CHOSEN BY GOD

You are Chosen By God!

Date of Entry:
2 July 2008

About Me:
I am a 38 year old, married father of three, with one on the way (due Jan 2009 Praise God!). I am originally from Portsmouth, VA, raised in Chesapeake, VA from 4th Grade until High School. I played Division II football during my four and half years of college and graduated from Hampton University in August 1992 with a degree in Finance. With no real job offers in the works, I enlisted in the Army in 1993 and about eight years later; I got out and began my civilian career as a financial management-budget analyst/consultant. I was saved when I was about 13 years old and have ALWAYS had a DEEP passion for God's Word. I strongly feel that now that I am older, God has called (or has always called) me to minister to His people via the written word and perhaps through the spoken (preached/taught) Word (Grandma used to say I would preach the Word one day :<)). I place my trust in Him to guide me along the path He has chosen for me; my only desire being to share the richness of His Holy Word with others.

Scriptures:
John 15:16
Jeremiah 1:5
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-17
Ephesians 1:4-5

My thoughts:
Ever wondered what it feels like to be a first round draft pick? If you have ever watched the NFL or NBA draft, the commissioner of those leagues walks up to a podium and says to millions of watching fans; "With the first pick of the 2008 NFL/NBA draft, the (insert your team) selects "Joe Anybody!". The crowd that is present goes wild and soon Joe walks up to the podium, shakes hands with the Commissioner, is given a team hat and a contract worth MILLIONS! Can you imagine the joy, the exultation and the pride swelling in Joe's chest??? To be recognized by millions as the "top dog" out of hundreds of other athletes and to be rewarded as such? I mean WOW!!!

Would it surprise you to know that we ALL are 1st round draft picks in our Heavenly Father's eyes? Trust me on this, YOU, YOU and YOU are designated as Heaven’s "franchise player". The Word says so. In John, chapter 15, verse 16, Jesus had just finished telling His disciples about how important it was they stay "connected" or abide in Him, then He shocks them with this statement; "You have NOT chosen Me, I have chosen YOU!" I appointed (or ordained) you to go and produce fruit (do great and wonderful things, to prosper) that will last (I could talk for days on this), so that whatsoever you ask for in my name, my Father will give unto you."

The sad fact is that a lot of us believed we made the decision to seek out God and be saved through Christ. The Scriptures prove this is just not true and it is humbling to think and ponder how profound this is. HE loved and loves us so much that He CHOSE us and what will really drop you to your knees in humility and worship is WHEN He chose us! Jeremiah 1:5 says: "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I ordained you and appointed you as my chosen prophet to the world."

God is telling you and I that before we were a multi-celled egg, before we resembled a scraggly little tadpole, BEFORE we were that "sparkle" in Dad's eye, GOD KNEW us AND He set us apart, i.e. He already had mapped out our entire life to follow a path to success and happiness in Him. And if you really think about it, since Jesus is omniscient, He knew ALL about our sins to come and STILL He chose us to be His own! You would think that if someone had an opportunity to "pre-screen" our lives, and they could see us committing adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, divorcing, fornicating, killing, backsliding, you would think that person would NOT choose us for anything but exile.

BUT GOD, Who loves us with an immeasurable love, chose us anyway! He chose us to live life in abundance and prosperity and good health. He chose us to be His prophets, to proclaim Christ to a dying world, to be His standard-bearers, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world! What a wonderful calling we have! And this is why we are ordained or set apart. We are to live holy! No wonder it's so hard for us to hang out with the wrong crowd, to get drunk, use profane language, be exposed to blatant sin, or be in "cancerous" relationships! It's because the Holy Spirit within us convicts our hearts and as ordained children of the King we have to be separate from all foolishness!

You are CHOSEN by God.

Oh! How wonderful it is to be my Heavenly Father's first pick! You, me, you and you, we were in His heart and mind BEFORE the foundations of the Earth were set! Ephesians 1:4-5 says: "Before the Foundation of the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His plan has always been to adopt us into his own family bring us to Himself through Christ Jesus."

Hallelujah!!! Praise God! The next time the enemy attacks and tells you that you will never succeed, you will be nothing, that you aren't important enough for God to bless, STAND TALL and proclaim, "Devil! You are a liar! I was chosen! From the foundation of the universe, from before YOU were formed, I was on my Father's mind! I was CHOSEN to succeed! I was chosen to be the head and not the tail! I was chosen to live and not die! I was chosen to survive! I was chose to proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ, the Messiah is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!! I am chosen! I am the apple of my Father’s eye!! I'm His First Round Draft Pick which means you, Devil have LOST already! In the name of Jesus, you are a defeated foe. Get behind me!"

What a revelation family! WE ARE CHOSEN by the King!

Be blessed!


Questions it brought to my mind:
How can we as Christians use this wonderful knowledge to bring others to Christ? Since we are, according to the Word, "ordained" does that mean we are all ministers? How can we better equip ourselves to be separate yet live "in the world"?


My closing prayer:
Heavenly Father, we want to Thank You for choosing us! We want to Thank You for the timing in which you chose us!! How humbling to know Father, that we were so important to you that you placed us FIRST in your thinking and planning. How wonderful to know that before you laid down the foundations of the universe, before the creation of the very ground we would eventually walk on, YOU chose us to be your adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus! Father, such knowledge of your love is beyond anything we could ever truly understand. We humbly ask that you guide our steps and our thoughts as we attempt to live as holy as you would have us to be. We need you Lord, every second, of every minute of every hour of every day! We are so privileged to know that your love for us has NO BOUNDS. Help us every day to strap on our Heavenly armor that we my live pleasing in thy sight. Father we ask that you continue to bless us, to protect us and to walk with us no matter what may come. We thank you again Lord, for choosing us, for sending your only begotten Son to die for us, for raising Him up again, for giving Him a name above all names, and for providing us a way back home. We thank you Lord. Let the words of our mouths and the mediations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer."

Amen