We Are A Holy Nation


Meditation

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.
(1 Peter 2:9)

When we submit to Christ we are no longer black or white, American or Russian, Jew or Gentile; we are all just one race. We become sons and daughters of God, the King of the universe! That makes us royalty by adoption. Think about that for a second. We are born slaves to sin, without hope for anything but an eternity in hell. When we are cleansed, Jesus makes us new. We are no longer slaves but princes and princesses, heirs with Christ. He has set us apart, pulled us out of the filth of sinful living. We belong to him, now and forever more! Not because we deserve it but because of his grace and mercy!
A racist cannot fathom how white and black believers can labor in love, hand in hand, for the work of the kingdom…but we understand. Nationalists from either side cannot comprehend how Russian and American followers of Jesus can be close friends and want nothing but the best for each other…but we understand. The world doesn’t grasp why a Christian Arab doesn’t hate his Messianic Jewish neighbor…but we understand. We are all now of one race, of one holy nation, of one faith who belong to the Lord.
It is very exhausting to hate whole groups of people you don’t even personally know. People who hate are always forced to find or make up reasons to hate. That’s what we must reject when we put on Christ. We must be the light of love, shining in the darkness of hate. We must refuse to fall into the behaviors of the people around us. Show them something different. A new way to believe that doesn’t include hatred. Our objective is to tell the unbelievers in our lives about all the magnificent things Jesus has done, both for us and for them. Chief among them is that we are no longer living in darkness and they don’t have to either.
However, we don’t just love the people in our church or denomination, we love all believers. We don’t just love fellow believers, we love everyone, saved and unsaved alike. We don’t just love the people who are nice to us, we love even those who hate and persecute us. We are chosen out of the world to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to save the world and it’s our mission to proclaim the message of his love to the whole world. 


Prayer Time

Father God we submit to you and your will in all we do. Not because we are forced to, but because we long to please you. We are so grateful, Lord, that you chose us out of the filth and darkness we found ourselves in. You washed us clean in the blood of Jesus and brought us into the light of your truth. You have made us royal when you adopted us as your sons and daughters. We are priest because we have been shown the gospel and commanded to share it with the whole world. Give us the courage to never shrink from that mission. We thank you that we are only temporary residents of this fallen world but are the holy nation of God whose permanent residency is heaven. We are your possession, paid for with Jesus’ blood, slaves to the God most high. Father we proclaim all the truths we find in scripture to an unbelieving world. You are the only hope for this sinful world. Your love will conquer all and, in the end, every knee will bow and declare Jesus is Lord of all. It’s in his precious name, we pray. Amen!
Location: Dade City, FL, USA

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