Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends all around the world,
Wherever you live in the world, I’m sure there are things you love about your country, your culture, your society, your city and maybe even your neighborhood. But in truth, I imagine there are some things that frustrate you as well and perhaps you occasionally find yourself looking at other places in the world wondering if it would be better to live there? Today, I want to give you some wonderful news! Are you ready?
Let’s rejoin our friend the apostle Peter as he is writing his first letter to Christians living all around the Roman Empire, during the first century. You see my friends, in that first century Christians were being persecuted in every part of the Empire and therefore many of them were moving, some of them moved often, trying to find a peaceful place to live. It wasn’t easy and most of them felt like refugees on the run much of the time. That’s why the words Peter is about to write were incredibly encouraging then and should be greatly encouraging to you and me today, no matter where we live.
Peter rolls out his parchments and picks up his stylus and speaks the words he senses the Holy Spirit of God is putting in his mind to write: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of HIM who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:9,10)
I think Peter paused, put down his stylus and paced around the little room where he was. From what history tells us, perhaps it was a prison cell in Rome, perhaps he was under house arrest and had little freedom. Regardless of his exact situation, Peter and most all Christians at that time felt humiliated, persecuted, harassed, and quite frankly they often felt worthless. Many were refused employment because they were Christians. Often parents broke engagements, preventing their adult children from marrying Christians. Sometimes people were actually run out of their towns by neighbors or others who didn’t want Christians living near them.
Can you imagine what a difficult time this was, my friends? And can you therefore imagine how encouraging it was for groups of Christians, all across the Roman Empire, when they received this scroll Peter was writing? I wonder if the words Peter wrote sound familiar to you? For those who were Jewish Christians in the first century, of course these words were very powerful because they were very nearly the same words God had spoken through Moses to their ancestors who had come out of slavery in Egypt. Exodus 19 is that event. The freed Hebrew slaves had been traveling through the desert for nearly 3 months, following the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. As they arrived at Mount Sinai, I imagine Moses was very excited, for this was the very mountain where Moses had his shocking, life changing encounter with God at the burning bush several months before! (Exodus 3) As this huge throng of 1 million people began setting up camp at the base of Mount Sinai, Moses hiked up the mountain, hoping for another encounter with God and some fresh news for these people God had rescued from generations of slavery. God did meet with Moses and His message for Moses and these Hebrew slaves was clear: “This is what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I…brought you to Myself. Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all the nations on earth, you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…” (Exodus 19:3-6)
Do you see how the words Moses heard from God and the words Peter was writing were very similar even though separated by 1400 years of time!? Now let those words sink down into your soul my friends, no matter where you live in the world. Peter was not writing exclusively to Jewish Christians but to ALL those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, God the Son, to save us from our sins.
Peter wants all of us, no matter where we live in the world, to know that “…once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.” Can your mind comprehend the meaning and significance of this statement? Can your heart receive the love embrace of God? I hear God saying that we, the people saved by our faith in His Son Jesus, are now the prized possession of God, God’s glorious treasure! But since God made the whole universe isn’t it true that every planet, every star, every galaxy, and planet earth and all that He created here… it’s all God’s possession and He treasures it all? Oh yes, my friends, that is true, but NOTHING in all creation compares to the human race which God created in His image! But our wonderful human race has been horribly damaged by the sin nature we inherit from our parents and then more fully develop in our life journeys. You and I both know that left to ourselves we are a profound distortion of those magnificent, perfect first human beings God made in His image, Adam and Eve! Sin, wickedness, evil and all the other similar words you can think of describe the dysfunction of our species, humanity, and the mess we have made of our planet and our cities and even in many cases our families and our own lives.
In response God’s evaluation is that “All humans have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) And as you and I look around, no matter where we live in the world, I’m sure we agree with God. You are right God, we can’t build prisons or hire police fast enough!
And that, my friends, is why God’s profound statement is so wonderful, so remarkable: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…” (1 Peter 2:9) Did you know Jesus once said to His friends, the disciples, “You did not choose Me but I have chosen you and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” (John 15:16) And do you remember the apostle Paul wrote to his friends in Ephesus “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Eph. 1:4) And finally, in Peter’s second letter he made this profound statement: “The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) My dear friends, may I encourage you with this thought: You can neither imagine nor measure the unlimited, unconditional love that God has for you! God sending His Son Jesus to the cross to pay with His death for your sin, is the ultimate expression of that love God has for you! And God desperately wants you to live the rest of your life here on earth enjoying the love of God and this outrageous concept that you and I are CHOSEN by Him to be people who belong to HIM as a treasured possession of God!’
Now ponder that my friends, and we’ll come right back here tomorrow for more of this amazing, encouraging truth from God! And here’s a great song which celebrates this wonderful truth…
Today’s Scripture is 1 Peter 2:9.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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