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.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

When I was in grade school, we made stuff which we brought home to our parents. Some of those things were hung up but were terrible works of art. Yet my mom, no matter, would just ooh and ahh over it, telling me what a great artist I was. To this day, she get’s out and hangs up a Christmas candle I “cross-stitched” on burlap in the fifth grade!

You know, the world and culture tell us a couple of things. We are either put together or thrown together. And if we buy everything they are selling…if we look like them…they say, we are put together. However, if we don’t have the right amount of money, or are pretty, or have overachieving children, or have scars from an unhealthy body, well, we are thrown together.

Most of us have a story to tell because we are not perfect. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep up with Malibu Barbie and Malibu Ken! But the writer of Psalms tells us something all of us need to hear. He spells it out in Psalms 139, reminding us that God put us together, that we are special and unique, that God has actually known us even before we were born and has a plan for us as an adopted member of His family.

See, our security in who we are cannot come from culture or Malibu. Our security comes from being in Christ and must flow from the inside out. As Christ-followers, it seems basic. However, we get pressured everyday in believing the voices that tell us we are not pretty enough, or smart enough, or rich enough, or fit enough, well you get the picture.

Jesus himself took issue with this mentality in Matthew 23 when He dresses down the religious leaders of his day. Jesus reminds them the outward appearance means nothing, zero, nada. It’s what’s on the inside, in the heart, that really counts.

So, every day, we thank God for creating us in His image and loving us unconditionally. We are humbled knowing there’s nothing we can do to ultimately to change the way He made us. Sink into the words of the Psalmist as he reminds us of how intimately God knows you and how much He has for you in the days ahead…

“You, God, made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalms 139:13-16 NLT

So be confident that we have a new, fresh life in Jesus. God is FOR you every day. His plans for you far outweigh anything the world could promise. He’s adopted you into his family which means you have everything the King owns already. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God’s work is evident in you. Blessings on your journey.