How You Won God"s Lottery
Have you ever thought about winning the lottery? Sure you have.
What you could do with a few hundred million bucks boggles the imagination.
A new house in town, a summer home on a lake with great fishing and sandy beaches.
A new car, a little sports job.
Vacations? What do you mean vacations? Every day is a vacation.
I know what you're thinking: you never win anything.
If you are one of five drawing straws to walk the plank on a pirate ship, you'd get the short one.
In a thunderstorm, lightning would shortcut two suburbs in order to get to you.
Miracles get short-circuited before they get to you.
May I suggest that your miracle short-circuit has been repaired.
You are a winner in the greatest windfall in the universe.
God put your name at the top of his prize list.
Your reward makes a pot of gold look like chicken feed.
A fifty state lottery? A drop in the bucket.
A billion dollar sweepstakes? Anemic.
Being a skeptic, of course, you want proof.
You want guarantees by the U.
S.
Congress, the FBI, the White House, and the Women's League of Voters.
I can do better.
Your windfall is notarized, signed, sealed, and delivered by the highest authority in the universe.
"For he chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).
While every word in that passage is a diamond, the word "chose" is a double 14 carat.
In Greek it means to select with kindness and love.
I choose a friend because he thinks as I do, shares similar goals, and is concerned about my welfare.
That's the kind of choosing God means when he talks about you.
He said, "I've got my eye on that one to serve in my kingdom.
" Then God planned something so radical and magnificent we hardly believe it possible.
He formed a mound of earth into a special shape and blew into it the breath of life.
Then he took a rib from Adam's side and formed a companion to share his life.
They had the knowledge of God's presence, the intimacy of his love, the need to worship, and the desire to enjoy the Creator's companionship forever.
All the while, he was pointing his finger at you.
He had more in mind for you than being a speck of dust on an obscure planet in a limitless universe.
You were the target when God "chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).
Did you catch your breath when Paul used the words holy and blameless to describe you? Let the words roll around on your tongue...
holy...
blameless.
Shrug them over your shoulders like a cloak.
Is there a conflict here? Holy and blameless are not words that come to mind when you look in the mirror the morning after a night of drinking.
Does a groan fit with blameless? Did you feel holy when you snubbed your neighbor because his son refused to take your daughter to the prom? How does a pang of guilt fit with blameless? Hold on now.
Paul didn't say you deserve to be called holy.
You don't get medals for simply being an inhaling/exhaling human being.
You are holy because God changed you from what you were to what he wanted you to be.
Like a Halloween pumpkin, he scooped out the gook from the inside of you and dumped it on his son.
Then he carved new eyes so you can see what he sees and put a light inside of you so others can see you.
Then he wrapped you in his holiness.
Notice: his holiness.
When God calls your name, he doesn't shout, "Hey, Backslider.
" He says, "Dear to my heart, let me heal your conscience, let me wipe away your guilt, let me help you start over.
" You are precious to him.
Prized.
Loved.
Worth dying for.
Are you beginning to understand how big your winnings are? You've got God's love in your pocket, his forgiveness at your fingertips, his mercy at your disposal, and his grace to distribute.
You own a treasure bigger than the biggest lottery in the world and in spending it, you are to herald who gave it to you and what he has done.
He's a God of love: so love those around you with a passion.
He's a God of compassion: so forgive those who abuse you.
He's a generous God: so share your abundance with those in need.
One last assignment: be sure every one you know has a ticket to God's lottery.
What you could do with a few hundred million bucks boggles the imagination.
A new house in town, a summer home on a lake with great fishing and sandy beaches.
A new car, a little sports job.
Vacations? What do you mean vacations? Every day is a vacation.
I know what you're thinking: you never win anything.
If you are one of five drawing straws to walk the plank on a pirate ship, you'd get the short one.
In a thunderstorm, lightning would shortcut two suburbs in order to get to you.
Miracles get short-circuited before they get to you.
May I suggest that your miracle short-circuit has been repaired.
You are a winner in the greatest windfall in the universe.
God put your name at the top of his prize list.
Your reward makes a pot of gold look like chicken feed.
A fifty state lottery? A drop in the bucket.
A billion dollar sweepstakes? Anemic.
Being a skeptic, of course, you want proof.
You want guarantees by the U.
S.
Congress, the FBI, the White House, and the Women's League of Voters.
I can do better.
Your windfall is notarized, signed, sealed, and delivered by the highest authority in the universe.
"For he chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).
While every word in that passage is a diamond, the word "chose" is a double 14 carat.
In Greek it means to select with kindness and love.
I choose a friend because he thinks as I do, shares similar goals, and is concerned about my welfare.
That's the kind of choosing God means when he talks about you.
He said, "I've got my eye on that one to serve in my kingdom.
" Then God planned something so radical and magnificent we hardly believe it possible.
He formed a mound of earth into a special shape and blew into it the breath of life.
Then he took a rib from Adam's side and formed a companion to share his life.
They had the knowledge of God's presence, the intimacy of his love, the need to worship, and the desire to enjoy the Creator's companionship forever.
All the while, he was pointing his finger at you.
He had more in mind for you than being a speck of dust on an obscure planet in a limitless universe.
You were the target when God "chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).
Did you catch your breath when Paul used the words holy and blameless to describe you? Let the words roll around on your tongue...
holy...
blameless.
Shrug them over your shoulders like a cloak.
Is there a conflict here? Holy and blameless are not words that come to mind when you look in the mirror the morning after a night of drinking.
Does a groan fit with blameless? Did you feel holy when you snubbed your neighbor because his son refused to take your daughter to the prom? How does a pang of guilt fit with blameless? Hold on now.
Paul didn't say you deserve to be called holy.
You don't get medals for simply being an inhaling/exhaling human being.
You are holy because God changed you from what you were to what he wanted you to be.
Like a Halloween pumpkin, he scooped out the gook from the inside of you and dumped it on his son.
Then he carved new eyes so you can see what he sees and put a light inside of you so others can see you.
Then he wrapped you in his holiness.
Notice: his holiness.
When God calls your name, he doesn't shout, "Hey, Backslider.
" He says, "Dear to my heart, let me heal your conscience, let me wipe away your guilt, let me help you start over.
" You are precious to him.
Prized.
Loved.
Worth dying for.
Are you beginning to understand how big your winnings are? You've got God's love in your pocket, his forgiveness at your fingertips, his mercy at your disposal, and his grace to distribute.
You own a treasure bigger than the biggest lottery in the world and in spending it, you are to herald who gave it to you and what he has done.
He's a God of love: so love those around you with a passion.
He's a God of compassion: so forgive those who abuse you.
He's a generous God: so share your abundance with those in need.
One last assignment: be sure every one you know has a ticket to God's lottery.
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