January 17, 2018 A CHOSEN RACE
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PEOPLE FOR FOR God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
This verse, if truly believed, eradicates any poor self-image, puts an end to depression and anxiety, and gives direction and motivation for life. Wow! The fact that there are multitudes of non-believers as well as believers who are struggling in life, trying to find purpose, direction, and fulfilment, is proof enough that the truth of this verse is not known or not received as true. This verse, in just a few words, clearly explains the core or the basic belief from which a godly self-image flows. As often said, knowing a truth only in our mind lacks the power to change us, but when truth becomes real in our spirit, change happens. So it is with this verse; it is one thing to know it mentally, but another thing to know it in the deepest part of our being. As believers, we are a member of a chosen race, a race chosen by and created by God! This chosen race is made up of believes form all nations and from all walks of life. Even though this chosen race is a spiritual race, it is as real, and even more real than a physical race of people. In this chosen race, there are no barriers and no divisions, unless man-made, and all are brothers and sisters who serve a loving Father. We also make up a priesthood, serving and ministering to the Lord by praising and worshiping Him and by executing His will. We are a holy nation because our Father is holy, and because we belong to Him, He has made us holy. When we are rightly related to God, walking according to the Spirit, we are being holy as He is holy. Some may think that only God is holy, but that is not the case as we see in 1 Peter 1:16: “because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” We could never be holy by our own will-power or by our own strength; we are holy only because we have been joined to God and we are no longer our own, but are God’s own possession. (Not being our own, but being God’s own possession is the best thing that could ever happen to us.) Being holy does not mean that we have a ‘better than thou’ attitude or that we take pride in being holy. If we want to see holiness in action, then all we have to do is look at the life Jesus lived on earth. In Jesus, we see love, humility, compassion, boldness, an unfaltering love for the Father, forgiveness, peace, faith, and the commitment to do the will of His Father. Simply said, holiness is loving God and doing the things that please Him. As alluded to above, our society is experiencing an epidemic of lack of purpose and fulfillment. The proof of this being true become obvious when you look at the rampant drug addiction, broken relationships, identity crisis, a rejection of moral principles, conflicts of all sorts-the list goes on and on. All of these ills of society come as a result of man rejecting God and choosing to live according to his or her own dictates. The good news is that God has made a way for His people to escape the ways of the world that lead to death. He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light and declares that we are His own possession. We have been made new and can now live in holiness and it is now our priviledge to “proclaim the excellences of Him who has called us.” No matter your place in life and no matter your present circumstances, realize that if you belong to Him, you are a member of a chosen race, and as such, you are called to be holy as He is holy.
2 Corinthians 7:1: “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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