Freshwater: Eklektos

Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Eklektos

Eklektos (ek-lek-tos' ) is a Greek word, meaning chosen (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). This was the theme at the Children's Camp where I recently served as a sponsor, and I just wanted to go through some of the great things that jumped out at me from the messages and the Bible study throughout the week. I do have to say that many of the illustrations and explanations come directly from my notes on sermons by our Camp Pastor, Quin Williams, or from the Bible study, which did not have an author listed.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

1 Peter 2:9

When that verse says "Ye are a chosen generation", who is ye? That's right! We are! You, me, us. But who chose us? Were we picked first on the team for dodge ball? Or chosen to take out the trash? In this case, we’re talking about being chosen by God. It's an amazing thing, and it's important to know who is choosing you.

You, individually, are chosen by God Himself. He specifically chooses each of us. He says - "This is what I want you to do, this is who I want you to be." We have been chosen by the God of the Universe, the Creator of everything. That says that we are special, unique, cared for and loved in ways that we cannot even understand!

So what has He chosen us for?

"A royal priesthood". A priest is someone who has been chosen by God to be able to come directly into His presence. In the Old Testament, the people needed priests to be their contact with God. The priest offered sacrifices, and cleansed himself thoroughly before coming into God's presence in the temple. When Jesus rose from the dead, all that was changed. The veil or curtain that separated the "Holy of Holies" from the rest of the people was torn, signifying that there was no longer a separation, but that we could come directly into His presence.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 3:1

“An holy nation” means that we are to be different, separated, unlike everyone else. Zebras are striped because it is part of their protection. How many of us like to be like our friends? How many of us wear the stripes to blend in with the herd because we don't want to stand out?

God says that He doesn't want us to be like everyone else. He wants us to be different. Being different takes guts. You have to be tough to walk with Jesus. It takes courage, it takes strength, and it takes maturity. Men and women who make a difference, who will change their world, are different than the world around them.

That is what God has chosen for us, and what He has chosen us for. Remember this as you go about your walk today.
It's okay to be different!