Chosen – Page 3 – Praying Pint

3.w. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant

Nehemiah 1:4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Leviticus 26:33     And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

Deuteronomy 4:27    And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.

Deuteronomy 32:28     “For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

1 Kings 9:6-7    But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,  then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

Ezra was a priest. He was sent to Jerusalem by Nehemiah to start rebuilding the temple and leading the people in commitment to God. Nehemiah’s prayer. This was a very big ask by Nehemiah. He knew they had fallen away from God and this was the reason they were in exile. He also knew from God’s word that unfaithfulness is punished and returning to God is rewarded by the awesome power and steadfast love of God. He prayed confession, praise, and faith. He prayed believing in God’s word. He prayed for success in what seemed impossible.

When our heart is heavy and our burdens overwhelming we don’t have to wait and be overcome with doubt, fear, worry, and restlessness. we can take it straight to the feet our redeemer Jesus Christ. We can know and believe that He is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Why do we not ask? Why do we not ask? Why do we wallow in our doubt? Could it be that we think we are not good enough or have not done enough? These thoughts of being and doing are lies from Satan. He wants you to believe that the only way to receive God’s grace and love is to be better, do better, live better and with this lie filling your heart deny the power that is through Jesus Christ who willingly died for the person we were. He did this for the lost sinner. He did this out of His love. He did this to show His love for us. While we were yet sinners He did this. In faith, we come to Him. In faith we can rely on Him. In faith, He is honored and glorified. In faith we are made right with Him, not by being good. We are made good through faith in Him alone and not by what we do.

Come to Him as you are, in faith, confessing, praising, and trusting in Him alone for the trials, worries, and burdens that are seemingly impossible to overcome.

2.s. “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.”

2 Chronicles 23:16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Deuteronomy 26:17-19 You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”

Joshua 24:21-25 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day

Multiple times throughout history there have been people of God declaring their intentional choices to serve Him, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes, rules, and obey His voice. They did this as a personal choice and as one voice collectively. For some, this may have been a shallow commitment and for others, it was heart and soul-deep.

When the commitment is shallow you still may not see any difference between them and others with deep commitment. For all outward appearance looks the same. They may have gotten caught up in the moment and gave lip service to make this commitment. We see this today when a seed of commitment is acted upon it to trust Jesus Christ. Yet the seed does not take root and over time withers dies. Jesus gave a parable about this and we should take note of the importance of it. It is up to those with heart and soul-deep service and obedience to nurture and help water and grow these shallow seeds. This can only happen when there is continual growth and maturing. And this can only happen when there is a desire to do so. An intentional choice that is made every day. An intentional choice that places service to Jesus Christ first. An intentional choice to feed on His word, to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, to trust Him when chaos and confusion attack, and to take every thought captive and ensure it is in line with God’s word.

Every small decision over time will yield good or bad. These insignificant decisions in our mind have long term effects for both now and eternity.

We can rejoice when there has been a commitment made to trust, serve, follow, and obey but we must help and encourage each other in this life long commitment or we risk drifting away. We don’t have to read far after each of these personal and nationwide commitments to see a drifting and falling away from serving, following, trusting and obeying God. Be mindful that our sinful nature and self-centered interests are always being tempted by Satan or self to leave our commitment to God. Our commitment is more than a one and done decision. It is an intentional, mindful, heart full, and soul-deep choice every moment of every day. Stay in His word, serve Him, follow Him, trust Him, listen to Him, and obey Him. In doing this we are able to fight the good fight and encourage, lead, and instruct our brothers and sisters in Christ.

1.u. Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!

2 Chronicles 7:11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Leviticus 26:40-41    “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

Ezekiel 33:11     Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;

Deuteronomy 4:29-30   But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

Lamentations 3:40-41    Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

After Solomon completed the temple and offered prayer and dedication of it to God, they sacrificed offerings to the Lord for 7 days and the people went back to their homes joyful and glad of heart because of their prosperity. Can you remember times of overwhelming joy and gladness? Can you remember the times of when you were so aware of God’s provision and you were moved to a sincere deep thankfulness?

In times of prosperity don’t we tend to lose sight of God and walk more closely with the world? The weird thing about this is that we come to a time and place in our life when we surrender to God because of circumstances/troubles/ trials and our faith is turned fully to God and our belief and only hope is placed into His hands. We wait expectantly and then by the grace and mercy of God we see His deliverance, either through giving us strength and courage to get through it or by a work of His hand blessing us. We come out the other side closer to God, joyful, thankful, and gladness filling our heart. But…… Then…..

