Abide

 

... then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

” Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.” John 8:31-33,36 (NKJV)

Words of Jesus

Jesus gives His disciples guidance for being free from sin and guilt.

If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed.

The Lord states that His disciples must stand fast in what He teaches them and what He tells others about how to be free from sin.

And you shall know the truth

When we set out to discover God’s truth, we learn of Jesus and His ways and how to follow Him in our daily lives. We learn these things by studying the Bible, reading devotions, and by praying to God.

the truth shall set you free.

When we discover the truth of God, we should have no fears about circumstances that normally would affect our lives. We become free from worry and live at peace.

if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed

When Jesus makes us free from worry and guilt, we can experience a new-found state of freedom that no one can take away from us. Yes, I know, the enemy will try but as long as we take those issues to Jesus, we are still free.

Pray Constantly

 

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Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal,

be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation,

be constant in prayer.

Romans 12:10-12 (ESV)

Words of Paul

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to “ all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints….” (Romans 1:7)

As God’s children, we are to treat each other as if they were our brothers and sisters. He instructs us to do this because we are all God’s children.

Paul further tells us we are to “Outdo one another in showing honor.” When we choose to do something for someone, we should do it because we are led to. We are not supposed to expect something from him or her in return.

Paul tells us we are not to be ‘slothful in zeal,” by this he means that we are not to be slow in passion or enthusiasm.¹

He next tells us to “be fervent in Spirit”.

Being fervent simply means having great depth or feeling.²

He next tells us to “serve the Lord.” Simply stated, we are to work for the Lord, our God.

Now, some of us are unable to do what we used to do for God. For me, I am able to pray and send cards to those who are ill, have lost a loved one, or try to encourage those who seem to be down.

He tells us to “Rejoice in hope,” We are to take pleasure³ in hope and all the good things God allows us to experience.

He, then tells us to “be patient in tribulation,” This is one area of my life that I have struggled with for a long time.

It’s been in recent years that I have found myself to be calm during something that could cause a person much stress. (In the past, I could be a basket case when things got to tense.)

Paul then tells us to “be constant in prayer.” Sometimes, we have to mentally send up sentence prayers to God. At other times we can receive a phone call from someone who asks us to pray for them. We can pray for that need right then. We should always be ready to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as those who need to know Jesus.

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1,2,and 3 are taken from Merriam-Webster Dictionary. com Accessed 4/25/2023

God Gives Us Hope

 

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Now hope does not disappoint,

 because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by

the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

Words of Paul written to the believers in Rome.

Paul has just told the Roman believers that hope is the by-product of character. We receive this thing called hope because God envelops us with His love. This out-pouring of His love comes to His people during difficult times. Paul calls these times tribulation.

Today, we have tribulation going on everywhere we look. Senseless killings, unexplained accidents, earthquake upon earthquake, we might wonder why these things are becoming so prevalent. Mark 13:8 tells us “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles These are the beginnings of sorrows.” (NKJV)

One would wonder “Where is our hope?” Our hope is in the LORD. We know certain events are out of our control, and yet, we know in our hearts that God is in control and loves us through his Holy Spirit.

HE IS WITH US (and Blog Break)

 

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Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14 (NRSV)

Do we understand the significance of the angel’s message? This message refers to a prophecy of Isaiah some 4oo years earlier. God is with us!

Even today, we see evidence of God’s presence in our world. The end of November 2017, I received a prayer request from my best friend. Her husband’s nephew had called and asked her to pray for his new-born granddaughter. The baby was born with three heart abnormalities.

The medical team waited for almost a week before performing surgery. In the meantime, several of us were praying. I requested prayer from one of my social media friends and from an online social media prayer group. This family needed to see God’s working in this circumstance. On the day I prepared this. My friend texted me a picture of the baby being held by her 3-year-old sister. She seems to have no tubes for breathing or feeding or heart monitor leads. We believed that this baby will go home very soon. God was with them throughout this past year.

UPDATE: In the fall of 2022, my friend and her husband along with their younger daughter journeyed out west and visited this nephew and his family. The little girl told my friend’s husband that she has a zipper on her chest. He told her that he has a zipper as well. The child is doing very well.

