The Elect

We just watched something happen in New York City that may be the beginning of something very prophetic in nature - the election of Zohran Mamdani as its mayor. Mamdani is a young, charismatic, anti-Israel Muslim and he was elected handily by the left-leaning city.

The Bible speaks of Babylon, a great city, doomed to destruction. Could NYC be biblical Babylon? Keep your eyes open and read Revelation 18 (link at bottom).

Today I am writing about another kind of election though - "The Elect" of God. Who exactly are these people? Let's find out by opening our Bibles to Ephesians 1.

"He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love ⁵He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 1:4-5

Let us bow our heads in humble submission, for WE, my brothers and sisters in Christ, are "the elect."

Let that sink in for a minute or two. God chose us before the world even existed. Is God omnipotent or what?!

If you are a born-again child of God, you are one of the elect. That knowledge carries with it a certain amount of weight and responsibility. Honor and humility also.

So, what do we do with our "elect status" in Christ Jesus our Lord?

We should act like it! Act like Jesus! Love everyone we meet. Pray for those who need healing. Have compassion for those who are hurting. Reach out to the lost on behalf of Jesus. Share the Gospel with others. Give to one another as there is a need.

Speaking of the Tribulation, Jesus said this:

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." - Matthew 24:22

Mr. Mamdani, it appears, is not one of the elect, based on his Islamic faith. Our New York City brothers and sisters should be watchful, and follow God alone in their obedience. We must pray.

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) asked something veru revealing about socialism / communism this week.

"When the Berlin wall fell, which side did the people run to?"

Who Are The Elect of God? - GotQuestions.org

Revelation 18

The Calling

"No one comes to the me unless the Father who sent me draws them." - John 6:44

Have you ever heard a wolf howling, crying out in the wilderness? They are calling to one another. Assembling the pack - its family. How do we answer when God calls us?

Christian evangelists tells us we must "choose Christ." But is it really OUR choice if we have already been chosen by God?

I see Franklin Graham on television telling people to "pray this prayer." Do we really need to pray a prayer if we already have been chosen?

One of my favorite go-to examples in the Bible is the thief on the cross. Did HE pray a prayer? No, not that we are told anyway. But he DID believe that Jesus was God. And that's all it took for him to be with Jesus "in paradise" later that same day.

So, why even evangelize? Why tell others about God if they have already been drawn to Him?

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?" - Romans 10:14:15

The answer to these questions is given to us by Paul just two verses later.

"Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." - Romans 10:17

Our belief in God comes from two things. Hearing it and receiving it.

God already knows those who are going to say 'yes.' "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." - Ephesians 1:4

Look at it this way. It's not a matter of praying a prayer, it's in the hearing of the good news about Jesus. And then receiving that word and believing it.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. God demonstrated His own love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." - Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9, 5:1

It is a blessing to have been chosen. We should act like it. And also remember this:

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9

"Ask and ye shall receive." - Matthew 7:7

The Wolf Song - Norwegian Lullaby 

God's Election

Did you stay up late to see who won the U.S. presidential election? Me neither. If you did you would have never slept because, as of this writing, we STILL don't know.

As I was watching state after state go blue and vote for Biden, one verse from scripture kept going through my heard. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34). Lol!

Does it really matter who is president? Well, yes it does. He is the one that signs bills into law and chooses Supreme Court nominees. But it doesn't matter if the House and Senate are of the opposing party.

For the Christian, election has a different meaning. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you are one of The Elect. The following is from GotQuestions.org

The biblical doctrine of election teaches that God chooses to save some, and, by necessity, if He does not choose everyone, then there are some who are passed over. Those whom He has chosen to save are referred to as “the elect.”

Just like we must accept the results of earthly elections, we must also accept who God has chosen as His Elect. Sometimes that means family and friends have NOT been chosen. That can be extremely hard to deal with.

Then why evangelize if God has already chosen who He will save? Good question. But consider this: How do we know whether or not God was going to use us to reach someone on His behalf? We don't. So evangelize!

We still don't know who won the 2020 presidential election in this country. But we do know that God is on His throne and no one comes to power without God's say-so.

'For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." - Ephesians 1:4-6

You are "in Christ", aren't you? If not, seek God out today! "The election" is almost over.

Did you notice the what the sign says on Biden's podium in the picture above? Take a look. It says, "BATTLE for the SOUL of the NATION." That it is my friends. That is is.

The Doctrine of Election

The Sound

These days there are sounds in the sky, familiar yet different. Far off at first, then growing in intensity until our heads are turned skyward. "There!" we point. "There it is!"

