Devotionals
Acts 11:9
"But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'"
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I have never been particularly good at any sports. Sure, I was sort of a fast runner, but I couldn't zig and zag like the best running backs, nor could I shoot a basketball worth a darn, and don’t even ask me to get started on baseball, soccer, kickball, or field events. To be honest, I was too much of a bookworm to really care about sports, and everyone knew it—which meant I was never picked first for any teams. When we put together a pick-up football or kickball game, I was chosen last or next-to-last. I was the guy no one wanted on their team.
I was philosophical about the whole thing. After all, if I were picking a team for the Math Olympics, I wouldn't want some of them on my team, either. So in those days, I was okay with being passed over for the better hitter, the better passer, the better catcher. But as an adult, being the last choice for a team—or not being chosen at all—hurts a bit more. No one likes being left out, no one likes being told they're not good enough for the team. When the elite are being chosen for the team, no one likes being told they are just common.
When it comes to who gets picked for God's team, no one is common.
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1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
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You see, once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, His blood cleanses us from all sin, making us perfectly suitable for God's team. We are no longer common, no longer regular old folks, we are perfected in the eyes of God, a royal priesthood who are ALL part of God's team.
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1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
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Yes, in primary and secondary school, we may have rarely been chosen for the team, but now we are the people of God. We may not have been born into the right family for wealth, nor inherited the right genes for physical prowess, but we have, through the choice we make for Christ, become something wonderful: we are chosen by God and cleansed by Him. We must no longer think of ourselves as sinners, no longer resign ourselves to whatever "fate" has allowed us, no longer believe that we are mundane, regular, common. Yes, on our own we couldn't have qualified for God's team, because the Lord God is holy and will not tolerate sin in His presence. But through the blood of Christ, we are cleansed and qualified, CHOSEN by the One whose team is the only one that matters.
So, the next time you feel left out, the next time someone tells you that you don't have what it takes to make the team, or the next time you get this feeling you are just a regular, common person, take the time to remember what He told the apostle Peter: "What God has cleansed you must not call common." God has cleansed you for His team, and that means you are anything but common!
Heavenly Father, You alone are holy and righteous, and I cannot thank You and praise You enough for picking me for Your team. To be chosen and cleansed by You, to be set apart for Your good will, is more honor than I could ever have imagined for myself. Praise be to Your Son Jesus Christ, who sanctifies me with His blood! Thank you for making me UNCOMMON! Amen.
© 2012 Glenn A. Pettit
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