You are Chosen.

As humans, we like being chosen. When there’s a girl that chooses us as a boyfriend or vice versa, that feels good. When we are chosen for the job over other applicants. That feels fantastic. When our efforts are acknowledged by medals or awards, we feel seen. We love to be chosen.

Did you know that each of us has an innate piece within us to be chosen by God, our Creator? Pascal coined the term, “God-vacuumed heart” to describe our desire ultimately is to be chosen, reunited with God. As humans, we try all kinds of things to fill that hole whether it’s relationships, money, career, substances…but we discover nothing ever satisfies. However, when we choose God, we find the peace, joy, unconditional love, and satisfaction we’ve been longing for in our life.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that each of us has been chosen by God. His desire is that everyone would come back to him and be reunited in relationship with him. In Romans 8:14-17, Paul says, “…all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs.”

This is incredible news! God has adopted us as his kids. When we say ‘yes’ to following Jesus, His Spirit lives within us and we become part of the family of God. But how do we know we are in the family? The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:10, “…we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” So John is saying, “Love God. Love people.” That’s it. Jesus himself sums that up in Mark 12:30-31 when he states we should Love the LORD with every piece of us and love others like we love ourselves.

Let me encourage you today to be part of the family by being led by the Spirit. Each of us has a choice every day to be Spirit-led or follow our fleshly desires. Jesus said you’ll know a tree by its fruit. So, exemplify Jesus in your life by having the fruit of the Spirit. Those characteristics include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When these are part of our life, we know we are part of the family of God.

I know in our current culture, it’s tiring to fight against the world. The world seems to never stop attacking us. But you hold to what it means to be a family member, recognising Jesus is our brother and you’ve been adopted by God. As we tire, remember what Jesus says to you in Matthew 11:28. “Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” You and I can find rest with the family, with Jesus. Stay strong and courageous and do not be afraid. Blessings on the journey.

Things Graduates need to know...(and the rest of us too)!

Yesterday, we celebrated our high school graduates at our church. It’s always an exciting chapter turn when teens leave the proverbial nest and spread their wings and fly. Those of us who are down the road further always impart wisdom, hoping they will learn from us who have made the mistakes and want to save them the heartache. But the advice is good for all of us, no matter where you are in life. So much truth rings well if we’ll just listen.

Above all, remember, people matter.

Treat people well, not because they’ll always treat you well, but because it’s the right thing to do. This includes never stepping on anyone to step up. If you do, you’ll probably hit them again on your way down.

There honestly are very few rules.

You don’t have to go to college to be successful. You can live virtually anywhere. You don’t have to get a desk job at a big company. The longer I live, the more I realize that most of the rules we consider to be written in stone aren’t even written down.

Be completely transparent.

People don’t like what they don’t understand. Conversely, people accept what is clear. Don’t hide from reality. Speak truth into peoples’ lives. You may catch some backlash occasionally, but the people who matter will respect and cherish you for it.

Never stop learning.

Learning creates knowledge. Knowledge creates expertise. Expertise creates value. You don’t need a teacher. Read a ton and ask smart people hard questions. There are two things people love: 1) being asked for their opinions, and 2) surrounding themselves with people who want to grow.

Create value.

You aren’t entitled to earn anything. Money is one form of stored value, and it’s transferred when value is created. Figure out how to add value to other peoples’ lives and you’ll discover riches for you too.

Your network is vital.

Who you know is important. Who you matter to is even more important. Create lasting relationships by helping others, who will eventually help you. Organize those connections (I like LinkedIn), and work to maintain the relationships.

Study successful people.

Successful people figured something out. Work to figure them out. How did they become successful? What steps did they take? You’ll often find those “overnight sensations” worked hard for a very long time. Look for someone whose work or lifestyle you’d like to emulate; don’t spend time trying to replicate success you don’t even want.

Never operate from a position of fear.

Fear causes strange and terrible things to happen. It will force bad decisions, impair your logic, and drive you to behave irrationally. It also makes things seem far worse than reality. Remember, true love drives out all fear.

Be humble.

Oscar Pistorius made it to the semifinals of the 400-meter sprint in the 2012 Olympics without either of his legs. Mark Zuckerberg is a self-made billionaire at the age of 28. Even if you kill it, you’re still not Overlord of the Universe. Don’t act like it. Cockiness is a career killer. Be humble and kind.

If you do your best to emulate Jesus’ life, you’ll be well on your way to having everything that matters in this life and the next. May the Spirit lift your sails; may God light your way; may Jesus be your hero. Blessings on your journey.