Part One. The truth of the matter is, we cannot win in a battle that we are not prepared for. We are given life, but in order to uphold it, we must be fortified. That process in and of itself, is a combination of decisions and applications. And the reality is, all is vanity, life is meaningless without God and purpose. The bible says that to be without Christ is death, so life must be the battle of the chosen ones.

Life is the battle, and the chosen ones will prosper.

A little about me, if you don’t already know, if you’re new here, I am Sadé. I’m a follower of Christ, a Christian. I’m a wife, I’m a mother. Fairly new mom, mom nonetheless. God saved me just before I turned 21. But before things could get too hot and heavy, I fell off, wasn’t living life upright for many years, wasn’t in my bible. I had no idea who God was. Looking back, I did not have a real relationship with Him, at least not the one I thought I had. I was definitely doing the bare bare minimum as far as Christ was concerned. Since then though, it’s been an uphill battle.

So 7 years ago, I returned back to the church, and started to undergo the sanctification process. Still a bit shaky, especially at the beginning, but I told myself that I wasn’t turning back. Now I don’t know if I can call myself brave, but to go through the sanctification process and endure it is for the brave ones. This is where people quit and disqualify themselves.

The Bible says that my people perish for lack of knowledge.

Which brings me to where we are today. For some time now, I’ve been trying to figure out this saved thing. And in my endeavouring, I came to the topic of the chosen ones. Who are they? What qualifies one to be a chosen one?

In my research into this, I was brought to some different places and understanding that I thought I would share with likeminded folks like you through a series of conversations. There is much to say regarding this matter. And I could sum it up in one, but nope! For the inquiring minds, like the real real ones, just sit and bare with me.

And because fortify the city is intended to be a discussion forum, I welcome you all to engage and have dialogue. I don’t proclaim to know everything but the Holy Spirit has been revealing things to me and it’s not for me to keep to myself.

Let’s start here.

For many are called, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:14

Upon my first discovery of this verse, I can admit to being a slightly offended. The spirit of offense was knocking hard, which not only spoke to my ignorance but my maturity level. I was offended. Like wait, few are chosen?

“God, are you picking favorites?”

As a parent myself, I am told that it’s not at all cool to pick favorites out of your children, so I definitely didn’t understand this verse way back when. But praise be to God for maturity and the Holy Spirit for breaking it down. It’s not a lottery. Not the luck of the draw. It’s not at all random, but rather deliberate.

So if you remember the story of Esau and his twin brother Jacob, in Genesis, the Bible talks about God hating Esau and loving Jacob, from infancy. And even this was a question to me at one time. Is this right? But then you realize that God is all knowing, He is omniscient. Even while we were in the womb, He knew us. So He knew that Esau would put vanity, food over his birthright, his purpose.

In life, it’s all about choices. And given our own free will that God has allowed for us. It is our decisions that determine where we end up. So really, was it God who did the choosing out of the many who were called, or is it really on us?

This is part one.