That paragraph could have described many things. I flight of geese heading south in the fall. It could be the sound of an airplane, especially these days around here. Our house is in the flight path for many planes as they travel to EAA - The Experimental Aircraft Association's fly-in.

One day the air will be filled with a different sound - something all together different. It will be the sound of a trumpet. We will all go running outside to see what it is. We will point skyward as we see a large cloud unrolling across the sky. Most will wonder what it is. Some, however, will know. The ones who know are called The Elect. The trumpet will be the sound we hear as we leave this place.

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens." - Mark 13:26-27

There is a poem I heard once. It is about flight. But, I think, it could also apply to The Church, as we "meet Him in the air." What do YOU think?

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air… .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high in trespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Memphis Belle Takeoff
Shofar Sound

The Appointed Ones

Do you think you are special? Unique? Our fingerprints prove that there is no one exactly like YOU, but are we actually unique in a spiritual sense?

I was listening to the Book of Acts in my car the other day. The Book of Acts leads me to write more of these stories, I think, with every time I read it or listen to it. I will hear something from Peter, Paul, Stephen or Phillip, and "boom!" I get convicted in some way or it makes me notice something in a different way. Like when I heard this:

^"44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us: 

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,

That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 

⁴⁸ Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." - Acts 13:44-48

Only those who had been "appointed to eternal life believed." If they were "appointed," who did the appointing? Well, that would be God. But this sentence implies that there are those who hear the Word but were NOT appointed. They did not believe. My take away from this is that not everyone is appointed to believe. Not everyone will be saved.

Jesus confirms this in the Book of Matthew when He speaks about the "sheep and goats."

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ - Matthew 25:31-36

So some of the non-believers we know might not make it? What if that means that our mother, or brother or sister-in-law is doomed? What hope is there for them?

God knows when, where and how every person will come to believe in Him. HE has appointed the day, the hour, the very second that we will be His. Hmm. So, what is the point of evangelism then? If God already knows we are going to be saved next Thursday for example, why should WE care?What does that have to do with us?

What if God wants to use you to do it? What if God wants to use YOU to deliver His message of salvation to one of the goats?

No pressure.

The point of this story is to serve as a reminder to us that . . .

1. God is in control.
2. God knows all things.
3. God knew the person who spoke the words of life into each of us.

With those facts in mind, here are some questions to be answered by each of us:

Question 1: Is God going to use YOU to speak into someone's life today?

Question 2: Are you ready?

Jesus told us that we are to be a light unto the world . . .

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16

Are we shining brightly? Are people looking at us and seeing Jesus? We who believe, were chosen. We were chosen by God! And WHY were we chosen? Not because we're pretty or because we smell good. I believe we were chosen for a purpose. The question has already been asked. Are we ready?

^"14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” - Matthew 22:14

"You don't need no ticket, you just praise The Lord."

 People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield

Vote

Yesterday in this country we voted to elect people to represent us in government. We elected senators, representatives, governors, right down to county treasurers . . . and dog catchers I suppose. Nationally, things swung the republicans way. It looks like the republicans have now won control of the senate as well as the house. You can look for a flood of conservative bills to make their way to the presidents signature. However, the president is a liberal and not likely to sign any conservative measures set before him. So, once again, nothing will get accomplished.

Yesterday morning on my Facebook page I posted this comment:

Today is election day. How will you vote? Will you vote for someone who will do what he or she thinks is best? Or will you vote for a candidate who honors God in the decisions they make? Think before you vote!!!
A friend replied with this:

How does one know if a candidate honors God in the decisions he/she makes?

Interesting.

(The answer, of course, is . . . read your Bible!)

I posted this comment:

Try here (the following link) and make your choices based on God's Word.

http://www.isidewith.com/

There are some real questions to be asked when deciding who to vote for. Abortion for example. How does God feel about abortion? Read His Word! Here's God talking to His prophet Jeremiah.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5

God knows us before we are born. So how does He feel about killing someone He already knows?

Open your Bibles to the book of Exodus, The Ten Commandments.

"You shall not murder." - Exodus 20:13

How can we Christians vote for anyone who supports murdering babies in their mothers womb?

Next question.

My decision to vote for governor went now farther than the answering of that question.

So we vote. Many people in our country vote for themselves. The "What am I going to get out of it?" vote. I think that is wrong. We are told to make God-honoring decisions.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” - Proverbs 2:6

Here's another good one to remember:

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6

If you go back and read first and second Kings you will find the following phrase repeated again and again.

"He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord."

May it be so with our elected leaders.