A Saint's Life

Chuckle: In a rural area, a new family called a local official to request the removal of the "Deer Crossing" sign on their road. Their reason was that many deer were being hit by cars and they no longer wanted them to cross there.

Quote: “The only difference between the Saint and the Sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” --Oscar Wilde

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).

You may ask, who am I anyway? Do I matter? What is my impact? Where is my place? Do I make a difference? When we are in Christ, we have purpose and we can make a difference in our family, church, community, nation, and the world. In Christ, we are new creations designed to do what God planned for us before we were born.

Perhaps you have never thought of yourself as a saint, but he Bible says we are all saints if we know Christ as Savior and Lord. If God says I am a saint, I should live like one. In Romans 1:7 (NIV), we read: "To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints." The word "Saint" means to be holy and set apart unto God as his special possession. As a saint, you: (1) have been adopted into God's family; (2) are made holy and blameless; (3) are forgiven of your sins; (4) are sealed by the Holy Spirit; and (5) are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

"The word 'saint' has come far from its original New Testament meaning. When we think of a saint, we think of some stylized human figure depicted in stained glass, or of a person long dead who has been officially declared as an ecclesiastical relic. However, one of the clearest definitions is 'A saint is a dead sinner, revised and edited.'" --Illustrations for Biblical Preaching; Edited by Michael P. Green

For a meaningful life, we need a mindset change. We must believe what God says about us, not what others say, or what we say or think. Don't focus on what we were before Christ, but what we are in Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).

When ducklings hatch, they bond with whatever is closest. Usually it's with the mother duck. They relate to her, learn from her, and become like her. But I heard about a duck that bonded with a dog -- it tried to act and be like a dog. A saint is bonded to Jesus and tries to act and be like him. A victorious and significant life comes when I focus on what God says I am and begin to focus on being like Jesus. Each of us should say, "I'm a saint (Christian) and I want to live like it."

"A little boy attended a church that had beautiful stained-glass windows. He was told that the windows contained pictures of Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint John, Saint Paul, and other saints. One day the boy was asked, 'What is a saint?' He replied, 'A saint is a person whom the light shines through.'"

Love, Jerry & Dotse