I am a sojourner and exiler!
Some of you may know that I am Canadian. I said it, I am not American. I am a "permanent resident" and I have a green card. Another name the government would call me is an alien. On my green card is an alien number- a number assigned to me. An alien??? I know I'm weird- but an alien? C'mon, that's harsh! Okay, I know I'm not funny... Anyway, living in the USA, I am considered an alien, because this is not my homeland. My homeland is Canada. In the Bible, believers are referred to as aliens, sojourners and exiles of the earth because this earth is not our home. Heaven is. How great it is! We can look around and see the filth around us; we see evil, broken families, a government in loads of debt, catastrophes in abundance, war, murder, adultery- and we can say, "We don't belong here." Since I live in USA through marriage, people often ask me why I haven't obtained my citizenship here. To be honest, I'm proud to be Canadian. And as long as I don't have to obtain citizenship, I won't- sorry! There are people that don't understand and even try to convince me that I should. The same is true spiritually. People of the world don't understand that we don't belong here, except that there's something different about us. And whether it's people, things, or desires of the flesh, they try to convince you to make earth your home. It's no wonder passions of the world wage war against our soul. The passions are fighting to make us feel comfortable here,to make this your home- but we are not supposed to get comfortable here! Verse 11: "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." The passions that Peter is talking about here aren't godly things like Bible study, church, fellowship, family time, etc., that would be passions of the soul. No, he is talking about passions of the flesh- things that WAR against your soul- things that are trying to steal your soul from where it's going! The evil one and your fleshly nature, lure your soul everyday by the desires of the world- is your soul being won over by them? It's so easy to get caught up in the worldly things, especially if you belong to it. But those of us who know that our home is in heaven should constantly remind ourselves that this is just a temporary place. Tom Kelby, pastor at Cornerstone Church in Spooner WI said this once: "If you were visiting somewhere for an extended period of time and were staying in a hotel for the time, would you go around changing the pictures hanging on the wall? No- because you are only going to be there awhile. It is not your permanent home." That is how I want to live my life. This life on earth is temporary- my home is in heaven. I don't want to spend too much time, money and energy on things that die with me here. Instead, I want to invest in eternal things- such as lives. That is why I sacrifice my time and energy into this website. I hope that God is using it to reach people- to build up believers, and call out to the lost who aren't saved. What are you investing your life into- temporary things or eternal things? How does God want to use you? How are you living your life- as though this is your home, or as if you are just visiting? I challenge you to really take a look at your life- how you are living it. If we are called aliens, sojourners and exiles- do the citizens of this earth see you as that or do they see you as a fellow citizen? People see me as a Canadian, especially when I talk about ketchup chips and talk like a Canadian. If we truly love and follow Jesus, people should know that we are aliens because of what we talk about and how we talk. I hope that the people around me see me as not just an alien to the USA because I am Canadian, but as an alien because Heaven is my home.
~Leanne~
Some of you may know that I am Canadian. I said it, I am not American. I am a "permanent resident" and I have a green card. Another name the government would call me is an alien. On my green card is an alien number- a number assigned to me. An alien??? I know I'm weird- but an alien? C'mon, that's harsh! Okay, I know I'm not funny... Anyway, living in the USA, I am considered an alien, because this is not my homeland. My homeland is Canada. In the Bible, believers are referred to as aliens, sojourners and exiles of the earth because this earth is not our home. Heaven is. How great it is! We can look around and see the filth around us; we see evil, broken families, a government in loads of debt, catastrophes in abundance, war, murder, adultery- and we can say, "We don't belong here." Since I live in USA through marriage, people often ask me why I haven't obtained my citizenship here. To be honest, I'm proud to be Canadian. And as long as I don't have to obtain citizenship, I won't- sorry! There are people that don't understand and even try to convince me that I should. The same is true spiritually. People of the world don't understand that we don't belong here, except that there's something different about us. And whether it's people, things, or desires of the flesh, they try to convince you to make earth your home. It's no wonder passions of the world wage war against our soul. The passions are fighting to make us feel comfortable here,to make this your home- but we are not supposed to get comfortable here! Verse 11: "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." The passions that Peter is talking about here aren't godly things like Bible study, church, fellowship, family time, etc., that would be passions of the soul. No, he is talking about passions of the flesh- things that WAR against your soul- things that are trying to steal your soul from where it's going! The evil one and your fleshly nature, lure your soul everyday by the desires of the world- is your soul being won over by them? It's so easy to get caught up in the worldly things, especially if you belong to it. But those of us who know that our home is in heaven should constantly remind ourselves that this is just a temporary place. Tom Kelby, pastor at Cornerstone Church in Spooner WI said this once: "If you were visiting somewhere for an extended period of time and were staying in a hotel for the time, would you go around changing the pictures hanging on the wall? No- because you are only going to be there awhile. It is not your permanent home." That is how I want to live my life. This life on earth is temporary- my home is in heaven. I don't want to spend too much time, money and energy on things that die with me here. Instead, I want to invest in eternal things- such as lives. That is why I sacrifice my time and energy into this website. I hope that God is using it to reach people- to build up believers, and call out to the lost who aren't saved. What are you investing your life into- temporary things or eternal things? How does God want to use you? How are you living your life- as though this is your home, or as if you are just visiting? I challenge you to really take a look at your life- how you are living it. If we are called aliens, sojourners and exiles- do the citizens of this earth see you as that or do they see you as a fellow citizen? People see me as a Canadian, especially when I talk about ketchup chips and talk like a Canadian. If we truly love and follow Jesus, people should know that we are aliens because of what we talk about and how we talk. I hope that the people around me see me as not just an alien to the USA because I am Canadian, but as an alien because Heaven is my home.
~Leanne~
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