YOU'RE A SAINT!

In a small town, there were two brothers who, over the course of many years, cheated, swindled, robbed and generally stole from everyone that they ever did business with.  The entire town and surrounding community reviled and despised these two brothers as everyone was aware of just how disreputable and dishonest, they were.

 One day, one of the brothers mysteriously died. Although they had never attended church, the one remaining brother went to the local priest and said, “I will give you $100,000 if during the funeral, you say my brother was a Saint." The priest was troubled by the request; however, it was a very poor church and the church desperately needed repairs. The parishioners had heard about the priest’s dilemma and were curious as to what he would do.

     The funeral began, the church was packed, and the pastor started with the usual prayers and followed the rites and traditions as required by the church’s teachings. In closing, after referring to the man in the box, he paused and turned to face the remaining brother. He began, "As you all know, the departed was an awful individual who robbed, cheated, swindled and stole from everyone he ever did business with.  However, compared to his brother, he was - a Saint!"

  As I flipped the calendar page of October to the first of the new month, I was reminded of this story.  November 1st is known as All Saints Day, but is also known as All Hallows' Day, or Hallowmas.  It is a Christian celebration in honor of all the saints from Christian history, whether known or unknown.

     Did you know the day before, (October 31st), “Halloween” started out as a holy Christian celebration?  Hallow means to render or treat as holy.  Thus, "Hallows' Eve," or "Halloween," simply means "the evening of holy persons" and refers to the evening before All Saints Day.  Just like Christmas and Easter, Satan has put a deceptive twist on a day originally set apart as a Christian holy day.

    The celebration of All Saints Day became widespread in 900 AD.  The saints were mostly people who had been known for notable good works that had died or martyrs who died for their faith.  However, one does not have to die, be martyred, or be canonized after their death in order to be classified as a saint.  Who then is a saint?  YOU ARE!  That is, if you have trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and by doing so, you are called a saint: a holy one, a true believer, someone who is sanctified and set apart for God's special purposes. (1 Corinthians 1:2).  That means that every follower of Jesus Christ is a saint.  Isn’t that good to know?

Because you are set apart for God, the Lord revealed three things you should keep in mind as a saint:

REMEMBER 

You are bought with a price to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:20).  God paid for you with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:19) and when you become a believer, you are immediately set apart for God.  Now that you belong to Him, you are obligated to His service.  In today’s vernacular you would say, “He owns you.”  You might not take this seriously, but the bottom line is this divine ownership requires from God Himself your consecration – the setting apart to honor God with living a holy life in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action.  God tells you to be holy like Him (1 Peter 1:15-16), so call on Him to help you.  Know that since God paid for you, He will also empower you – if you choose to be a saint.

REALIZE 

You must make a daily, determined and disciplined effort to allow the Holy Spirit to set you apart.  Since you probably would admit that you are far from perfect, then know that your sanctification will be a work in progress.  As long as you are on this earth, you will need to be constantly conforming into the image of Jesus.  However, be patient because this process will not reach its completion until you see Jesus face to face (1 John 3:2).  The good news is God has given you all the things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him. (2 Peter 1:3).  That means God will give you all the power of the Holy Spirit necessary, as well as the patience with perseverance to pursue a life of holiness – if you choose to grow as a saint. 

REVERENCE

Only fear (reverence) the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. (1 Samuel 12:24).  Those great things in this verse, you should never take for granted because when you trusted Him for your salvation, you were set apart for His special purposes.  By reverencing the Lord and walking in His ways, you will be rewarded with prosperity, happiness, and well-being. (Psalm 128:1-2 TPT).  If this is not enough, Psalm 34:9 in the Living Bible says if you belong to the Lord, reverence Him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs.  These are promises to you – if you choose to live as a saint.

     Therefore, as a true believer, keep these three things (remember, realize, reverence) in mind and you will experience God’s power, patience, and promises. 

But wait!  That’s not all.  There’s more!  The Lord will speak peace to you. (Psalm 85:8).  He will deliver you. (Psalm 97:10).  The Lord will never desert you; you will be kept forever in His faithful care. (Psalm 37:28 TPT).  You might not think you deserve all this, but you will receive them anyway.  Why?  Because once you choose to be set apart to follow Jesus – YOU’RE A SAINT!