You Could Be A Saint!

    Anyone can be a saint. There is only one requirement: Believe! 
No way? Yes way! God has been reminding me that every single person is called, but few choose to respond. But what is the call?

    In the original Greek "saint" means  "to set apart, " "sanctify, " or "make holy."  In the Old and New Testament's alike, we are made set apart by faith. In the Old Testament we see this in Genesis 15:6.

 "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." (HCSB) 

It helped me understand this better by looking at another translation:

 "Then Abram believed Yahweh, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abram’s approval by Yahweh." NOG

    How does this tell us Abram became a saint? The HCSB version says Abram was "credited" with righteousness.  Righteousness means "The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude." This definition parallels with the previous definition of "saint". Abram entered into "sainthood" when he believed the LORD. It was nothing he earned, unlike the "credit" system we are familiar with, rather it was freely given with no credit checks. This blows me away!

    As a result of righteousness we recognize that we aren't naturally righteous. Sin is what builds a wall between us and God. To keep lines of communication open we need forgives from our blemishes. Even in the Old Testament this holds true. Before Jesus, a blood sacrifice was required by God, to God, from His people.  
In Leviticus 4:27-31 we see how forgiveness is obtained:

 “If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, 

when they realize their guilt  and the sin they have committed becomes known, 

they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect.  

They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.  

Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.  

They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering,

 and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

 In this way the priest will make atonement for them, 

and they will be forgiven."

 In Isaiah hope of another way is promised to God's believers:

"He was wounded and crushed

    because of our sins;

by taking our punishment,

    he made us completely well.

The Lord decided his servant

    would suffer as a sacrifice

to take away the sin

 and guilt of others.

Now the servant will live

    to see his own descendants.

He did everything

    the Lord had planned.

By suffering, the servant

will learn the true meaning

    of obeying the Lord.

Although he is innocent,

he will take the punishment

    for the sins of others,

so that many of them

    will no longer be guilty.

 

The Lord will reward him

with honor and power

    for sacrificing his life.

Others thought he was a sinner,

but he suffered for our sin

 and asked God to forgive us." 

 53:5, 10-12 CEV

    Jesus' blood was spilled as a sacrifice to save us from what makes us "non-saintly". When we believe in the death, burial and resurrection Jesus Christ, and ask Him to forgive us for the sins He paid for, we break down the wall separating us from God. The loving sacrifice of Jesus' sinless life frees us from the death our sin earned us.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." 

Romans 6:23

    God promised us a free gift of Eternal Life for our belief in the One He sent. The present was wrapped in humility and love, and it was presented to us as Jesus' life, burial and resurrection. When we believe in the One God sent, we are sanctified into saint-hood. 

 "Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

As a result we are humbled to repentance before our loving God and Savior. When we ask to be forgiven, we are, because Jesus already put it to death. We merely need to accept His lavish gift.

    Today, all who believe in Jesus are credited as saints before God. There is nothing we can do to earn that right. Paul, Peter, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Thomas, Andrew and John the Baptist are all men regarded as saints for the life they lived, but I tell you that the actions of their lives did not make them saints in God's eyes. Their choice to follow Jesus, made them saints before God. They are truly just as special as you. We are all people created in the image of God, to love Him and live for Him. If you responded to Jesus' call to follow Him then you are set apart as a saint in God's Heavenly Kingdom! Amen! How great is our God? Praise Him all the more :-)

  Though believing in Christ as Lord of my life, He has pulled me out of the rut I willingly climbed into. I was angry and bitter towards nearly everyone I came in contact with. I was selfish and prideful. I lived to please my own wants though pleasure and control. But that left me empty and more bitter. Jesus saved me from myself. He forgave me for living for myself. My heart now longs to serve everyone I see each day. I want to brighten their day though the love I have been given. Life is hard. Everyone faces challenges daily that I do not understand, but I am familiar with life's struggles. Is it really that hard to give them the benefit of the doubt and be kind to a rude person? Before Jesus, yes, it was to hard. But now He gives me the strength I need to love people, when they aren't lovely. I am not lovely either, merely loved. A love that big I must share! That love gave me the purpose I was longing for. This love is Jesus!

    Thank you for reading what God has put on my heart. I pray He amplifies my words to bring Himself honor in your life. Jesus loves you <3 He continues to change me from the inside out. Believe and He will do the same in you :-)