In the early part of our nation, there were people who believed that God created the world and chose to stand back and see what we would do. However, this is not the way the modern theologians teach. Those of us who have witnessed His workings know that God chooses to stand beside us in the good times and in the not-so-good times and guides us through those less than good times.

As we continue in our walk with God, let us learn to seek God in our lives and let Him lead us through the difficult times of our lives.

May this thought continue as we approach the upcoming New Year.

I am going to take a blog break until Tuesday, January 3, 2023. There are some things I need to get done here at home and also finish a bit of Christmas shopping,

What Lacking Self-Control Looks Like

 

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A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25: 28 (ESV)

Words of Solomon, the son of David.

Someone without self-control seems to fall for ‘the latest’, what he or she hears from the television or reads in the newspaper. That person is not grounded in faith.

We see this result in our world today with the seeming popularity of “groups” that promote ideas that were unheard of 40, 50, or more years ago.

Carla Gasser, author of The Beauty of An Uncluttered Soul, tells us that a person who practices self-control practices spirit- control. That person lives with the Holy Spirit guiding him or her.

At first, it is not easy to function with the Holy Spirit leading our lives. I believe it gets easier to do as we go practice giving issues to the LORD through our days. Even then, we may have times when the enemy chooses to test our resolve.

We must remember that we serve a LORD who understands the stress when the enemy tempts us. He tempted Jesus and Jesus rebuked him.

My sister-in-law had a friend give her a print-out of a meme that had a special message:

“When the devil knocks at your door, ask Jesus to answer it.”

A Gift of God’s Grace

 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, and godly lives in this present age.

Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)

When we turn over our hearts and lives to Jesus, He gives us His Father’s grace to guide us through our lives. We receive salvation and so much more.

We receive the strength to stand against the worldly ungodliness that, from time to time, we have to face. Yes, as I read this scripture believers can say “No” to the worldly things.

The grace of God teaches us that we can manage in this world when we trust in the Holy Spirit to utilize self-control through Him and live lives pleasing to God before our neighbors and those we see where we do business.

I believe it is important that each follower of Jesus must strive to get closer to God and model our beliefs to those around us. However, I do not say this is easy to do. We have to rely on the Holy
Spirit to guide us through the roadblocks that life throws in our way.

A God-Given Spirit

 

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for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Words of Paul to his spiritual son Timothy.

Paul encourages Timothy to not be ashamed of speaking about God or about his (Paul’s) imprisonment.

God empowers His people to stand for Him and His Word. He still empowers us, His followers, to stand firm in the face of what the world throws at us.

A church I was a part of had a guiding document that included the guiding thought that the church’s calling is to approach the world and change it. Instead, we see the world entering the church and changing it. My present church’s denomination historically has been counter-cultural in its beliefs. Slowly, the world has seen to have crept in and tried to destroy the beliefs and practices we have held dear. Author Charles Colson wrote in some of his books that the colleges of the east coast we founded by churches and originally taught Christian values. Even at the time of his writing, the values, once held dear to the institutions were becoming blurred.

There was a gospel song I heard several years ago that summed up what we must do, it’s title-” The Basics of life”. One line said it all, “Let’s get back to the Basics of life. "We need to do just that!

   

Thanksgiving

 

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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

This verse is from a chapter in Psalms we had to memorize when I was in the fifth grade. I always think on this chapter during the month of November.

Each of God’s children must be thankful for no other reason than they belong to God. God blesses, (inward joy is theirs), us because He chooses to.

Each week at the beginning of that week’s journal thoughts, I list things I am thankful for, I call these pages, “Praise More.” This exercise helps me keep in mind who He is and what He does for me.

Do we ever take the time to thank God for bringing us through to another day? We must because each day we have is a gift from Him.

Do we remember to give thanks to Him for His watch care over us? Have we ever barely missed being involved in a car wreck because of something that kept us from being where we could have been severely injured?

Do we realize that God is our protector at all times during our life? He knew us in our unformed state (Psalm 139:16) and watched over us even before we knew Him.

All we can do in return is give thanks and praise Him for who He is.

Pledges

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 I gave this message at church this past Sunday.  I didn't realize that some of this information was new to some of the adults. 

Children’s Moments Message

September 25, 2022

I have been thinking about promises lately, sometimes we call them pledges. A pledge is a sincere promise we make. We make one to our nation’s flag, another one to the Bible, and one to the Christian flag.

