But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9

We are chosen by God to be His people; I don’t think we ever quite let that sink in. God has picked us, He wants us. I do it still, but that should make it hard for us to walk around with our heads down singing Nobody knows the sorrows I have. God loves us and picked us special; that should be all the confidence we need to do the work for Him. You remember in grade school when they would choose sides for kickball? When you were chosen you were overjoyed and you played your heart out to make sure they knew they made a good choice. Similarly when we are chosen for a job or to attend a prestigious school we work hard to show that we wanted it. We are chosen by God and we should show Him that same respect. It’s so easy to just sit around and do nothing, but we are sitting around and doing nothing for God.

The word peculiar here means property. We were in debt and God bought us with Jesus’ blood. We now belong to Him. I have a lot of people tell me that’s crazy why would I want to be owned by God? I got great news for you; if you are property of God then sin no longer owns you and you are destiny is written – an eternity with God in Heaven. If we are still property of sin our destiny is also written – an eternity away from God in hell, but you can change that.

So now I belong to God, what do I do. We live for Him – it’s that simple. The verse here says to show forth praise and praising God is a great thing. The Greek translation means moral goodness. That is do good for Him. Praising Him and thanking Him is a part of that, but we should be good representatives of Him. The way others see us and how we act is vitally important. We should pull the lost individuals in, not drive them away.

The important lesson here is you have worth, not because you own a fancy house, drive a nice car, or have a high paying job. You have worth because God chose you and wants to have a personal relationship with you. Don’t let the world’s value system get you down, remember who you belong to.

Ever been really hungry? Ever really been famished and needed something to eat? If we take this passage back to when Jesus talked about it we would see a dry country where food couldn’t be purchased at the local Wal-Mart. We can understand how many would be hungry and even starve in an environment where food was scarce and famines occurred often. Jesus wants us to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness like we would be if we had eaten a bite a food and were at the point of starvation. Take a point where you were working really hard and it was hot and more than anything you wanted a glass of water to drink. We should feel that same way about righteousness. We should thirst for it, desire it, and have deep want for it. This need for water is much like our need for righteousness – it’s life or death. We know God wants us to seek righteousnesses as opposed to personal gains by looking at Matthew 6:33:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

To often the world tells us to worry about self and our own image, they tell us God should come second once we have handled our own personal needs. This is more wrong teachings. Let’s seek God first and let other things fall into place!

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.  Isaiah 43:2

When you are wading through tough water that continues to keep pulling you in you have two choices, you can give in or keep fighting.  When those tough times come up we should be reminded that we are fighting the current with help and are not alone in the struggle.  When we fight the water on our own many times, similar to fighting the undertow in the ocean, we only make things worse.  When we allow God to help and intervene we accomplish more, grow stronger, and become a better child of Christ.

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.  And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.  And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.  Matthew 8:23-26

Before this these very same disciples had witnessed many great miracles from Jesus, but they let their earthly experience as sailors outweigh their trust in Christ.  How often do we do this as Christians today?  We let past experiences and situations dictate how our future situations will be handled before they even hit us.  We are so focused on the future problems that have yet to happen that we miss the simple small miracles and moments God has given us.  It’s so easy to rely on past failures and successes and ignore the great things Jesus can do – I mean we can tangibly see and feel our actions, but Jesus well he is up in Heaven and I guess I don’t have any guarantees.  Wrong, Jesus is with us always.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  Hebrews 13:5

Why not just be content and happy in the situations we are currently in and let the future be what God wants the future to be.  God has a plan for our lives and we cause ourselves a lot more grief if we stray off that plan.

Jesus can calm storms in nature as proven right in this story, but if he has power over the great forces of nature he can also calm those storms that occur in our hearts.  Like the disciples when our heart’s storm is at it’s worse we turn to what we know.  We worry and we worry and we worry some more.  Then we go to the Lord and say where are you and why are you not helping?  Instead of just trusting, asking for help, and letting God take control.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  Philippians 4:6

All we have to do is ask, but we have to do it with the right heart.  Too often we go to God with a haughty spirit or a “give me, give me” attitude.  We act like we deserve it.  Be thankful for what God has given you and trust Him to continue to take care of you – He even cares for the tiny sparrow!

