YOU ARE SPECIAL

 

YOU ARE SPECIAL

I Peter 2:9-10 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. "Once you were not a people, now you are a people of God. Once you received none of God's mercy, now you have received his mercy." NLT

I like to think about these verses. I may not be a "somebody" in the world's eyes, but I am a very special person in God's eyes. He has chosen me to be His very own! He has elevated me to a position of service and responsibility. He has made me holy in His sight. He has enabled me to be a light in a dark and hopeless world. I am a somebody, because God has made me that way.

Dear friend, as you read this today, I want you to know with your heart that you are a somebody to God. Don't believe the lie of Satan that you aren't. Our Lord has put His life into your life and made you very special. You are a child of God. You are crafted by God to play a very special role in His kingdom. You are an integral part of what the Lord is doing amongst the people you live around and associate with. You live as a witness for Christ in your world that no one else can do. The Lord has chosen YOU to be loved by Him. He has chosen you to be nurtured and empowered to serve Him. He has chosen you to be a testimony of His amazing grace. He has chosen you to show others the goodness of God.

I want you to know today that you are a somebody to God. You belong to Him and not the world. You are who you are because the Lord wants to bless those in your life with your life. Hold your head up high today and act like the somebody you are in Him. Let the Lord have His way in you and you will never have to feel like a nobody again.

A CHOSEN PEOPLE

 

A CHOSEN PEOPLE

I Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. NLT

Note first of all, we are a chosen people. God chose us to be His own. We are not a part of God’s family by accident. God looks into the heart of man and chooses those whom He knows will follow Him. He chooses us not because of who we are, but because of who we can become in Him. God calls all people to repentance, but chooses only those who are willing to repent.

We are chosen for a purpose. God chooses us so that we will become a holy people able to serve Him. He chooses us to be His and not the world’s. He chooses us to be His own special people, a kingdom of priests. Priests are those who serve God amongst man. They represent God before man, bringing man to God. Priests can only serve God with holy hearts. They must always strive to have pure souls before they fulfill their priestly duties. They understand that God is holy and must be respected and treated as holy.

God chooses us to show the world the goodness of God. We are the witness of God in the world. We are the way God has chosen to reveal himself to the world. In order for us to be the people God created us to be, we must keep our souls right before Him. We must let His light shine deeply into our souls. We must always seek Him and let Him have access to every crevice of our hearts. We cannot be a holy people unless we go all the way with Him. We must be totally committed to Him.

God’s desire is to lead us out of, and away from, the darkness into His wonderful light. His plan is to lead you so far away from the darkness that all you can see is the Light. You will never see the Light while peering into the darkness. You will only be the light whom God has called you to be in the world by staying in the light and letting it capture your soul.

Your life is the only goodness of God many people will ever see. Do they see enough good in you to be attracted to your Lord?

In order to live in the light you must stay in the light. You cannot be wandering off into the darkness to see what is there. No matter how alluring it may be to you, stay away from the darkness. Keep your eyes focused on Christ at all times. What you find in the darkness will never satisfy your soul. What you find in Christ always will satisfy.

JESUS, A STUMBLING BLOCK?

 

JESUS, A STUMBLING BLOCK?

I Peter 2:8-9 And the Scriptures also say, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that has been planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests. God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. NLT

There are two things I want to emphasize from this passage today. The first is that Jesus is the stumbling block in many people's lives and the other is that we are who we are in Christ so that we can be a witness in the world of God's transforming power.

Two things happen when we are confronted by Jesus: either we will embrace Him or we will reject Him. To embrace Christ is to become like Him. There is no such thing as an unchanged child of God. It may not happen quickly, nor may it be easily seen, but change does indeed happen. When Jesus enters the heart, He begins to get rid of all that is unholy there. He changes the way we live and think. He replaces all that is not consistent with the holiness of God with those things which are. To reject Christ is to resist the changes He wants to make in us.

There is an outright rejection and a subtle rejection. An outright rejection is slamming the door in Christ's face and refusing to even let Him in. A subtle rejection is to let Him in, but resisting the changes He needs to make in us. It is giving lip loyalty to Him but not a life loyalty. When we fail to embrace Christ with all of our heart, mind, and soul, He becomes a stumbling block to us.

We who are in Christ take on a new identity and become living witnesses of God's transforming power. We are on display in the world showcasing God's goodness. We become beacons of light in the darkness of the world. We don't blend into the world, we stand out from it. It becomes obvious to the world that we don't belong here, that we are citizens of heaven. We do not hold dual citizenships. We are chosen by God to represent Him on earth. We are priests of God, a holy people, a people who belong to God.

A child of God is outstanding and out standing in his field.

JESUS, OUR CORNERSTONE

 

JESUS, OUR CORNERSTONE

I Peter 2:6 As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed." NLT

A cornerstone is the main stone in the building. It is the first stone laid and must be the best stone it can be. It must be able to withstand the pressure placed upon it by all the other stones without crumbling or cracking. If the cornerstone fails, the rest of the building is in serious jeopardy of falling.

God has chosen Jesus as the cornerstone or our faith. Now we know that God is perfect in knowledge and judgment so it is no mistake Jesus was chosen. Jesus is the perfect one upon which to build all those of faith. He is able to withstand all the pressures placed upon Him without fear of failure. He is able to hold the household of faith together without fear of ever shifting or changing. He is flawless in character and will always be as He always has been so that the household of faith will never have to question His ability to hold them together.

