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Being excluded is one of the most hurtful experiences. Would you agree?
As a kid, I can remember invitations for a birthday party going out, but I didn’t get one. As a teenager, I remember a group of girls talking about a fun night they had planned, but they didn’t ask me to join them. And you think that once you become an adult, all of those things change and you won’t have to deal with that anymore. But we’d be wrong about that.
It wasn’t too many years ago when the office I worked at had a Christmas party and invited their staff. My friend and I were kind of in our own little department, so we didn’t seem to fit with the other larger groups. We heard about the party, but we weren’t included.
And I can tell you, even adults don’t want to be excluded.
And here’s the worst part—I’ve been one of those people who excluded others. And that fills me with regret.
Let me share something with you this morning—God wants to include you.
It’s true!
Look at 1 Thessalonians 2 with me.
**“Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.” 1 Thessalonians 2:16**
In this portion of Scripture, pulled from a letter Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he’s congratulating them for continuing to stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ even in persecution. It was something Paul knew all too well. The Jewish religious leaders did not like the message of Jesus or the disciples. Why not?
Because they declared that the gospel was for all men and women, not just the Jews.
Don’t miss this: God’s salvation is for all people. YOU are invited! How incredible is that?! How amazing that the God of the universe wants to include US in His family?!
There’s no list of qualifications, no ladder we have to climb, no certain amount or specific words we have to say—God’s love is for YOU!
No matter what you’ve done, no matter what you’ve said, there is no sin too big for God to forgive. As the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and we feel that conviction for the things we’ve done wrong against God, we feel the need to confess to Him, to admit our sins, and to ask for forgiveness. And He promises to forgive!
And the most beautiful part about all of it is that He won’t leave us there in that mess. He completely transforms us into His image. Not what the world says is right, but what God declares.
Do you feel that today?
Listen, the God of the universe, the One who spoke the world into existence and put the stars in the sky, is speaking directly to you today. He’s whispering an invitation to be a part of His family. To join Him in His mission to reach the world with this message that Jesus died for ALL to be saved.
John 3:16 reminds us that “whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” YOU are a whosoever.
Trust in Him today. Accept His invitation to be a part of His kingdom.
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