Chosen in Him

 

For he (God) chose us in him (Jesus) …

—from Ephesians 1:4

Do you like to be chosen? I imagine that you do. When you were in Elementary School and the teacher organized your class into two teams to play some game, did you stand there hoping that you would be chosen early in the process rather than become the last person picked? Or maybe, you hoped that you would be chosen to be on the same team as someone in the class whom you admired. Indeed! We all like to be chosen.

In our relationship with God, one of the most blessed elements is that He has chosen us before the foundation of the earth to belong to Himself. We cannot fully comprehend this fact because we know that there is nothing inherently worthy about us that would prompt God to choose us. We are stained by the sin nature of Adam and have compounded our natural sinfulness by committing all manner of sins on our own. Why would a holy God choose us?

But, the fact remains that God did choose us. And, in due season, God sent His blessed Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to the fact that God had chosen us and had made provision for the forgiveness of our sins through the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of His one and only Son, Jesus. Notice how the Apostle Paul affirms this truth, as he writes to the Christians gathered at Ephesus, found in Ephesians 1:4-5:

For he (God) chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

This side of eternity, we will never understand why God chose us to belong to Himself. But, as we begin this new day, we can celebrate, with worship and praise, the reality that we are God’s chosen ones. In fact, God has grafted us into the line of His original chosen people, Israel, that we might become one flourishing blooming branch that testifies to God’s mercy, grace, and unfailing love.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Power to Witness

 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you …

—from Acts 1:8

The testimony of someone who has experienced a particular event has great power to provide insight, information, and understanding. The best way to encourage someone to consider a thought or idea is to have a person who has benefitted from that thought or idea share how that thought or idea has impacted his or her life in a positive way.

But, even when something has had a profound influence on their sense of well-being, most people are very reluctant to tell others about what they’ve experienced. This naural shyness about witnessing to the truth of what has happened in one’s own life comes from a sense of maintaining personal privacy, or from a sense that a person does not want others to think ill of them because of what they have shared, or from a sense that one will not have adequate skill to creatively explain what a person has experienced.

The antidote to this innate shyness about witnessing is a special power given specifically for the purpose of overcoming that shyness. This is what Jesus was explaining to His disciples, as recorded by Dr. Luke in Acts 1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

As we begin another new day, we should spend a moment thinking about the many wonderful ways our relationship with God has positively impacted our lives. Perhaps we should even make a list of all the things that have made our lives better since we responded to God’s call to come and follow Him.

With that list in hand, we should then ask God to open up opportunities for us to share how wonderful our lives have become since we accepted His gift of divine mercy, grace, and love. Then, as God brings people across the pathway of our lives, we should gently, tenderly, and with humility share with them the wonders and amazement that we have experienced from this God who loves us with His unfailing, undying love.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Power, Love, and Self-discipline

 

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity …

—from 2 Timothy 1:7

Have you ever done a self-assessment to determine the key qualities that make you who you are? I was fortunate that, as a double-major in Psychology and Writing at Houghton University in the mid-1960s, I had a most excellent professor who had previously spent many years in the Veterans Administration Hospital System. He insisted that Psychology majors take a wide variety of psychological instruments, participate in group therapy sessions, and learn as much about themselves as possible.

I learned early on that, though I had high intelligence, I had a very low self-esteem coupled with a strong level of perfectionism. I also learned that my painfully extreme social awkwardness came from the way my very low self-esteem and strong level of perfectionism had shaped the way I perceived other people, related to them, and the way I processed the information I receive when I am in a social setting.

I have always admired other people who seem to get along in life much more smoothly than I do. I am also keenly aware that God has gifted me in other areas of life that, in some ways, help me compensate for my extreme social awkwardness.

Now, imagine for a moment that, in His divine love for us, God sets out three qualities He desires to give to us, His dearly loved children. We actually don’t need to imagine this, because God does have three such wonderful qualities that the Apostle Paul has described, as found in 2 Timothy 1:7:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

A spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-discipline are all sterling qualities that God strongly desires to give to each of His dearly loved children. They come to us through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are given to us to enable us to serve God, as His ambassadors to this troubled and needy present world.

