not mature. To be mature we have to use our talents, use our money, use our time and use ourselves to serve others.

Read 1Peter 2:4-10
Title in NIV: Believers are like living stones.

I love the visual in vs. 4-8. What do you need to start a house? You need a pure space: no tree stumps and level. You need the space to be sure: a solid foundation not on material that will erode or give way. When building you need solid materials at the bottom to support the walls and roof at the top. This passage says we are being build into a spiritual house. When you are in a spiritual house, you have 2 responsibilities. One, you are to be strong and trustworthy so you can support the ones above you. If you are not strong you will cause those above you to doubt or fall. Two, be an encourager and good example to those below to build them up and help them persevere. You can serve the ones above by holding them up with your support. You can serve the ones below by encouraging them to not loose faith.

To us who believe, we accept this example because we love those who God made and know 'it is not all about us'. Those who reject this example can't understand why we are not 'looking out for number one' and stumble on the message because they do not live for Christ.
So now that we are a chosen people, Christians, we are a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God. We should praise him who showed us the glorious light in Jesus Christ. We have received mercy from the Lord and now live for his Son who the mercy is passed through.
Blessings to you all!

Satan Hates Strangers in the World: Be One

Read 1 Peter 1:17-21


Remember, this letter was written to Christians, so they would be calling on their 'Father', 'Master', 'Teacher', 'Savior'. He said he was coming back and they believed him. He expected them to follow him after he was gone and follow what he taught even though it was not popular. Even 63 years (when this was written) after Jesus' death, many people were still sacrificing animals at the temple everyday. (In my study, I discovered that sacrifices took place at the temple until 70 AD when the temple was destroyed for the second time by the Romans.) The Christians were in the minority. They were to follow Christ and his teachings which made them seem strange and 'far out'. Paul tells the people to live as strangers.





Have you ever been to a foreign land? Have you ever been to a business party of your spouse where you knew no one? You probably felt like a stranger. Others greeted each other with excitement and dialogue that you could not participate in. You might have felt out of place and waited until someone talked to you first. Being a Christian, we are called to feel like that everyday and in every situation. We are to feel like this world is not our home. We are to feel like strangers. We are called not to have a carnal mind. Romans 8:6 says in the NKJ says,"For to be carnally minded is death." Carnal means 'worldly'. So to be worldly-minded is death. The NIV says, "Mind of a sinful man is death." So, there is a good reason not to be carnally/ worldly/ sinful minded. We are to be strangers to that worldly knowledge.





Here is a personal example: In high school I watched a movie. I really did not know much about it, just that it had an actor I liked and that he was a detective. I learned about things in that movie that I did not even know existed. For weeks I could not get it out of my head. I kept thinking how much better off I would have been to stay naive in the knowledge I gained. 1Cor 14:20 says, "In regards to evil, be infants...", and Romans 16:19 says, "be innocent about what is evil." I wish I would have stayed a stranger to those images and knowledge.

Vs. 18 says we are redeemed from 'the empty way of life'. How empty of holiness and purity and righteousness I felt weeks after that movie. I felt emptied of anything good, lovely, praiseworthy and pure (Phil 4:8). How awful to continue in that feeling by continuing to participate in what steals innocence. I am so thankful to be redeemed with Christ's blood. To be redeemed means to be rescued from something esp. sin.

Because Jesus died for us, gave his life for us, gave his flesh for us in scourging and beatings to the point of being unrecognizable (Is 42:14), gave his blood for us, we should desire to keep in step with him by being holy, blameless, pure and participating in those things that are good, lovely and praiseworthy. To participate in these things may make you feel like a stranger in the world and maybe even to your family. My prayer for you: Follow the desire in your heart even if they are making you step out of your box with an uncomfortable 'stranger-like' feeling. God is putting that desire there. And, put your faith and hope in God.

Fully Conform to Him

These verses are so rich I took 5 pages of notes. I will stretch them over a couple of weeks.


