Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
SUB JECT – SOME TIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUT
Some time back, there used to be a jingle for Peter Paul candies, Mounds and Almond Joy, that went like this, 'Almond Joy has nuts, Mounds don't, because, some times you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't!'
That is a catchy little jingle, don't you think?? It embodies a basic, human truth, in that, there are times when we have a taste for something, while, at other times, we want something different. After all, if our lives were at a point, where we made the exact same choices every day about the food we ate, the clothes we wore, the types of people we associated with, etc., then, after a while, life would get to be monotonous, and boring. Wouldn't you agree??
Of course, if everybody followed that same mentality, then, everybody would grow to accept it, and everyone would be comfortable, because there would be conformity and nothing, out of the 'ordinary.'
Uniform, conformity, sounds like a good thing. It goes along with what a lot of people are saying, when it comes to how this nation, should be, in conducting our affairs. Conformity, among other things, means, having reached a
'happy medium' or
'common ground' in our dealings with one another, so that we can be at peace, with each other, and
'rise to higher heights, or sink to deeper depths, together.'
When I was in the Air Force, I was told, that, in the military, there was only one way to do things, and that was, the military way. Not the right way, or the wrong way, but, the military way. They had their own way of doing things, that, if the civilian population examined it, they would say, it is a mess.
One of the main examples of this separation, is the justice system. The civilian population has its courts, and they follow the laws, set forth by the civilian population. However, if you look at the military, they have their own system of laws, and justice, known as the
Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ]. There are things that, in the civilian population, you could do, that would not be given a second thought to, as being punishable by loss of pay, or jail time, like coming to work, with your clothes not properly intact, or shoes not shined, or sleeping on the job. Do that in the military, and, you could be in serious trouble, especially if you fall asleep on the job, as a guard, on a military base, in times of war. You could be shot to death.
Even when military personnel, commit certain crimes, off base, the military, is in charge of trying them, in their courts.
My point is, military people, think and act a lot different than civilians do, because we were trained to, despite our individual differences, to be conformed to one mindset, that would help the military to be able to do its job, effectively.
If the military ran, as haphazardly as the civilian population tries to run its affairs, then, we would be in catastrophic condition, meaning, easy pickings for our enemies. But, because everything they do, is with diligent purpose, and with one accord, they have become the greatest fighting force, in the world.
Now, as you see, success comes when a person, or group of people, can get together, with a specific mindset, that focuses on what is right, and not based on public opinion.
To us, as civilians, they, military personnel, are set apart from us.
Well, in the case of those of us, that name the name of Christ, we too, are supposed to have that same mindset, that sets us apart from the worldly[unsaved] folk. After all, if you can't be identified by your actions, and deeds, as showing the glaring difference between the unsaved, and the saved, then, you are not living up to the standards, that God has called you to live by.
Look at the subject scriptures above. Do you see the underlined parts?
What do they tell you?? They say, that we, as God's children, when we adhere to the characteristics, that God says we should be clinging to, then, we are going to stand out, like an elephant, in the middle of an empty room.
Everything we, as saints do, and say, is supposed to be so out of the mainstream, that, without us saying it, people will say, 'You must be a Christian!'
I have been in a lot of situations, that, people have come up to me and asked me, if I was a minister. The reason they asked me that, was because they had been observing me, over a period of time, and they definitely saw something different about the way I carried myself, the way I spoke, or, the way I held my peace, when situations, confronting me, called for me to curse someone out, if not worse.
What this all boils down to, is, my actions, or lack thereof, made me seem, like a nut, if I were to get carnally[worldly] minded about it. My flesh would be screaming, 'George, are you going to take that mess?? That person just made a fool out of you!! You need to give them a piece of your mind!! Are you a man, or what??' But then, I think about Jesus, and what He did, when confronted with situations like this, and worse.
To the ungodly, and carnally minded Christians, Christians that put their total faith in the Word of God, are deluded in their thinking. They have a screw loose. They have been taken in by some sort of hocus pocus, that bares no resemblance to the
'real world.' In other words, we are
nuts.
Now, all of this sounds good, if it weren't for one major factor, and that is, God.
You see, just like in the military, there are rules to be followed, and consequences for breaking them. And, one only has to test the rules, and see what happens. Punishment is swift, and sure, once they are caught.
Well, with God, almost the same thing is true. I say almost, because of this, God doesn't have to catch you, because He knows, not only what you are doing, but also, what you are thinking. And, you can very well rest assured, He will respond to your sinful ways, that, for the Christian, will vindicate them, and show, who the real nuts are.
Time and again, God has made those that have persecuted me, and other Christians, eat their words. When I was feeling foolish for trusting in His Word, to the point of actually beginning to think, I was being too extreme, feeling like a nut, so to speak, He stepped in, turned my enemies, in to my footstool, to let me know, I was not a nut.
What do you think
peculiar means?? It means out of the ordinary, strange, not conforming, and the like. As Jesus put it, we are,
'in the world, but, not of the world!!' John15:19. As far as the
world is concerned, we might as well have dropped in from Mars.
1Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
There goes that word,
peculiar, again. But, notice what it is preceded by. It says we are a special people, royal, and Holy. These are characteristics, that the world, and carnally minded, don't understand, because they are walking in the darkness, of their own minds.
To explain this better, look at this scripture.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Notice it says, that unless a person is born again, they cannot see the kingdom of God. This does not mean that they cannot go to Heaven, even though that is part of it. But, what it really is talking about, is the fact that if a person is not born again, then they can't understand how the spiritual realm, the realm that God controls, works. They are, as Jesus says, in darkness. If you can't see something, then you are effectively, blind, to it.
Since God's Word is Light, then, every thing is visible to those that have allowed His Light[Word, Jesus], in to their minds and hearts.
And this is why, when those that are in darkness, are trying to figure out, something, based on the darkness they are in, and you, operating in the Light, make a suggestion, they can't see it. Why?
John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Evil minds, can't comprehend the light of the Word of God, therefore, to them, it is total foolishness. So, their only recourse, they think, is to rely on their own limited knowledge, and live by that. Of course the result is, not only will they live by it, but, die by it as well.
Of course, God is not willing to allow that to happen, without giving them the chance to
'see the Light!!'
The Light He has sent to them, is you, me, and those like us, that dare to be different. And why does He call for us to be different from the rest??
Because, it is human nature, for people's attention to be drawn to something, that stands out. Something that is out of the ordinary. What gets most of the attention, on the news, thousands of planes that land safely every day, or one plane crash? The one plane crash, because it is out of the ordinary.
Well, Christian, you are called to be out of the ordinary, you are the one that God has here, to be the
'nut.' You may feel like a nut, but remember, when you think about the end result, then you won't.
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