In all three pledges, we promise to be loyal to each of these.

Pledge to the American flag

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which is stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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Pledge to the Bible

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. A lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It’s words I will hide in my heart, that I might not sin against God. ⁽¹⁾

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Pledge to the Christian flag

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen again, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe. ⁽²⁾

We have those items in our sanctuary here at Cross Roads. I discovered something I did not know about the Christian flag. I knew there is a cross in a blue section, and the rest of the flag is white. Here’s what I learned:

#The shade of red in the Cross reminds us of Jesus’ blood that He shed because He took our sins away.

#The blue reminds us of the water of baptism. It also reminds us of Jesus’ loyalty to God.

#The white reminds us of Jesus’ purity. He was without sin until He went to the Cross for us. ⁽³⁾

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^1.http://www.ccabrazil.org/uploads /4/3/5/9/4359809/christian_flag__bible_pledges.pdf

2. IBID.

3. http://en.wikiepedia.org/Christian _Flag#:-text=The Christian Flag was first to arrive for the event/

Patience and Gentleness

 

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By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks a bone.

Proverbs 25:15 (NKJV)

Moses listened to the Lord and patiently awaited the day that Pharaoh would finally let the Israelite people depart Egypt and head to the land God had promised them.

Hannah exercised patience and faith as she awaited receiving her first-born son, Samuel. Hannah also practiced gentleness, although it was difficult, as she endured the taunts from Peninnah.

When we have stress-causing circumstances in our lives, we have to practice patience and, yes, gentleness in our daily lives. We may have to spend more time with God, as he gently whispers words of comfort, healing and love into our ears as we face overwhelming circumstances in our lives.

When we hear things from others that upset us, we need to apply the rule that our mothers said, “If you can’t say anything nice, say nothing at all.” This was a rule that a lot of us senior citizens heard from early on in our growing-up years. It is a pity that this rule seemed to fall by the wayside during the last half-century

Can we begin teaching this “rule” to children of these times?

God Keeps Promises

 

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                                         Therefore know that the LORD your God, 

                                               He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant 

                                               and mercy for a thousand generations with those who 

                                               love Him and keep His commandments. 

                                                                                        Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)

Words of Moses to those Israelites who did not know of God’s attributes and goodness. (These pilgrims were 60 years old and younger.)^[1] Deuteronomy means “retelling”

In this passage, Moses tells them that God is faithful not to just them and their parents but to those who love Him and keep His commandments for a thousand generations.

Moses states that God will keep His promises (covenants) and mercies for a very long time. (When I was a teenager, a youth group advisor said a generation was usually, on average, 26 years.)

There is a condition in this thought. The people must love God and keep His commandments. I once heard that if we break one of the Ten Commandments, we have broken them all. While this statement sounds harsh, I understand it. I believe it may have a domino effect.

It is the duty of God’s children to model Christlike behavior, to exemplify how He wants us to live our lives before others, and to speak loving words on His behalf.

Yes, we all fall short of these goals. When we fail, we need to seek His forgiveness and start over again. His grace and mercy allow us to do this.

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[1] Jeremiah Study Bible, David Jeremiah, Worthy, Hatchette Book Group, Study Note page 238.

Faith-Our Lifeline

 

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Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised

is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 (NKJV)

When a person gives his heart to Jesus, he or she becomes a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has forgiven that person for his or her sins. This is basic to the Christian belief.

Each new Christian goes through a time when all things are new and bright. However, certain issues enter the new Christians’ life that can cause them to fall away.

The writer of Hebrews tells us we are to hold fast to that which we experienced when we first met Jesus. We are not to waffle in our beliefs or “sit on the fence” about our faith. We are in the world but not of the world. We have a life-line that we can hold onto when we are faced with issues the world puts in our path.

We can hold fast to our beliefs and our salvation because we have the promises of God.

                              

Being Faithful

 

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His Lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant: you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)

The disciples asked about the end times and the Rapture. Jesus told them several parables that relate to the end times and His return. One was about being faithful with what we have.

A wealthy man prepares to travel a great distance from home. He leaves three of his household servant in charge of some talents (money). After a lengthy absence, the wealthy man returns. Two of the servants had made the talents work for them, doubling the amount each was given. They were praised and rewarded for their efforts. Their master said they were faithful. The third servant did nothing with what he was given. The master took away the gifts and gave them to the other two servants.