Read 1Peter 1:13-16





Title in NIV: Be Holy





These verses start out with the word 'therefore'. So, we have to go back and find out what the writer was referring to. I think it is vs. 12: "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you... (vs.13) Therefore, prepare your minds for action..." It goes on to explain how to prepare your mind for action. Be self-controlled, set you hope fully on the grace God has given you, do not conform to evil desires and be holy.



I began to look closer at a couple of words in this passage. The first word is 'fully'. When you do something fully, there is no room for anything else. And, anything else would take away from your goal. For example:

* 1Kings 8:61 be fully committed; If you are not fully committed you leave room for something to take your focus off your commitment.

* Ps 119:138 be fully trustworthy; If you are not fully trustworthy you leave room for something to make you untrustworthy.

* Pro 13:4 the desires of diligent are fully satisfied; If you are not fully satisfied in your diligent work for the Lord, you leave room for selfish desires to guide your work.

* Luke 6:40 be fully trained; If you are not fully trained by God's word you leave room for worldly influences to train and influence you.

* Rom 14:5 be fully convinced; If you are not fully convinced you have worked out your own salvation with God you leave room for doubt to creep in your soul and you leave room for others to offend you.

* Rom 4:21 be fully persuaded that God has power to do what he has promised; If you are not fully persuaded then you leave room for doubt in God's ability.

* 1Cor 15:58 fully give yourself to work of the Lord; If you do not fully give yourself to the work of the Lord you leave room for worldly activities to take over you time.



Therefore, "whatever you do in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord," Colossians 3:17. You can do laundry for God's glory knowing you are providing for your families needs. You can wash your car for God's glory knowing you are taking care of material things he gave you. You can stay at home, you can have a career all for the glory of God knowing you are doing all things for Him and with the talents He gave you.



The next word is 'conform'. Romans 12:2 says, "do not conform to the patterns of this world." What are we to conform to? Romans 8:29 says, "conform to the likeness of his Son." If we conform to his son and follow his example we will be blessed and be a blessing to others.

Have a blessed day fully relying on God today.

Joy for the Journey

Read 1 Peter 1:8-12

Faith is explained here: though you have not seen him, you love him, though you do not see him now, you believe in him. Because we are confident that he is here with us, we are filled with joy. It says we are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy. When was the last time you felt inexpressible joy. This deep immeasurable joy is with us all the time. It does not depend on our circumstances. Happiness depends on our circumstances. Joy we have always, happiness comes and goes. Joy results from receiving the 'goal of our faith'. The goal of our faith is salvation for our soul. If you have the Lord, you should also have confidence. Pr. 3:26 says, "for the Lord will be you confidence." And 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity." Have confidence you are an heir because God keeps his promises. Accept the Holy Spirit's work in your life and be bold. Know you are saved!

Grace God gives is free to all who will just seek out this gift. God does not hold back. The definition of salvation is deliverance from danger or evil; especially deliverance from all that separates people from God. Sin separated us from God, but Jesus took care of that!! He took our sin on himself and left them at the cross. So, now God only sees a righteous people (if you are in Christ). Jesus did not just take our sins away, he replaced them with himself in us: the Holy Spirit.
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If you have been saved, you have the Holy Spirit indwelling in you. You may not be recognizing it so take a moment to be with God and listen to what the Spirit is telling you. It may be little like picking up trash on the road. Or it may be huge like asking someone to church. Whatever it is, it is the first step of many that God wants you to take. These steps will benefit you and others as well.

So, jump on the path, take the journey, and get in-step with the Spirit. A God-filled journey is fun and exciting!! And remember, He will give you rest, too!

Heavenly Inheritance vs. Earthly Inheritance

Read 1 Peter 1:3-7

Title in NIV: An inheritance kept in heaven.



Half of vs. 3, vs. 4-5 is all one long sentence. 63 words. It always helps me to dissect a long sentence like that. I find making sense out of each part helps me get the whole picture.



