Psalm 103:1-5 (New International Version)

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.



Saturday, March 7, 2009

The need to Belong

We all have the need to Belong. That is why we have gangs, societies, clubs and churches of many kinds.... you pick! We form many places to Belong and meet our needs.... a place you Belong. We all have this need to Belong which God can only truly satisfy.
What does the living word have to say: Ephesians 1: 3-14

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

May we find that we Belong in Christ alone. I pray that we start to believe that we are what God calls us Beloved, Chosen, Accepted, Adopted and Loved. I believe that we need to find our worth in Christ alone but we also need true fellowship. We all need people in our lives that we can be total open with and share our hearts with that will hold us accountable. I praise the living God for the people he has put in my life in this season!