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.  Psalm 126:5-6

God can make any tough situation good.  God can take the darkest moment of your life and make it one of the best.  Look at the world; we can burn down forest and they will grow back.  Flowers die in the winter, but come back just as beautiful in the Spring.  We can break bones in our bodies and a few weeks later they healed again.  God has the ability to turn our negatives into positives regardless of the situation.

You hear of cancer patients leading their fellow patients to Christ.  Or the person who just lost a loved one being a rock to a person in a similar situation.  God’s ability for transcends anything we could imagine, hope for, or even think about in our finite minds.  When we are burdened by sorrow know that God is in control and that the grief will end.  A farmer can plant a seed, but there won’t be any crop the next day.  Just because we are experiencing sadness or pain for a couple of days doesn’t mean God has left or is abandoning us.  Know He is there and seek His help and even ask for opportunities to turn your negative situation into a positive one!

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.  Isaiah 43:2

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

I like the word all because there is no interpretation needed. It’s not surrender this and keep that or surrender a couple of these while hanging onto a few of those. The song says All to Jesus I surrender; all to him I freely give. There is nothing I can or want to hold back. But how do I do that?

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.   Psalm 32:8

Surrendering to Jesus is actually pretty simple.  You just do it and God takes care of the rest.  You really have the easiest part imaginable.  All we have to do is say here it is Jesus take it and use me.  Being willing is the first step; God won’t work with a stubborn individual or one who is holding on to parts of their lives.  You have to be willing to sacrifice it all to truly follow Jesus.  That could mean friends, family, dreams, or jobs.  It also means you have a life with less worry because you are concerned more with what Christ wants for you and less with what you want from your life.  Don’t over complicate it, just do it.  Pray to Jesus that you want to give him your entire life and truly mean it. Then sit back and wait for his instruction as he guides you each step of the way!

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.   Romans 12:2

We wonder why fighting temptation is so hard yet we are unwilling to remove ourselves from the world.  These young people have a made a choice to be celibate which is difficult enough if you are locked in a room somewhere, but instead of turning for help to God they went to parties and danced provocatively with members of the opposite sex.  This should be an example for us Christians of what NOT to do.  If we want to fight temptation we have to participate in radical amputation.  We can’t fight temptation on our own, maybe we can temporarily resist it in the right circumstances, but putting ourselves in position to fail is the worst thing we can do.  Why are these young people stopping themselves from having premarital sex then going to the very places where that act is praised and promoted?  No wonder it is difficult.  This world throws enough of this at us daily that we surely don’t need to add any of our own to it.

What to do?  I think these young people would have benefited from some simple solutions.  First and foremost is get there lives right with Christ if it is not already.  From just watching the show they didn’t appear to be Christians and if any of them are then they need to consider how they are portraying themselves.  Secondly they need to cut the activities that lead to sexual temptation out of their lives.  It’s ok to have friends of the opposite sex, but be careful the situations you put yourself into.  Don’t hangout alone away from anyone and make sure your views line up on the subject of sex.  Thirdly if you have too cut out the friends that are leading you down the wrong path.  A couple of these young people had friends who supported them, the other had a friend that continually tried to lead him down the wrong path.  Eventually you have to cut those people out of your lives – it takes some of that radical amputation to remove the temptation from your life.  Don’t let a so called friend be the reason you falter and lose your testimony for God.

It was sad to see these people make a tough decision even harder.  It’s not easy and I commend them for making the choice.  We can use their mistakes and learn from them.  The next time you make a decision to remove temptation from your life – do it fully and be sure to cut anything out that might cause you to fall!

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:1-5

I found myself reading this verse the other day and really concerned about my abiding in Christ.  Do I have that really tight relationship with Jesus that I desire?  Is the branch really hooked on to the tree or is it sagging and ready to fall?  Jesus tells that any branch that is not producing fruit will be cut off.  How do we produce fruit then?  We have to abide in Christ, much like a branch on a tree is constantly connected to the trunk of the tree.  If at any point you damage those connections you have hindered the branch’s ability to produce fruit.

We have to make sure that we are constantly connected to Christ, 24/7 365 days a year.  When we are in a union with Christ we are going to produce fruit, not a little fruit, not some fruit, but MUCH fruit.  When we are tuned into the will of God we can anything He ask of us and our desires become the desires God has for us.  Our will becomes the will of God and we seek to follow Him daily.

Feeling like you are getting little done for Christ?  Check the connection to the tree and make sure your branch is hooked solidly so that you can produce much fruit!