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Daily Bible Studywith SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM

Updated: Saturday, 21 November 2009, 8:52 (GMT)

30 October 2009 | Strangers no more

Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

Ephesians 2:19, NKJV

Notes

Strangers no more

Have you ever walked into a crowded room full of people who were total strangers to you? For some people this is a pleasant challenge. They think ‘Here’s an opportunity to make some new friends!’ But for many of us, it’s a situation of total fear and insecurity, and we feel completely alone even in such a crowd.

How wonderful it is then if we see a familiar face, someone who knows us, greets us and then starts to introduce us to all these other people. Suddenly we feel accepted and at ease. They’re no longer strangers to us, and we no longer feel like strangers among them.

God created us to have relationships - first of all with Him, and then with

other people. He said ‘It is not good for man to be alone’. This is why it’s so good to be in fellowship with other believers. God is not only the ’friend who introduces us’, He’s the Father who delights in seeing His family getting together and having a good time with Him and with each other.

But God is the Creator and Father of the whole human race, not just of Christian believers, and He can introduce us to all of His other children too. Satan tells us ‘these people are strangers’. But God, living in us by His Holy Spirit, takes away our fear and makes us a channel for His love and acceptance. Jean-Paul Sartre said that ‘hell is other people’ but God says that ‘our struggle is not against flesh and blood because other people are not the enemy. They too are our brothers and sisters, God knows and loves them all, and if we let Him, He will introduce them to us. He’s our ‘friend in the crowded room’ for the whole world.

Prayer

Loving Father, please forgive me for believing Satan's lies and for rejecting those who are strangers to me. They are my fellow human beings, made and loved by You. Please introduce us so that we can enjoy Your love together. I ask this in the name of Jesus who brought me back close to You .In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Today's Writer

Roger Pook joined the full-time staff of Ellel East in Hungary in January 1996 after a career in language teaching and financial services. He and his wife Christine are Directors of the Ellel East Regional Nations Centre, and they teach and minister throughout the former communist world.

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