Sweet and Sour 365: June 2014

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Chosen--- Proverbs 31 OBS Blog Hop

A group of kids stand in a line while 2 captains pick their teams. I remember the feeling as a kid if you were one of the first few called…it felt good. I was chosen! But if you were one of the last called…it felt like you were unwanted. Only picked because you were the last one standing and had to go somewhere.

Thank goodness we have a God who chooses us without question—a God that has no partiality. He chooses everyone…no one is missed! Susie Larson says in her book, Your Beautiful Purpose, “God has a desire for us here, but remember, so does the devil. Someone once said that both God and the devil have a plan for our lives. And we are the ones who cast the deciding vote.”

We decide which team we want to be on. Good vs Evil. God chooses us regardless of our past or our mistakes or our future mistakes. He chooses us because He loves us. God works for our good. Eph. 1:4 sates, “God loved us and chose us in Christ.” He chooses us and we choose what? Who do we choose? Do we choose grace and all that He freely gives?

“You are chosen in Christ to reflect Him as you worship Him through your work or school.” ~Derwin Gray, Limitless Life

Throughout the New Testament it screams page after page that we are the ones Jesus loves and chooses! It’s hard to grasp, YES…but it is the truth!

Jesus is the Chosen One and “through faith in Jesus, you and I – and every one of His followers all over the world and throughout the ages – now participate in His chosenness and mission.” ~Derwin Gray

We may feel unwanted and rejected – but we are loved by the Chosen One and He wants to take us by the hand and walk this life with us. It’s our choice to find God in our successes and in our failures. “His goodness and mercy pursue me all the days of my life.”

He pursues! He chases! Jesus says to stay awake! “And what I say to you I say to all: stay awake.” Stay awake to His presence and choose Him.

My pastor once said, “Don’t limit God by your small thinking!” Even though I don’t feel worthy of His grace, His mercy, His unfailing love, and His choosing ME…Jesus died on the cross for me and for you. That means we are worthy. It means we are His if we choose to accept it. All we have to do is fall forward, give thanks and find our way home to Him.

“We will never be secure until we realize we are fully loved by God, no matter our failings.” Beth Moore

He’s made me a chosen person – who belongs to God. You are chosen by God. He picks you - always! All you have to do is decide--- whose team do you want to be on?

We are the ones Jesus loves.

“It’s time to begin the journey of your life. May your heart sing as you embrace everything God has planted there.” ~Bruce Wilkinson