23 FEB 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional
“Of all the people on the earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping an oath he had sworn to your ancestors.” Deut. 7:6b-8a
As we examine ourselves during lent, we can sometimes have too high an estimation. We think that we are better than we are and some think they bring something to the table that God could use. The truth is, we are all a hot mess when compared to his standards. There is nothing that makes you stand out from anyone else. God has to remind us of this.
God explains to the Jewish people after the exodus from Egypt, why he chose them to be his people. There are some great things here and some challenging ones too. The great thing is, God desires to have a people for himself. His people will be a special treasure that will be holy. If you belong to him, you are valuable, loved, and secure in him. That is awesome!
The challenging thing, not everyone is God’s people and it's his ultimate choice. This always gets people bent out of shape even when they look at the Jews of the Hebrew Bible. Only the Jews were chosen by God to be his people prior to Jesus. Everyone else was left condemned and far from God. When Jesus came, he expanded the family choosing both Jews and Gentiles from the world. That is wonderful news! Because it is likely that you are a Gentile. There is hope for people from every nation, tribe, and tongue now.
How fantastic is it that God chose you out of everyone? Pretty humbling, no?
Reading Plan: Psalm 37:1-18; Deut. 7:6-11; Titus 1:1-16; John 1:29-34
Daily Office Year 1
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