It seems we are enticed away from the very presence of God that brought this joy, thankfulness, and gladness. In our blessing and prosperity, our eyes turn toward the worldly and shinny things, everything but God. Do we think His presence is no longer needed? Do we think we can last, walking life paths without Him? Do we think we can stand against the attacks, temptations, and deceptions of Satan and our sinful nature? Do we think God is not worthy of all of our heart, mind, and soul, all of the time?

If we give thought to these questions we certainly will arrive at the answer “NO”. The problem is we don’t think about these questions. We allow ourselves to skip a day where He is not our first thought, praise, hope, and strength. This day so easily turns into weeks, months, years, and then we find ourselves lost and not knowing how to find our way back into His presence. “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin”

190. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them”

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Jeremiah 17:20-27 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Hezekiah reigned 25 years as King and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He destroyed all of the idols and put God first. He brought the people back to God. He was a leader who led the people in worship of God by what he said and the actions he took against anything that was a substitute/replacement for God. He did what was right in the eyes of God by humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, relying upon, and obeying God.

However, his son did not. He replaced everything that Hezekiah removed that was an abomination to God. He led the people for 55 years down paths away from God and to the place where it says they were “doing more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed” Can you imagine it? In one generation Hezekiah brought the people back to God and in one generation his son led them astray.

We can not assume the people too are not to blame as well. They willingly followed. “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.” We need to be mindful of how we view things in and around us and have God’s word richly dwelling deep within our heart, mind, and soul so that we can discern what is right and acceptable according to it rather than what is acceptable to the world.

150. Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

1 Kings 14:21 Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 16:47-48     Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

Romans 1:24-27    Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!

Deuteronomy 32:18-21  You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.  “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.  And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.  They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Do you ever wonder how people get so far away from God that they replace serving, honoring, following, and obeying Him with something else? It is not as though God changed who He was or His steadfast love and holiness changed. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What changes in the lives of people that they no longer have a heart, mind, and soul for the one and only true God. I have an idea it was a slow decline over time. They allowed the very evil and wayward thinking of the people God drove out before them to find it’s wake back. It is not as though they woke one day and said: “I am going to do this really stupid thing I know is wrong against God”. No, it was more like a slow steady decline and turning of their heart and mind away from God and His word. They spent less and less time thinking about Him and more and more about themselves. They spent more time listening to those who have no heart for God than time in God’s word.

Acceptance of false teaching and sinful living is the beginning of the fall. Some may think since it is just the beginning of the fall it is not that bad. If you jump off of a cliff there is really no difference in the ending from the beginning. The outcome is the same, it is just the little bit of time between. It is not as though you can grab onto anything while you are in midair on a free fall. Such are the lives of many who spend little to no time in God’s word and their heart and mind are listening to that which does not serve, honor, or glorify God. It is a slow heating of the water and nothing aware of how hot it is getting before you are dead.

There is no one holding you back from serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God but you. You choose each day.

139. For there is no one who does not sin

1 Kings 8:46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

How do we know if there is sin in our life? How do we know if we are active in our walk with God? How do we know if our walk is worthy of honoring God?

“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin.” “ Psalms 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” “Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? “Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” “Isaiah 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” “1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I fear that we are thinking we are active in our walk with God and that our life is honoring Him but His word is far from our heart, mind, and soul. This is an intentional choice being made every single day to neglect His word, live for self, and give no thought about serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God on a deeper level each day. How can we say we are committed Christians and we spend little to no time in His word with the single thought of to know and understand Jesus Christ more and more so that we would honor and serve and become very aware of sin in our life.

Turning a blind eye or deaf ear to God’s word does not give us a pass on the sin in our life.

135. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

1 Kings 3:3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

1 Chronicles 22:12    Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

Proverbs 16:16     How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 3:13-18    Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,  for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.  Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Proverbs 2:3-9     yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

If I was to ask where do you find understanding, knowledge, and wisdom what would the first answer come to your mind? Would it be “Alexia” or “Google it?” For sure you might find information enough to give you knowledge (facts) and you might read more about how you might understand these facts (meaning), but how to use this wisely (application) is somewhat evading.

