I am chosen by God.

Today’s Scripture: 2 John 1:13, NIV- “The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.”

Before leaving 2 John 1:13 this morning, I have a question for you. Can you feel in your heart a difference between saying “We are chosen by God” and “I am chosen by God”? Updating my spreadsheet this morning I felt a difference when reading both and I am wondering if it is just me.

Affirmations are intended to be personal and life changing. The foundation of Affirmations of God was to take God personally. This began because God knew I needed to know Him and His promises and commands more than I needed to know myself. I also desired to live more like Jesus, and I can only do that if I know how Jesus lived.

My prayer time this morning was personal. Strangely I cannot recall what hit me so personally, but I was filled with gratitude for the intimacy of God. As I have matured in my faith and in my posts to social media I have noticed a shift. Maybe for the sake of inclusivity I am stating “we” more. Instead of saying “I” am chosen by God I went yesterday with “we are.” Also, more often these days I am speaking directly to God and do affirm, “God, thank You for choosing me.”

I still struggle with being too concerned about what others think of me. However, it is more important for me now to be bold in sharing God. I never want my “I” statements to be construed as I am where He calls us to be. I can argue with Paul when he states at 1 Timothy 1:15 that he is the chief of all sinners.

I am driven to share these affirmations because I have found a conscious contact with God that I had never experienced before. I believe I have found the voice of God with the help of His Holy Spirit in His Holy Scriptures.

My purpose and the purpose of Affirmations of God are to share this spiritual connection. I have learned to take the Word of God personally. My words can never do God justice. Yet, my prayer is to share how receiving God into our souls is different than simply reading the words on the pages of the Bible.

People often say they struggle to read the bible. I often hear “I tried reading the Bible, but it was too hard to read.” I have found a way, for me, that makes the Bible come alive. I am blessed when I read a scripture and feel like it was written directly to me. I was once blind but now I see, and now I cannot unsee the treasures.

In this process I have experienced that God is real. I can confess with confidence that Jesus really came to earth, increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men, as we are told in Luke 2:52. I thank Jesus for taking those stripes and for dying for me.

My prayer is that we continue to increase as Jesus did. We can only do this if we walk with Jesus and go to the Father as He did. Spending the time well before daylight was Jesus’ process described in Mark 1:35 and so it is mine.

God is faithful to meet, teach, and speak to us. I am thankful to God and His Son Jesus Christ who share with us the daily bread of our lives that feeds us with enough to feed others.

I am praying now that our conscious contact with God is personal and equipping us for His work.

Today’s Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing me. I am praying to be faithful to the calling You have placed on my life. I am praying that Your Holy Spirit continues to reveal to us Your desires and commands for us. My greatest desire is to bring You glory and to plant the seeds I have been given to leave this earth with seeds planted for all of eternity. In the name of Jesus Christ, I do pray. Amen.