God Has Chosen You

By: Rob Morton

1 Peter 2:9

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 Ephesians 1:4

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love

 

Ephesians 1:4-5

 

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

Let’s think about why it would be an encouragement to the church that God had chosen them.

These Christians faced ridicule, and persecution, and rejection every day. Paul writes in verse 6: “for you received the word in much affliction.” There was violent protest against the gospel and the church right from day one (see Acts 17.1-9).

Many of the people in the church would have feared for their safety at some point, some would have been excluded by their friends, some would even have been cut off from their families. So can you see how powerful it would have been, and how encouraging it would have been, to read Paul’s words “we know brothers, LOVED by God, that he has chosen you”.

• Are you hated by your neighbors for being a Christian? Well… you are loved by God.
• Are you excluded by your friends or family? Well… God has chosen you to belong to him!

Perhaps you find that idea surprising – that God had chosen these people to join his church? But the idea that God chooses a people to bless and to save is as old as the Old Testament itself.

God made it clear that he had chosen to love Israel, to bless Israel, to rescue Israel from slavery over every other nation. And God chose to do this NOT because Israel was anything great or spectacular – God chose to love and bless them because he promised he would!

God Is With Us

God Was With David And Goliath Died

1 Samuel 17

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.

Jesus Heals The Widows Son

11 Soon afterward[a] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[b]gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Woman Washes Jesus Feet

Luke 7:36-50

41 Jesus said, “Two people owed money to the same banker. One owed five hundred coins[a] and the other owed fifty. 42 They had no money to pay what they owed, but the banker told both of them they did not have to pay him. Which person will love the banker more?”

43 Simon, the Pharisee, answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”

Jesus said to Simon, “You are right.” 44 Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she poured perfume on my feet. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven, so she showed great love. But the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.”

What Is Your Real Treasure?

by Inspiration Ministries

“If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.” 
– Proverbs 2:4-5 NASB

For centuries, scholars were baffled by the mysteries of “hieroglyphs,” the inscriptions written on Egypt’s pyramids and ancient documents. These symbols remained unintelligible even to the most brilliant specialists. There was new hope when the “Rosetta stone” was discovered in 1799 during Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition. This stone provided new clues about hieroglyphs, but their mysteries still remained unsolved.

Many scholars concluded that the task would prove impossible, but a young Frenchmen, Jean François Champollion, became determined to find a solution. As a young man, he had mastered ancient languages, including Coptic, the language spoken in Egypt in the years after the birth of Jesus. He became so immersed that he described thinking and even dreaming in Coptic.

Equipped with this special insight, Champollion was able to decipher the mysteries of the hieroglyphs, solving problems that others felt could not be solved.

Many look at their problems and give up, concluding that they are too difficult. Others never dig beneath the surface, and fail to go deeper.

Some have this attitude toward the Bible and our faith. Facing life’s challenges, they doubt that God ever could give them an understanding of mysteries, or reveal deeper truths to them. Others are content with a shallow faith and superficial knowledge. Yet the Bible tells us that God is ready to reveal greater spiritual riches to anyone who asks. To all who seek wisdom as they would search for “hidden treasures.”

In your life, ask God to open your eyes. Believe that He can give you deeper insights. Become more passionate about His Word. As you have questions, ask Him for revelation and understanding. And keep digging. Remember that He promises to reveal deeper things, if you seek His wisdom as you would seek for buried treasure.

God Calls Jeremiah

From: Simposious.com

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

This verse tells us that God knows us and that He has good plans for us; that He is sovereignly directing our lives. His words remind us that God hears our prayers and invites us to seek Him and know Him. During times of uncertainty, this promise is deeply comforting. We cannot see the future, but this verse gives us encouragement and promises that God has a future and hope for each one of us.

God’s plan isn’t always what we thought it was going to be. But God’s plan is always best even if we don’t understand it at the time. We know though, that in all things, God works together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) We know that when God shuts a door, he opens another. We know that God is working through every event in our lives to make us more and more dependent on Him for everything we need. We need to realize that God’s plan is not always the easiest in our eyes, but it is always the best.

God sees our tomorrows before they become our ‘todays.’ He sees the beginning of our life and He sees the end, and He sees everything in between. Psalm 139:16 says “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knows the plans He has for us.    ( From: Mission Ventures)