As this new day begins, let’s praise and thank God for these three great gifts. Then, let’s determine to use them to spread the good news of who God is and what He longs to do for each person who may cross the pathway of our lives. In so doing, we will find these qualities growing within us, just as Paul was urging his son-in-the-faith, Timothy, to experience these qualities growing within him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Increasing and Overflowing Love

 

May the Lord make your love increase …

—from 1 Thessalonians 3:12

Can a person ever have too much love? I really don’t think so, do you? Most of us are at least a little bit “love deficient.” Even if we have those in our lives who love us, we still can really use the comfort that comes from every bit of love that flows our way. In just such a setting, the Apostle Paul wrote the following to the new Christians gathered at Thessalonica, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 3:12:

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

These words of blessing, from the Apostle Paul, apply to us today, as well. We are part of the enormous and great family of God. Thus, we are recipients of God’s overflowing and divine love. He has poured His agape love into us, so that we can, in turn, pour His love into others.

As we begin another new day, let’s make this a day when we will endeavor to let God’s love flow through us to touch the minds and hearts of the others around us.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Compassionate Father

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ …

—from 2 Corinthians 1:3

Did your father act compassionately toward you? When you were having a difficult time, did your father patiently listen to you and lovingly make some suggestions to help you make the right decision?

Sadly, far too many individuals have to answer “No” to these questions. Their dad was either not around, or was not at all a compassionate person. Sometimes, dads think they have to be tough and strict, without any sign of tenderness. But, that’s not the way the Father of us all behaves toward His dearly loved children. The Apostle Paul writes these words, found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

God is a compassionate and loving Father. Yes, He expects obedience from us, His dearly loved children. But, He also treats us with compassion. He understands our trials. He understands how difficult it sometimes seems for us to manage the day-to-day activities of our lives. And, He offers loving suggestions through His written Word and through the direct intervention of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

As we begin another new day, let’s remember that God determines to act toward us with genuine compassion. He wants us to remember that He always is the One who knows us best and loves us the most. God also wants us to emulate His compassion when we deal with others.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Redemption and Refuge

 

The Lord redeems his servants …

—from Psalm 34:22

Throughout Psalm 34, King David has extolled the virtues of God as protector, helper, guide, and deliverer. He continues that theme with these words, found in Psalm 34:22:

The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

God has chosen those He wishes to belong to Himself—those whom He chooses as His ambassadors. And, He has redeemed them from the penalty of sin and death. He vouchsafes their redemption. He opens the way for them to take refuge and find protection from the evil that would devour them.

As we begin a new day, we are numbered among those whom God has called to Himself, through the redeeming power of His Son, Jesus. Therefore, we are indeed redeemed and we are given a place of refuge. We can hide under God’s protection from the evil that would enslave us. We can find a place of safety in a world filled with traps. We can rest safely in the arms of the God who loved us enough to sacrifice His one and only Son in our behalf. We are of all people most blessed.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Wicked Will Fail

 

Evil will slay the wicked …

—from Psalm 34:21

Have you ever encountered someone truly wicked, someone who made your life way more difficult, and you thought to yourself:

“How does this person get away with what he or she does?”

If you’ve had such an experience, you’re not alone. Many of us have asked this question time and time again.

Yes, many of us, particularly in work situations, have encountered someone in power over us who uses that power to demean, harass, control, and make the lives of the persons reporting to that one miserable. Such a person often has extremely low self-esteem, and tries to boost his or her esteem by treating others harshly.

On rarer occasions, such a person may actually meet the definition psychologists use for a “sociopath.” Most often, by clinical definition, such a sociopath has no empathy for others, sees the world only as it relates to his or her own ego, divides the world into people whom he or she can manipulate (“buddies”) and people whom he or she cannot manipulate (“targets”), and has the ability to skillfully lie about almost everything to get his or her own way.

King David recognized the burden that such people represent to God’s dearly loved children. That prompted David to write these words found in Psalm 34:21:

Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The very acts these evil people commit will ultimately slay them. In addition, anyone who opposes God’s righteous children will be condemned by God and by others. So, it’s a very good idea to not wonder if such a one will always get away with what they do. They won’t. Ultimately, they will always reap the evil they have sown.

The lesson for those of us who belong to God, through Christ, is that we must guard our minds and hearts, so that we do not emulate the behavior of those who are truly evil. Making people afraid of us is not leadership. Winning people’s hearts and minds works far more effectively than any other management philosophy.

As we begin a new day, let’s remember to emulate Jesus. If we set our minds and hearts to doing that, we will not fall prey to the evil influences around us.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}