You are CHOSEN!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 6 of 7: “Strangers…Am I the only one?”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 IDENTITIES God wants you to embrace!
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a CHOSEN people…”
It was a tense moment on the playground. The teacher chose two kids to be “captains.” Then they started selecting classmates one at a time until all were on a team. It stunk to be the last person chosen. Sometimes the captains could be heard to say, “I guess we’ll have __________ on our team.” If you weren’t good at sports, this is probably a familiar feeling. It’s no fun to be left out.
As we get older perhaps the stakes get higher. Applications for college scholarships. Resumes for a dream job. Dating the perfect person. All of these we simply want to be chosen. We want to be selected by someone who matters…the captain, the college, the boss, the date.
When we’re not chosen, it hurts.
Being chosen says we matter. It says someone believes in us, values us, and wants us part of their team.
That’s why these words of Peter are so powerful. “YOU are a CHOSEN people…”
In the Old Testament this was the term God applied to the people of Israel. They were the ones God chose to be his people, the family through whom the promised Messiah would come. It wasn’t because they were better, smarter or more God-fearing. God simply chose Israel and his descendants as an act of grace to be his people.
Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers …
God chooses you because he loves you. Consider this. The almighty, perfect, loving Father has CHOSEN you to be one of his own, to be part of his people! It’s not that you or I are better, smarter, or even more God-fearing. It was a selection of grace.
Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (John 15:16).
It’s exciting when your college of choice sends you an acceptance letter…you’re chosen! It’s a great day when your new company calls and says, “You’re chosen!” It’s a wonderful feeling when the captain wants you on his team…you’re chosen!
How much greater it is to hear God say to you…I CHOOSE you!
Embrace this gift of grace…out of all the peoples on the face of the earth…God CHOSE YOU!
Apply: How does this truth affect you when you feel rejected or not chosen?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for choosing me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I thank you for choosing me by your love and grace to be part of your family. AMEN
The Word is NURTURING!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Perhaps an infant doesn’t realize it, but when they crave their mother’s milk, it is both the taste they love, and the nutrition their body needs. God has designed a mother’s body to bring to her baby pure nutrition. For months, that is all a baby eats…but it’s all a baby needs. And they grow up…
As a child grows, unfortunately the food they eat isn’t always as pure and nutritious as their mothers’ milk was. Their body can take the good and dispose of the bad, but if enough good nutrition is not received, it is harmful to the physical well-being of the child.
Our spiritual life is the same way. Our soul needs “pure spiritual milk.” Yet our souls eat the fast-food of media sound bites. Our souls try to find nutrition in the candy bars of social media. Our souls are starving for something that tastes good, and feeds it.
What our souls need is the pure spiritual nutrition of the word of God.
The word of God is so nutritious and nurturing to our soul because it comes straight from the source. God has given us his word to be the good tasting, soul nurturing nutrition we need.
God was so intent on giving us the “pure spiritual milk” that he sent his Son to be that very Word that came into this world to say all and do all our souls need for life today and for tomorrow.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus took the words he was given from his Father and fed them to his disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
Do you have a favorite food that once you taste, you can’t get enough? For me it’s triple chocolate brownie fudge anything…one taste and I’m not stopping! God wants his word to be the same thing for our souls…taste its goodness and keep craving it (By the way, God’s Word is MUCH better for you than triple chocolate fudge brownie something!).
What “taste of goodness” have you had from God’s Word of truth? If it’s been awhile since you have tasted the goodness of God in his Word, perhaps it’s time to sit down and once again drink a glass of this pure spiritual milk. I pray it is so tasty that you crave it each and every day!
Apply: Take a moment to list ways you have “tasted that the Lord is good.” Then make a commitment to crave and taste the nutritious word of God each and every day. Watch your soul grow and be strengthened!
Prayer: Lord thank you for your Word and all its aspects. I know your Word is tasty for all its goodness it gives. Lead me to crave it every day! AMEN.
The Word is PREACHED!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:25 And this is the word that was preached to you.
What comes to mind when I say the word “preach” or “preacher”?
Perhaps you think of a pastor past or present and reflect on his sermons and whether they inspired you or put you to sleep. Perhaps you recall a rebuke of a person you felt was all too pious and condescending in correcting you and retorted, “Don’t preach at me!”
