Read 1 Peter 2:1-10

We are now the people of God. 1 Peter 2:10

A little girl was being punished for bad behavior and her parents were
making her eat dinner by herself in the corner of the room. They paid
no attention to her until they heard her pray part of Psalm 23: "I
thank You Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of my
enemies."

A Cute story, but our families can sometimes feel like our enemies
when they aren't exactly what we want them to be. Even our spiritual
family at church lets us down occasionally. But by changing our focus
we can learn to give up the naive idea that others will always met our
lofty expectations.

Instead of focusing on others, we can find hope in the truth that we
are one of God's very own children through faith in Jesus (1 Peter
2:10). he has chosen us and "made us His own special people" (v.9).
The Lord has brought us into His family and we can be sure that our
relationship with Him will never be severed. He'll never treat us as
an enemy.

When others let us down, instead of giving in to discouragement, let's
change our focus and remind ourselves that we who have put our faith
in Jesus are God's children -- cherished and cared for by Him.

When we grasp hold of that teaching, that promise of God, no one's
words or actions can have the same destructive effect on us as they
did before. It is much easier to be able to say to yourself, "I hear
what you say, but those are lies from Satan who goes around like a
roaring lion, seeking to kill, steal and destroy. I am a child of God
and I am made in His image. He is my everything." I have said that
to myself many times when I am being attacked by those who would try
to shake my faith in God and myself. The healing power of the
knowledge that I am God's specially chosen ones, is a balm on my
heart and light in my lift.

When others let you down, always look up.

 this is some thing beautiful ...truly touched me ....

The Unlocked Door
Author: Robert Strand

In Glasgow, Scotland, a young lady, like a lot of teens today, got
tired of home and the restraints of her parents. The daughter
rejected her family's religious lifestyle and said, "I don't want
your God. I give up. I'm leaving!"She left home, deciding to become a
woman of the world. Before long, however, she was dejected and unable
to find a job, so she took to the streets to sell her body as a
prostitute.
The years passed by, her father died, her mother grew older, and the
daughter became more and more entrenched in her way of life. No
contact was made between mother and daughter during these years. The
mother, having heard of her daughter's whereabouts, made her way to
the skid-row section of the city in search of her daughter. She
stopped at each of the rescue missions with a simple request. "Would
you allow me to put up this picture?" It was a picture of the
smiling, gray-haired mother with a handwritten message at the
bottom: "I love you still...come home!"Months went by, and nothing
happened. Then one day the daughter wandered into a rescue mission
for a needed meal. She sat absent-mindedly listening to the service,
all the while letting her eyes wander over to the bulletin board.
There she saw the picture and thought, 'Could that be my mother?' She
couldn't wait until the service was over. She stood and went to look.
It was her mother, and there were those words, "I love you
still...come home!" As she stood in front of the picture, she wept.
It was too good to be true.By this time it was night, but she was so
touched by the message that she started walking home.
When she arrived it was early in the morning. She was afraid and made
her way timidly, not really knowing what to do. As she knocked, the
door flew open on its own. She thought someone must have broken into
the house. Concerned for her mother's safety, the young woman ran to
the bedroom and found her still sleeping. She shook her mother awake
and said, "It's me! It's me! I'm home!"The mother couldn't believe
her eyes. She wiped her tears and they fell into each other's arms.
The daughter said, "I was so worried! The door was open and I thought
someone had broken in!"The mother replied gently, "No dear. From the
day you left, that door has never been locked."
Jesus is the door to heaven and He is open to your entering in. You
much reach for Him to enter... and He will welcome you with open
arms.Have you entered into the grace and mercy that He so lovingly
gives?"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture." - John 10:9

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

While walking through the forest one day, a farmer found a young eagle who had apparently fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard with his chickens and there it stayed for years. It wasn't long before the little eagle learned to eat and behave like the chickens.

One day a naturalist passed by the farm and saw the eagle confined in the barnyard with the chickens. When he inquired about this strange sight, the farmer told the man his story. "Unfortunately, " said the farmer, "the poor little guy just never learned to fly." "Still," the naturalist sighed, "he has the heart of an eagle and can surely be taught. Will you allow me to work with him?" The farmer agreed, but with much disbelief.

The naturalist picked up the eagle and lifted him toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again. The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid and jumped down once again to be with his chicken friends. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly!" The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and then up to the sky. Slowly, he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, he soared away into the heavens.

Somewhere along the line, we like this poor young eagle, were put in a lowly barn with the chickens of the world around us. We learned to live and eat from the ground and grew up believing that there was not much more to do than sit and cluck all day.

