Welcome to the kingdom citizens blog!
Learn to see yourself through the lens of God's standard, being His selected, elected, & called...
We are called by God as His private family, uniquely owned. We are not only God’s property by way of His Sovereign creation but also by being purchased with a price, that price paid being the blood of Jesus Christ. As image-bearers of God, He communicates His glory through us. The splendor of God’s divine qualities dwell within us by way of the Holy Spirit, helping us to shine brightly in a darkened world. Our sense of morality along with our standards of virtue are attributed to the goodness of God’s divine excellence, enriching our livelihood through the quality of excellence of body and mind.
We are individually summoned by the Lord, invited to be used by Him as a display of His mercy and goodness. To be called is to be chosen and to be chosen is to be specifically selected for a predetermined purpose. On our way to fulfilling this purpose, we journey through this life, maturing and evolving along the way. The old things that held us captive to sin and slaves to our flesh must fall away as we transition from our old ways to our new life in Christ.
Unfortunately, the past is a phantom that refuses to just let us go without a fight. Whether internally or externally, the past seeks to reverse our liberation, shrinking us back towards the foolishness and volatile behaviors of our priorly underdeveloped selves. In maintaining the progress we accrue in the Lord, after being made new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we must remain consistent in following the core principles of discipleship to Jesus.
Backsliding Behaviors or forward to freedom?
It’s easy to slide back into old behaviors. Bad days call us back to unrestrained treatment. Yet, we must press forward in what we know of the Lord and His Word. He commands us to flee from sin, rejecting wickedness, and constantly considering all that is good (Philipians 4:8-9). By meditating on the power of the knowledge of God, we can trust His promises to keep us when times get hard and we want to turn away, doing things our own way.
2 Peter 1:3 encourages us this way concerning calling and election, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” We can stick to our guns in Christ knowing that He has already laid before us all that we need to succeed in His will. We must remember to never forget His goodness, power, and glory.
The Lord selects each one of us with a specific purpose, passion, and position in mind. To be selected by the Lord is a great honor. As His chosen people, we are royal priests, being more than conquerors. Nothing in our way can prevent us from achieving what the Lord set before us to accomplish, except for our own blatant disregard for His faithfulness to our needs.
God selected each one of us by choice. The power of choosing means that there is variety and variety begets options. That means that God looked at you individually and said that you were perfect for performing the task He assigned to you alone. That is powerful! In that choice, you emerged victorious in His will. Before He even tasked you with purpose, He called you triumphant in Him. Choose to be free from sin and a captive of the Lord.
to choose covenant or corruption...
The choice part is usually the best part. Not only did the Lord call you into His service, but He also calls you son or daughter. That makes you royalty. That makes you children of the most High God, the King of the Universe! This is your election to a position of power and potential within the Kingdom of God. Elevated to this appointed position, it is now your responsibility to responsibly represent the Lord as He sees fit. A delegate of Heaven, you are authorized and entrusted to be a steward pertaining to the earthly affairs of the Lord’s people.
Biblically, election is the Lord hand-picking specific individuals or a group for a particular purpose and relationship, notably concerning covenant of eternal life. Some interpret the election to eternal life as being contingent upon an individual's faith, while others see it as unconditional. However, scripturally I am convinced that election is sealed by the Holy Spirit with the addition of our names to the Lamb’s Book of Life (John 10:28-30, Eph. 1:13, Rev. 21:27).
With that knowledge, we can stand firm, confident in our faith that the Lord’s salvation is true. The issue isn’t on God’s end but on ours. We must truly believe that God will do what He said He will do. That is the only way we can accept our calling, living it out in full confidence. We don’t have to stutter-step when following the Lord, if we believe He will do what He said He will do. This is very important to know because doubt is a major stumbling block to those who seek salvation but won’t trust in the Lord fully.
Selective salvation is not salvation. Salvation is deliverance but just because we were set free doesn’t mean we accept that liberty. When Israel was liberated from Egypt by God, they complained to Moses for dragging them through the wilderness. They found an issue with being free because it caused them to wander in uncertainty. If only, they would’ve continued to believe in the Lord and His might, they wouldn’t have needed to wander about in the desert for 40 years aimlessly.
Even with the miraculous being exercised before their very eyes day after day, they grumbled, desiring the certainty of slavery in Egypt, rather than the uncertainty of liberty in the wilderness. Their loving God intimately called Israel out of Egypt into His personal care and provision, yet they desired the familiarity of slavery under a vindictive ruler. They rejected the call of the Lord, which was a summoning to greatness that they couldn’t fathom at the time. In this way, corruption had unfortunately influenced their code of conduct.
called to action, not absence
We must be careful not to think and behave like the exiled Israelites. Again, the Lord intimately calls us, His people, into His loving-care. Not only is He calling us out of our own personal Egypt but He is calling us to recognize His Doctrines of Dedication to His will for our lives. We must not only answer the call, but rejoice at the sound of the voice of our Creator, summoning us higher and deeper in relationship with Him.
The concept of "calling" or the (Doctrine of Calling) in Christianity embodies the truth that God summons us to Himself in such a definitive manner that every aspect of our being, every action we take, and every possession we have becomes infused with a unique dedication, vitality, and purpose, manifested through our response to His invitation and our commitment to serving Him. As the Lord chose us, we must also choose Him, surrendering our own agendas, short-comings, and misunderstandings to serve at His will and pleasure.
There is no greater honor than to serve the Lord, our God, the King of the Universe. He set the standard, sharing with us His thoughts and desires. Selecting us individually into a collective body that faithfully serves His will, we must operate honorably as His elected stewards, the called of mankind to be His uniquely dedicated vessels of purpose and dignity. Let it be far from us to choose absence from the presence of the Lord. When He calls we must answer!
Selective salvation is no salvation. We must wholeheartedly choose the will of our heavenly Father, Yahweh. We cannot pick and choose which biblical doctrines suit our desires but fully entrust our hearts and minds to the entirety of the Word of God. By this our fruit will reveal that we are truly the sons and daughters of God, our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Scripture Reference:
2 Peter 1:2-4 (NIV)
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Thank You and God Bless!
Thank you for reading this blog. Your support and contribution is treasured here. Please continue to share this content so that God may work through us to be a benefit to others. I invite you to leave a comment and stay tuned in for the next blog. I pray that this blesses you and honor’s God. Let’s continue growing together as Kingdom Citizens in Christ. Show love, be kind, and trust in God. Thank you and God bless.
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