Preaching “at” someone in a condescending way is not beneficial. Peter doesn’t say, “This is the word that was preached AT you…” Rather he says, “This is the word that was preached TO you.” (The enduring word of God we talked about yesterday).
Why can he say this?
The nuance behind the English word “preach” is “announcing good news.” The word that is translated “preach” in this verse is actually the same root as “Gospel” or “good news.” You could read this verse as,” And this is the word that was shared as good news with you.”
God’s word IS good news!
God’s Word does point out our sin and how far we have fallen short of the glory of God, but it shares this hard news to set up the glorious reality that Jesus came and lived, died and rose again FOR you…for me!
The good news that is given to us is the news that we are fully forgiven by the blood of Jesus. It’s the news that when this life ends, we are going to spend eternity in the joys of heaven. It’s the news that while life on this earth can get hard, God will never leave us forsake us. It’s the news that whispers in our ear, “I love you. You are my child.” It’s the good news our hearts need…every day.
It’s the good news that was preached…shared…with you.
Why does this matter? Without someone sharing this good news with YOU, you would not be connected to the saving work of Jesus and life forever in heaven. Consider Romans 10:12-17
Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
The faith you have is because of the word that was PREACHED to you!
Now it’s your turn. The word that was preached to you is good news for you to preach to someone else. You don’t need to be a pastor, you simply need the good news that has been given to you and take your beautiful feet and share it with someone else.
Apply: Who in your sphere of influence needs some good news today? Find your favorite promise or good news passage from the Bible and send it to them!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the people in my life that have preached the good news to me. Now use me to preach this same good news to others! AMEN.
The Word is ENDURING!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
Who do I believe? How do I make that decision? It seems like information changes every day.
Ever had these thoughts? Perhaps it’s in connection to COVID-19. Perhaps it’s in relation to politics. Perhaps it’s in connection to weather and what to expect.
Situations change. Information changes. What was reported yesterday is different today.
Trying to ground yourself on that which changes is like trying to build a house on shifting sand.
What makes the life of the Christian so solid is that the life of the Christian is built on the imperishable, enduring, standing forever Word of the Lord!
Many generations have come and gone. Information from years ago is different than it is today.
The Word of the Lord? Still standing…Still enduring…still not perishing!
What does that mean? The fact that the Word of God is enduring and imperishable, means we have something we can always count on. God’s Word isn’t going to change. Our situations may change, but the Word of God is enduring and lasting.
Consider just a few timeless truths of God’s Word that are real for us:
Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Which timeless truth of God’s Word is near and dear to you?
Here’s one of my favorites from Psalm 73:23-26
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Enjoy going about your changing days with the unchanging promises and words of God!
Prayer: Lord thank you for being the unchanging, stable influence in my life, just like you have since the beginning of time. AMEN
The Word is LIVING!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
The angels asked the women who came to the tomb on Easer morning, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) This question surprised the women. They weren’t looking for the living. They were looking for a dead body to finish honoring it with a proper burial.
Common sense says you will not find the living among the dead.
Common sense also says that which is dead does not produce that which is alive. You might be committed to the psych ward if you were found looking for a newborn baby in a cemetery. The dead do not produce the living.
The same is true for our soul, our spiritual life. Life has to come from that which is living. Someone dead spiritually cannot give life to another. Only something alive can give spiritual life to that which is dead.
Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…”
That’s each of us by nature. As much as we would like, we cannot breathe spiritual life into ourselves, nor can another spiritually dead person do the same. Life does not come from the dead.
Jesus told Nicodemus, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:5-6)
Life is needed to give life.
This is what makes the word of God so important for your life. It is not a “dead” book, it is as Peter and others indicated, LIVING!
John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active.
The Word of God is not a dead document. It is that which gives and sustains life in your soul. It guides and is actively at work in your life. It is the truth that purifies your heart. It is the Word that gave you new birth into a living hope found in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
There are lots of writings that have had effect for a short period of time. They capture our interest, settle a curiosity or present us with information. There is only one body of writing that continues to infuse energy and life into our being, into our soul…the LIVING Word of God!
Apply: When your faith seems weak or diminished, first plug into the Word of God for energy, encouragement, and the life-giving power of God’s Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us life through the living Word of God! Amen.