Do we see many people being faithful to the LORD or even to each other in our world today? Are we as faithful to God as we were when we first gave our hearts to Him? This is something I have to deal with often.

We all want to hear God tell us that we were faithful over what He has given us.

July Reflections

 

Writing

In one of my blog posts, I wrote on the passage Micah 6:8. One of my readers is possibly a Messianic Jew. She commented on my thoughts and gave me insight into the order of how some read the Torah. We never know what we will learn from one another. I was humbled by her thought and her comment.

Advocacy Efforts

On Wednesday, July 13^th, the Energy and Commerce committee in the House of Representatives unanimously passed by voice vote the bill to technically correct the Medicare law to include coverage of Lymphedema compression garments and sleeves. It now will go to the floor of the House for a vote. (Please note, there are 350 House co-sponsors of this bill.)

Review Book

My most recent review book is one by A.W. Tozer, Going Higher with God Through Prayer. I chose this particular book mainly because it is on prayer and because I am drawn to what the author has said in the others I have read.

Husband’s Surgery On Hold

Jim’s knee replacement surgery had been scheduled for August 10. His Pr e-Operative Tests has caused them to put everything on hold. His a1c, a blood sugar indicator, number was too high.

And Then the Rains Came

We had not had any rain for about seven weeks. On July 16^th, we got a gentle rain.

On July 17^th the sky opened up and we had a deluge. Water was standing everywhere. We had a power outage that started at 3:23 in the afternoon. Power was restored at 2:15 the next morning. The television weather people said we had NINE inches of rain.

Our side yard is an extra city lot. This lot is lower than where the house sits. When we have water standing in it we always say that we are going to stock it with fish. Our basement got flooded because of the power outage. We are waiting for the furnace to dry out. Hubby does not do well with stress. I am afraid that over the years his health has affected his level of tolerance.

My Austerity Efforts

Due to my having Lymphedema, I have some compression sleeves that I wear and a compression garment that I wear at night. Over a period of one year, at the price I see on the insurance information that I receive, this could be costly for those who rely on these tools to keep the condition from worsening. I prefer to not wait until I receive a statement from the hospital telling me I owe them a large amount of money. I have changed my word processing carrier to one that is free. I receive coupons from my pharmacy that help me save a little bit each time I shop. I cut back on extra mission giving at church.

August is here and, before we know it, it will be gone. Meanwhile, I hope to do better about writing and living for the LORD.

God’s Goodness

 

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which you have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence in the presence of the sons of men!

Psalm 31:19 (NKJV)

As children, we learned the table grace, “God is Great, God is good.” Somewhere in the process of growing up, we seem to forget how great God really is.

As we look around our world, we see people take for granted that God loves them and the many ways He provides for us.

When we pray, we need to begin with the words, “Thank You,” or even “Forgive us, Father,” We need to remember that all we have and all we are, we owe to Him and His graciousness.

We learn to trust God and His goodness as we go through the trials and hardships of life here on earth. I don’t need to elaborate on the many trials people to through to you who read this; I am certain that each of you have gone through trials of various sorts.

As I type this essay, I am trusting Him to guide my husband and myself through the day tomorrow as we go for his pro-operative tests for his surgery early in August. This time has been one of learning for me.

We all see things that remind us of God’s goodness to us, His children. In return, we must show His love to the world. We should always remember that He died for our sins Because of that act we will be able to spend eternity with God.

Bearing with One Another

 

 

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering (patience), bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

                                                                                                                Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV)

 

Words of Paul to the believers in Ephesus.

 

Paul tells us that they and subsequent believers should live humble and gentle lives. Believers are to be patient and should bear one another’s differences in love. While endeavoring to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

There are times in our lives that we must realize that there are those prone to say or do things that do not represent godly thought, speech, or behavior. They may say they are Christians, but their behavior tells otherwise. It is possible that they might not realize what they are saying or doing is wrong in God’s eyes and does not represent Him.

 

According to what Paul tells us here, it is our duty to be patient,

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Colossians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

A Cure for Anxiety

 

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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

 

Paul gives the believers at Philippi some very astute advice in this passage.

 

 Be anxious for nothing

 

He tells them and us to not worry about anything. Some of us find that to be hard to do.

