Chosen, Protected, Recipients of Mercy – Who We Are in Christ – Purity 1845
Purity 1845 12/20/2025 Purity 1845 Audio Podcast
Purity 1845 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of April flowers displaying the beauty they were made to project comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this memory on social media back on April 12th, 2023. An AI assisted Google search tells us that these flowers are tulips in full bloom at Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. However, the search also indicated that other potential locations found in the search results with similar garden aesthetics include Cheekwood Estate in Tennessee and Atlanta Botanical Garden. So if this photo memory is yours let us know who you are and where you were and we will photo-credit you on the blog after the fact.
Well, It’s the Saturday before Christmas, and all through out the land, many a shopper will have a list of potential presents close at hand. Yup, while Christmas is still 5 days away, if your life is anything like mine is, it’s best to get your Christmas shopping done ASAP because, you simply won’t have the time to do it later. While I always try to get things done sooner rather than later, this years Christmas preparations are further complicated by the fact that I am working 6 days a week, right up until Christmas Day.
This atypical schedule was caused for my desperate need for money as I was released from my job in November. However, the Lord has provided with a temporary job as a seasonal delivery driver for “Big Brown.” And Yesterday, the Lord proved that He had my back all along as He used my labor union to negotiate an agreement to change my termination to an unpaid suspension. The Lord’s sovereign will has blessed me to receive mercy.
Yup, It looks the Lord had “Santa”, in the form of union steward, Karl KaKule, send me a letter for Christmas this year, telling me I start a new position with my company on January 26th, taking away my anxiety over, what was until yesterday, my uncertain future and filling me with gratitude and joy.
There are certain conditions to the agreement of course, I must pass a the test for my new position and be trained, but I will apply myself and do my best to prove that I am a worthy recipient of this mercy and am fully capable of adapting to my new normal through Christ who strengthens me.
Because in my faith in Jesus, the Lord has chosen to receive mercy and as I have walked with the Lord through the years since being born again in 2010, I can testify that the Lord’s protection, even from our own mistakes, follows us through out life.
Speaking of being chosen and receiving mercy and protection, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today talks about those attributes of a believer and I am sharing it on the blog today as a reminder of who we are in Christ. Charles Stanley writes:
“Who We Are in Christ
When trials come, there’s no need to fear—you are handpicked by God, deeply loved, and safely held.
1 Peter 1:1-7
Peter wrote the first of his two epistles to encourage people who were undergoing persecution. And the disciple decided to begin the letter by reminding Christians who they are in the Lord. Believers are …
- Chosen in Christ. The good news of Jesus Christ is offered to all humanity (John 3:16; Romans 1:20). Salvation is for everyone who receives the Savior through an act of free will. The bottom line is that God wants fellowship with you (2 Peter 3:9).
- Blessed to receive mercy. We are saved through the mercy of Christ alone (Titus 3:5). God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be in relationship with Him forever.
- Protected. Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him.” We are so well guarded that the only way our life can be touched by hardship is if God permits it. Sometimes the Father allows His children to walk through dark valleys, but ever the protective shepherd, He remains by their side (Psalm 23:4).
The message of Peter’s letter is simple: When you go through trying times, don’t be afraid. Focus on who you are in Christ. You have reason to be bold, because you are a chosen, beloved, and well-protected child of God.” – Charles Stanley
Amen! I just finished reading 1st & 2nd Peter recently and am currently reading 1st John, and I can’t express just how wonderful the Apostles’ Letters (All of Them) are for encouraging us to live according to our identity in Christ.
We need to understand that we have become new creations when we put our faith in Jesus and how our new lives in Christ are supposed to transform the way we think and live.
The enemy seeks to keep us living according to the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil but when we accept what God’s word says about us instead, we will be empowered by God’s love to help us to live the Christian life.
There are many new truths that apply to us as Christians. I recommend using Neil Anderson’s “Who I am in Christ” list to ground yourself in your new identity each day.
But Stanley’s message highlights three aspects of our new identity that can help us to understand just how special we are in Christ.
We – those of us who have put their faith in Jesus – were chosen by God Himself to receive mercy and after we are His we are protected all the days of our lives.
That’s REALLY good news! And when we live according to this truth, we will live lives defined by peace, love and joy.
So remind yourself of who you are and Christ, rejoice, and live the new life based on the truth of who you are in Christ.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Prayer – Waiting On the Lord.
Psalm 34:15–18 (NKJV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Today’s verses fall under the thirteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Prayer.
13. God hears and answers prayer; he is near to his children.
Today’s Bible verses tell us of the great love, care, and concern that the Lord has for the “righteous” and how he sets His face against those who de evil.
These words are true and good as they are they are even better when we understand that the “righteous” don’t earn God’s favor. The righteous are those who put their faith in Jesus – that we are “righteous” through faith alone!
There are precious promises in this passage:
God sees us and hears us and responds to our cries for help.
God is close to the broken hearted.
God saves those who have a contrite spirit, – a humbled, remorseful, and repentance spirit.
God delivers us from all of our troubles.
I know all these things to be true and you put your faith in Jesus, you can know it too.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 344
I persecuted the Way to the death, binding both men and women … – Acts 22:4
Paul’s words were spoken during his testimony before the people at Jerusalem, where he had just been rescued from a mob by a Roman official. Speaking in Aramaic, the universal language of the time, he told of his conversion on the Damascus road. When the crowd heard their language spoken, they became more quiet and actually listened. Paul explained at the outset that he, too, had believed that the Way was a heresy so serious that its proponents ought to be imprisoned—or even put to death. He was no naïve follower of an imposter like his listeners; he had been one of them, and only the great experience on the road could have turned him to Christ. There is a time for giving your testimony. It probably is not as dramatic as Paul’s, but if God has changed you dramatically, then others will be aware that something has happened. Explain what it is and call them also to saving faith in Christ. Do others know about your conversion? Something is wrong if no one has noticed![1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 352.
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