Devotional for August 19

Bring Me to Your Holy Mountain

3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 43:3-5 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Labor not for the meat that perishes. Hold tight to the faith that you are among the elect, called by God, as if your very life depends on it. Any persuasion that causes you to doubt your election is from the devil and is to be resisted in faith. This temptation to doubt only happens to the elect, as the non-elect are never troubled in this way. Realize we must first believe Jesus Christ, only then can we come to know Him. The order is important, because faith must first be mixed with the word of God before we can come to know the Lord. Then the believer will be prepared for the sweetest of victories snatched from the jaws of defeat, which is the salvation of the soul. Not that we are sufficient in our own strength to do any of this, it is precisely because we recognize our dependence on the living God that we are made more than conquerors. 

Question

Who are the elect of God?

Answer

All are called, but few are chosen (Scripture). Election is just one of the true mysteries of God (Scripture), unnecessary to be solved on this side of eternity, it is enough to know that while all are called only the elect are drawn by the Father to Jesus Christ (Scripture). The way is clear (Scripture) and God is just (Scripture). The only thing that separates the elect from the lost is a willingness to be reconciled to God (Scripture).

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

Grant to me, Lord. I pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that I, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.