 

in everything by prayer and supplication

 

He tells his readers to pray and to petition God with our concerns. God wants to hear from us about what bothers us.

 

 with thanksgiving

 

We are to thank God for all He does for us and all He gives us. When He guides us through a difficult circumstance, we must tell Him, “Thank You.” In our earthly lives, we try to thank someone who does something we don’t expect or something that is nice.

We should do the same when God guides us through or answers a prayer.

 

let your requests be made known to God

 

When we have anxieties, fears, or concerns, we must take them to the LORD first. I recently had a concern that I felt was weighing me down. I prayed several times about the need. I texted a message to some of my prayer group. I told them I couldn’t talk about it. I received responses that told me they were praying for my need.

 

The next morning, my heart felt lighter. I found out later that the cause of the anxiety had been taken away.

 

the peace of God, which passes all understanding,

 

We will never fully understand the peace of God while we are on this earth. All I know is His peace has wondrous effects on those who receive it.

 

 will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.

 

God guards the hearts and minds of those who surrender to Him and choose to continue to live for Him whatever circumstances enter their lives.

Sorrow turned to Joy

 

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Therefore, you now have great sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And in that day, you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:22-24 (NKJV)

                              

Jesus speaks to His disciples. The words He uses speak volumes to those who believe in Him.

 

 you now have great sorrow

 

            The disciples thought that they would have more time to learn from Jesus, to aid Him in preaching and observe Him healing those who came to Him.

 

            In a similar way, when we lose someone in death, we are never fully prepared. We go through a time of grief.

 

 I will see you again

 

Jesus states these words to the disciples were not fully comprehending His words.

 

 your heart will rejoice

 

Jesus tells them that they will be overjoyed when they will see Him. They must have been confused by these words. How can someone be sad and then rejoice? I imagine they looked at each other with the same question in their minds. “How can this be?”

 

 your joy no one will take from you.

 

Jesus tells them, and us, that the joy we will have when we see Him is so great that it is permanent in our souls. He gives us our joy.

 

 whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.

 

Jesus instructs the disciples that His Father will honor all supplications and requests that they make, in Jesus’ name to Him.

 

Praying to God for anything in Jesus’ Name tells God that we are praying in the manner that Jesus would.

God’s Love.

 

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For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

 

We all learned this verse as children in Sunday school. We could recite it from memory with ease.

 

For God so loved the world, God has His reasons for all He does. That reason is that He loves what he creates-our world and all who inhabit it. Sometimes, He has to allow difficult things to entre our lives. He does this to teach us something.

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He gave His only begotten Son,  God gave. He willingly gave His only Son. He sent His son to earth, divesting Him from the glories and splendor of heaven. Our Father again gave His Son to give us, His children life eternally.

 

 that whoever believes in Him should not perish, All who come to trust in the Son will not go through a spiritual death.

 

 but have everlasting life.  The men and women who choose to trust Jesus will be able to be in heaven with Jesus whenever their time on earth comes to its end.

 

All this happens because God loves us that much. He sent His Son to earth, making Him identify with mankind so that we might learn about the Father. God loves us so much that He allowed Jesus to suffer a criminal’s death for us, to take away our sins.

Called… Into His Wonderful Light

 

 

But you are a chosen people, a royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare     the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.2 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

This passage tells me a lot about how God sees each of us.

The apostle Peter reminds us of who those scattered believers and we, as God’s people, are. God chose each of us to belong to Him. He made us His children, children of the King. He did these things so that we would share our praise of Him with others. We do this sometimes. Mostly we keep those praises to ourselves. We find excuses for our behavior: “They wouldn’t understand.” “They don’t care about God.” “They don’t care about me.”

 

a chosen people,

God himself chose each of us to carry His word to those around us.

 

 a royal Priesthood,

God has made us joint heirs with Jesus. We belong to Him. God wants us to tell His Good News to those who are hurting in this fallen world.

 

 a people belonging to God,

God deemed us as His when He created us. He claimed us for His own.

 

that you may declare the praises,

Do we give praise to God every day? Do we reflect on our day and realize that we have things happen that we can praise Him for, even during troublesome times?

 

called you …into his wonderful light.

When God calls us, does He not take us from a dark sinful world and place us in His world, one where we have no fear?