YOU ARE CHOSEN

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

1 Peter 1:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we begin looking at the first of two letters written by Peter who we know was not only one of the first disciples personally called by Jesus but also a part of His inner circle along with James and John, also among the original four selected followers. You’ll remember Jesus telling them all that He would made them “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). In regard to Peter, we found this promise come to fruition after he received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), ten days after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9). After his first sermon, the scriptures tell us that around 3,000 were added to the number of Christian believers (Acts 2:41).  

Although the exact date of authorship is unknown, it is believed that the letter was written in the early A.D. 60’s not later that A.D. 67/68 because Peter was martyred during the reign of Nero.

In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter indicates that he was in Babylon when he wrote to his audience which we know included the following people as we turn to our scripture passage for today:

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

Here we see the Christian doctrine of divine election rise to the forefront and perhaps it’s one that a lot of believers are unaware of or fail to understand. As we see in the passage, the Peter’s brothers and sisters in “the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” are called “God’s elect”, a people who had “been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”. They were also labeled as “exiles” which simply meant that they weren’t in their final home, foreigners on earth waiting for deliverance to their eternal home of Heaven because of their belief in Jesus, the Jesus who cleansed them from their sin through “His blood”,

Now, when we think of the matter of election, we think about going to the polls to cast a vote for someone. In other words, we choose who we want to govern.

In the matter of divine election, it’s important to know that if people were left to their own devices, all would continue to place their own desires first and live gladly in their sinfulness. Thankfully, God didn’t wish for that to happen and so He chooses people (or elects) that He wants to be saved and fulfill His purposes. If you are a Christian believer, then you can’t take credit for your own saving. Rather, you need to thank God for electing you to gain salvation and serve Him by helping others He has chosen to receive their promise of eternal life themselves. In doing so, we are carrying on the work of our fellow Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia more than 2,000 years ago.

In these opening verses, Peter reminds all Jesus believers that God has elected them to receive salvation and then serve Him forever as His children. Let us give thanks to Him, not just today but in every day we live before we leave behind our exile status and inhabit the place Jesus has prepared for us when He returns (John 14:3).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.