But the reality is that we are eagles! We were created to fly and even soar! God has great purpose for our lives! If we would only realize who we are in Him!

Let's remember who we are today and stop acting like chickens! We are the head and not the tail! We are Kings and Priests!

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd
from Galilee followed" Mark 3 v 7

Crowds follow Jesus.

It is true to say that when something new and exciting comes along
many people crowd around to see it. Jesus was the new phenomenon in
their eyes at the time. But He was as some were to discover no
ordinary man.

As I read this scripture in Mark this morning, the thought of
Princess Diana came to my mind.

Both newspapers and cameras intruded their way into the life of a
this young, naïve woman at 19 years of age. She was to be married to
the heir of the Crown of England and later bear the children to
become heirs and future kings. Little did she know the devastating
effects this would lend itself.

As most of us know at an early age she was tragically killed in a car
accident. Would it have been any different if she were not the
mother of the princes. We shall never really know, even speculation
occurs today as to what truly happened surrounding her death. But
she will be remembered at best for her beauty, her kindness to the
less fortunate and also for the intrusion of the mass media into her
life and the misery it caused.

Jesus too faced the same intrusion and the bombardment of crowds.
Even to the point where He and his disciples could not eat. He even
asked his disciples to find a boat as a means of escape. Man has not
changed and many are drawn to revival meetings, concerts,
evangelistic events some not really knowing why, maybe the miracles
or just curiosity.

But Jesus knows the intention of peoples hearts and those that will
truly follow Him.

Remember the story of Jesus healing ten but only one came back to
thank and praise Him!

"Jesus went up into the hills and called to him those he wanted, and
they came to him".

We read that Elijah, a seemingly solitary prophet was told by God
(and this after a wonderful miracle from heaven) that there were
still 7,000 prophets left hidden who did not bow the knee to Baal.
In other words there are still true disciples of Jesus today who
worship the Lord in spirit and truth.

The appointed twelve were given authority to drive out evil spirits,
heal the sick and raise the dead being signs unto others of their
true following unto Jesus.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit
unless you remain in me"…. John 15 v 4

It is important that whatever we do in Jesus name has to be totally
of Him and not of ourselves.

Today, even now, many still see the death of Diana as a pointless
tragedy.

This is not so for Jesus.

For you see when Jesus died He rose from the dead!

When the disciples came back to tell Jesus about all the miracles and
wonders of God Jesus speaks and says rejoice not but rejoice in the
fact that your names are in the Book of Life. In other words what is
more important is knowing Jesus and your future here and now and
forever.

Salvation is in one aspect restoring the land for intended use. Our salvation is likened to a portion of land that an enemey had come in and occupied, and in the process, burned it, devasted it ruined it till nothing would grow in it except weeds, thorns, and left in a drought stricken condition, with no moisture the land became a burned out baked desert. A haunt for jackals and wild beasts, nothing would live there but violence and hatred of all things living. God in buying back or redeeming the land, must first have been a near kinsman, such was the reason Christ came to earth to be born of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah of the Seed of David, such to be one who could rightfully redeem the property lost to the enemey. In purchasing the land he paid with his blood.

The first step He must do to restore the land is to cleanse it of everything that is not profitable or that which is unprofitable, such as the the thorns and thistles, briars and weeds. These need to be done by fire, one that not only burns out the growth but destroys the root as well. Having done that He sets out to nourish it, sending rains upon it to prepare the soil to once again hold life-giving ability. He drives out the beasts and the wild animals that are there, builds a wall around it, keeping it from being occupied and begins the restoring of the land to its beauty that it could possess and will possess by the LORD's healing touch. He goes through out the land and rebuilds the soil, fortifies the ground with nutrients, He uproots, tears down, and replants, every where His hand touches life flourishes, He breathes upon it and the winds fill the earth with life. In restoring the land, He also revives it, makes it a garden in which all good things may be produced in their time, the fruit laden palm tree, the fruit producing vine, the fruit tree, all things that show that the land is not only repaired, restored, revived but is alive abundantly it is lush and glorious, it is the garden of God in which is the fatness and fulness of God.

God in restoring the ground of life does not put back what was before, he in essence recreates a greater purpose, it can not any longer be used by its former station, used in the same manner that it had first designed for, when God redeemed the land it was for holy use it was for His  holy holy holy occupation. God just did not come to redeem the land, just for fruitfulness He came there to dwell, and walk once again in the cool of the day, to fellowship, to have intimacy to share and to live there forevermore - Amen!.