The Wilderness Chronicles; Day 8

Loved, Called, Chosen

For God so LOVED THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV)

For MANY are CALLED, but FEW are CHOSEN(Matthew 22:14, NLT)

Some ask, why the wilderness? Others ask, why me? Why must I be different? Why must the way that I take go via the Dolorosa, why must I be separated and go through all I have or all I am going through?, why am I going through it alone? Why can't I explain to my nearest and dearest, why must I place my achievements and trophies before the old rugged cross? Why the wilderness?

I believe one of the answers is because you are loved, because you responded to the call and because you made a choice! I'm a very good example of someone who asks Why me? if I got a pound for everytime I asked God or my mum that question, I would be a millionaire by now! God loves everyone, we do not have to be saved for him to love us, the Father loved both the prodigal son and the 'righteous' one, He loved him when he was at home, he loved him when he rebelled, he loved him till he came home. God loves the world. He hates the sin but loves the sinner because we were made in the image of God.

However, the world does not love Him back and although He calls out an invitation to all, some acknowledge the call and become His children, for AS MANY as received Him and believed Him He gave power to become His children (John 1:12). Some interpret the second verse quoted above to mean that God has chosen those who can be His children so not everyone can be saved. I choose to differ, if we consider Matthew 22 from the beginning, we see that the King extends his invitation to all but some heed the call and some don't. If you're reading this today, please heed the call Jesus is making, this is not a call to a church or ministry but to a family, God's family. We are called because we accept the call but for most the story ends there. We are content to join the 'Christian club' we do our Christian bit and God does His bit. But, amongst the called, there are some who make the choice to live out His purpose for their life.

For indeed God has given each and every one an assignment for the furthering of His kingdom, the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few. God sees our hearts, He knows that Peter can lead the 11 while Judas is in it for the money. Why was it Peter that denied Christ, why not the others? Even the devil knew that Peter had made a choice to follow Jesus and that he was not satisfied with business as usual. he knew that when the Holy Ghost fell on Peter, the establishment of the church was a done deal because Peter was one of those who went all the way! In these last days, God is on the look out for serious believers, not unbelievers, not church attendees but those who want more than a form of godliness and those who acknowledge the power of God. The Word confirms that the 3 groups do not contain the same number of people, the world is larger than the many that are called, the many that are called are more than the few who are chosen so do not worry if you seem like a freak or if no one is going the direction you are going, not many take the path of the chosen.

The hearts and desires of the chosen makes them candidates for the wilderness, they have been chosen for the great army the Lord is assembling to wage war against the enemy. That's why the last time I went on my Why me single, God asked me, why not you? Why not you Believer? Why not you, who do you want me to send? I'm rejoicing in the wilderness because I believe there is a generation and a chosen lot that is rising that will speak the word and hear the Word speak back. I believe that there are chosen ones who will speak and cancer will have to disappear, ALL diseases will be healed and even the dead will be raised to life. Before Jesus performed a single miracle, He spent 40 days in the wilderness, led there by the Holy Spirit. So my dear, rephrase your question, why not you? You are loved, you have heeded the call and have made a choice, don't fall back, don't quit. God will use you where you are but the wilderness will prepare you for the next level. So don't stop, keep moving! Amen.