Jesus is the perfect choice to be the cornerstone of our faith and all who believe in Him will not be disappointed. He keeps every promise He makes. He purifies the heart and makes it holy for all who will allow Him to do it. He will supply every need we have, if we let Him. He will enable us to keep steadfast in faith if we let Him. He will help us to resist Satan and overcome sin if we let Him. He will use us as key building blocks in His kingdom if we will let Him. He will take us by the hand and lead us safely home to heaven if we let Him.

The key to Jesus being the cornerstone of faith for us is our giving Him permission to fill that role. He will keep His covenant of grace to us, but not against our will. Don't deny the Lord the opportunity to be your cornerstone of faith. Let Him have His way with you.

COME TO CHRIST

 

COME TO CHRIST

I Peter 2:4-5 Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. NLT

This is God's plan for all His people. We are created in Christ to serve Him as His chosen priests amongst men. We are not zombies roaming about on earth biding our time. We are living stones, actively doing the Lord's bidding. We are first and foremost spiritual beings. Who we are in Christ takes precedence over everything else.

We are holy priests before Him. We are not participants in sinful living. We are characterized by who we are in Christ and not who we are in the world. We are different because Christ makes us different. We are not perfect, but we are perfected in Him. And, the more we live in Christ, the more we show it.

No matter who you may think you are or aren't, God says you are special. You are specially created in Christ for Him. You have a very important role to play in the work of the Kingdom. You are a somebody because God says you are. Your value is not measured by the world's standard; it's measured by God's standard. We must not listen to what others say about us or compare ourselves to anyone else.

We are a work in progress. The Lord is building you into His spiritual temple. He knows you are not who you need to be or will be. He will not stop working on you until He is ready to take you home. Be patient and don't let what may seem to you to be a lack of progress discourage you. The Lord will complete what He has begun in you.

Live like the person God says you are. The Lord believes in you. Believe you are who He says you are.

CRAVE SPIRITUAL MILK

 

CRAVE SPIRITUAL MILK

I Peter 2:2-3 You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. NLT

There is such a thing as impure spiritual milk. It is those things that are not true to God’s Word. It is compromised or distorted truth. It is convenient truth. It is insufficient truth. It is truth that never inspires or challenges one to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

It is imperative that we crave for that which is pure. For the health of your soul, be sure that you only sit under the teaching of the authoritative Word of God accurately proclaimed and taught. Think enough about yourself to not settle for anything that impedes your spiritual growth. You deserve to learn the whole truth of God’s Word.

We must crave pure spiritual milk. We must desire to be nourished by the Word. We must grow in our desire for it. We must constantly desire to discover what the Word says and seek to apply it to life. It is impossible for the soul to mature in faith without a steady input of the Word.

We must never be satisfied with what we have. We must cry out for more. Like a baby who cries for his milk, seemingly never satisfied, so should it be with us with the Word of God. There should be an insatiable appetite for more. We must understand this crucial truth; we cannot survive spiritually without a consistent feeding of our souls with the Word of God. A casual or occasional reading of the Word simply will not meet our soul’s needs.

The natural goal of every believer should be to grow into the fullness of faith. It is abnormal for a believer to not want to grow in faith. It is abnormal for him to be comfortable with where he may be in his faith walk and not seek to grow.

Tasting the Lord’s kindness should inspire us to even greater experiences with Him. The Lord’s kindness is His embracing love. It is to know we are forgiven and have eternal life. It is to know His peace and the joy of salvation. Blessed are those who constantly crave more and more of the Lord at work in them.

If you truly love the Lord, you will not ever get enough of Him. You will want to be with Him all the time. You will want Him to want to be with you. You will want what He offers to you. You will always crave for more of Him. Your constant cry will be, “Feed me more, O Lord. Feed me more.”

THE BREVITY OF LIFE

 

THE BREVITY OF LIFE

I Peter 1:24 As the prophet says, "People are like grass that dies away; their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall away. But the word of the Lord will last forever." NLT

We discover two essentials truths here we must grasp: the brevity of life and the length of eternal life. We act like life on earth will last forever. We ignore the signs of aging. We continue to pursue earthly gain as long as we are able. We do our best to stay as young and productive as possible. We keep relying on the wisdom of the world which promises us longer and richer lives. We struggle with aging naturally.

We also ignore eternal life. We dismiss from our thoughts that there is life after death that will never end. We don't want to think about it too much lest we take it too seriously. We stay focused on life as we know it and fail to grasp fully what awaits us in eternity.

We also tend to forget that what God has given to us in His Word is eternal truth. It is as true and applicable for us today as much as it was for the people to whom it was given, and it will always be relevant to people who follow us. God never changes His Word. It is for all people of all time. We tend to devalue its worth to us because it was written so long ago. We must reconsider our thinking. God is still speaking to us through His Word and we must listen to it and obey it.

Listen, you are getting older and will die. Life goes by so quickly! Don't waste it away by chasing after things that don't last. Don't believe Satan's lie about the worth of earthly pursuits. God's Word is the only thing that is time proof. What comes out of God's mouth is eternal. It alone is worth giving our lives for.

Satan wants you to believe that life is not eternal, that when you die it’s all over. But, the reality is, when you die life begins. How you live on earth will determine where and how you will live eternally.