Charles Spurgeon wrote; “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

Those with wisdom know what actions to take next. They do the right thing in the given situation. In contrast, there are many who have great knowledge and understanding but who consistently do the wrong thing.

There is Godly and worldly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Sadly, with the internet, worldly knowledge and understanding seem to overshadow the need to have Godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Worldly knowledge and understanding do have a place in our lives but not at the expense of not having Godly knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. To make sense of the world around us requires more than what it can offer in knowledge and understanding. It requires knowing the Creator with a desire to seek understanding and wisdom that only He can give and enlighten our souls with.

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31–32).

R.C. Sproul; Our Lord calls for a continued application of the mind to His Word. A disciple does not dabble in learning. He makes the pursuit of an understanding of God’s Word a chief business of his life.

52. You shall be called Sought Out

Deuteronomy 14:2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Exodus 19:5-6    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Leviticus 11:45    For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

Leviticus 20:26     You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

Isaiah 62:12    And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9     But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Redeemed, chosen, a treasured possession, sought out, and separated for good works describe those called by God. We are sought out and chosen by God. This is not because of who we are but because of who He is. This is not because of something we did to deserve it but because of what He has done. Just think, God of creation has sought you out, chosen you, redeemed you, and sees you as a treasured possession to be separated and set aside for good works.

Being sought out and chosen by God is no small thing and should not be viewed as small, trivial, insignificant, inconsequential, unimportant, or of no importance. This is God’s love demonstrated and extended to His creation. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God’s steadfast love and external call go out to all mankind. He demonstrated love and sacrifice so great and all-encompassing that all are called (chosen) – but not everyone chooses to accept the call of being chosen. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

It is important to hear the call but much more important to respond to that call. Remember response to this call is not an ending but rather a new beginning of being a chosen, redeemed, treasured possession, sought out and separated for goods work child of God. The response to God is every minute of every day. Be ever listening to His leading and ever obedient to His word.

43. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Exodus 19:5-6   Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Psalms 50:5     “Gather to me my faithful ones

Amos 3:2     “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20     Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Being chosen and called is an act of God. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Being called and chosen is not enough. There must be a response to the calling of being chosen. There must be an act of acceptance of the call and then act accordingly to that calling. I fear too many want the benefits of being called/chosen but have no desire to live their daily lives in line with this calling. I fear the neglect of His word has diluted the influence in their lives and leaving them blind and deaf to His calling. Being chosen we are to be set apart from the influence of the lies of our culture, society, and worldly wisdom. This calling and being chosen (setting apart) is more than accepting the call, for in this calling there is a call to action. A call to make disciples, to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim the day of salvation, to proclaim the need for salvation, to proclaim hope and the reason for our faith, to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow and obey.

How are we too except to know any of this if we daily neglect His word and take a complacent attitude toward the calling of God. The simple truth is we will not. We mock God if this is our approach.

We all are to be obedient to God. We cannot just accept the wonderful calling of God and continue to live a life following our own desires. We are to be the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”

Paul very clearly stated the responsibilities of the called: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” The called and chosen must be faithful! They must continue to actively believe, obey and rely on God. The called and chosen will need to faithfully endure, both in good and in bad times.

The man in the parable who was invited to the wedding had a duty to come dressed for the occasion, which symbolically meant that he was to put on righteousness, but he didn’t do that. So Jesus made this famous statement that “many are called, but few are chosen.” Therefore, the called-out ones must be spiritually prepared and be clothed with righteousness which is a manifestation of His word in our lives.

If His word is not ever-present in our heart, mind, and soul the world will take it captive with lies and deception.

According to Your word

Psalms 119:169 Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes. My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

The Psalmist wanted his understanding of life and the world shaped – transformed – by the word of God. He wanted his thoughts to be transformed according to the word of God. He wanted deliverance, but wanted it only as it was consistent with God’s revealed word and will. This is very much the same kind of thought the Apostle Paul expressed in Romans 12:-2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our lips can praise God when our taught His word; and taught by God Himself. We do not not praise God by nature; we have to be taught God’s truth, and taught from God Himself.

Knowing the pure truth and inerrancy of God’s word will encourage and inspire us to want to speak of it to others. Our confidence will make us want to share it with others.

“Then should we break through our sinful silence; we should no more be cowardly and halfhearted, but should be true witnesses for Jesus. It is not only of God’s works that we are to speak, but of his word.” (Spurgeon)