"In his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection..." vs. 3. The old testament hope was only about getting the outward body clean for a short time. It did not deliver the worshiper from anything. Our new birth represents baptism that symbolizes a cleansing of our conscience and washing away of our sins. The old testament sacrifices could not forgive sins, only Jesus can take away sins and forgive when we accept his work on the cross.



"...and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you...". Our spiritual inheritance is kept in heaven unlike earthly inheritance. We use our heirs earthly inheritance and leave the leftovers to them when we pass on. For example, land or jewelry. We use land to provide for our earthly needs. We wear jewelry as a symbol of our vows or because we love the valuable metal and stones. Our heirs get these things when we die. In contrast, our heavenly inheritance is stored up and added to daily by our actions and good faith. It is stored up in heaven until we die. Then, in heaven, we receive our inheritance and enjoy it with our Savior. In Ephesians 1:13 our inheritance is guaranteed if we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seals us with a mark until redemption. Christians are sealed on their foreheads with a mark. Read Rev. 7:2-3, 9:4, Ez 9:4-6.



"...who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation..." Our faith allows God to shield us and protect us for that day Jesus Christ will return.



Vs. 6-7 Part of our inheritance is attained through suffering. God wants us to rejoice because we are sure we are part of His inheritance--in heaven, stored up for us. However, we are not in heaven yet. We are on the fallen (sinful) earth. We are on the earth with its griefs and trials that cause us to suffer. These trials have to come so our faith may be proved genuine and so He knows we stand with him. We add to our inheritance every time we stand with him. Have you heard the phrase, "If it does not kill you, it will make you stronger?" Trials make you stronger and add to your inheritance if you do not loose faith.



Vs. 7 says faith is of greater worth than gold because, unlike faith, gold burns up in fire but faith withstands even the hottest of fires. In the end of vs. 7, if your faith is genuine Jesus Christ will be praised, glorified and honored when he is revealed.



Let us put more stock in our heavenly inheritance than we do in our earthly inheritance. Let us also have genuine faith and stand with Christ and stand up for Christ and walk in-step with Christ daily.

Who are You?

To get the most out of my comments, read 1 Peter 1:1-2



Introduction







First and Second Peter were written between 63 and 66 years after Jesus' death. Nero was ruler and persecuted the Christians terribly. Peter writes to the Christians in Asia Minor to prepare them for suffering, comfort them in their suffering and urge them to remain strong during their suffering.



Peter is writing this letter to "God's elect". Who are they? They are scattered Christians in Asia Minor. They are his chosen people. At this point in history, the old covenant has been set aside and the new covenant has been established. Therefore, I believe, God's elect are not the Israelites God led to the promised land and their descendants. God's elect is anyone who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God and follows his example. The old covenant Canaan was the Israelite's/Hebrew's promised land. The new covenant Heaven is promised to those who believe-- no matter your ancestry or continent you live on. Revelation 17:4 says, "Gods elect are his called, chosen and faithful followers". You cannot reject Jesus as the Son of God like the Jews and be a faithful follower.

There are characteristics God's elect should possess. In Colossians 3:12 it says,"Therefor, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity."





Christians are also 'strangers in the world'. Strangers in the sense that you don't feel like this world is your home and you long to be with Jesus in heaven. Our focus should not be in this world even though we live in it. We should find a way to separate ourselves from the knowledge that leads to death and focus on spiritual matters. Matthew 6:16 says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy.... But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy.... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We should not feel comfortable here on this earth. We should feel like we are just passing through. If we begin to feel comfortable and satisfied where we are then, I think, we have stopped trying to please God.



I thank God for having a plan for his people before he began to create us. He foreknew we would not be able to keep his commands. He planned for Jesus to sanctify us even before we existed. He is a smart God, too. He saved the best for last--salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. He set up those 600+ laws in the old testament to make it impossible for us to follow. He did this so the better covenant through his Son could accomplish completely. God's plan is perfect.



So, who are you? You are God's elect, strangers in the world, who have been chosen by God to lavish his grace on through the work of the Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.