Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. – 1 Peter 2:11-12.

Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. – Psalm 119:54.

What at all do we have in common? I mean, you and I! Here I am, an American who has only ever ventured as far as the northern part of Mexico and the southern parts of lower Canada. Yes, I’ve been through quite a number of states, and yet I have never traveled off this North American continent and I am supposed to try and encourage YOU, halfway on the other side of the world, who for many of you are living away from your homes?!

As I was praying and seeking the Holy Spirit for guidance, something that I teach on quite often came to mind. It is the reality that no matter where we are in this world, on this ball of rock we call the Earth, if we belong to the Lord God Almighty, this is not our home either. Oh yes, we might have been born here. Our lives might have started here, but once we came to the knowledge of God Almighty as our Heavenly Father through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, it soon dawned on us, that even though our birth makes us citizens of this rock, our rebirth makes us citizens of a far greater, more amazing Kingdom!