Why did the Lord love and choose you? It was not because you are such a large nation. You had the fewest of all people! But the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power and made you free from slavery. He freed you from the control of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord did this because he loves you and he wanted to keep the promise he made to your ancestors. ~ Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (ERV)
So God will choose anyone he decides to show mercy to, and his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do. ~ Romans 9:16 (ERV)
It is ALL of your doing, Lord. You choose, you promise, you love, you free, and you show mercy. It is out of my control. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change your mind or impress you. In a way that is very freeing. Now I can love you, not out of any sense of obligation, but because I've been freed to do so. Thank you so much for including me in your promises. Because you love me I feel love for you. And that is worth carrying with me today. Amen.
Difficult Words
Ancestors -- Your family, tribe, or clan relations from a long time ago. That is, usually the relatives that came before your grandparents. Sometimes ancestors are the people to whom you are connected who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Obligation -- Something that you are expected or required to do.
Since 2015, I've been modeling one way of using the MORAVIAN DAILY TEXTS* to maintain a daily conversation with God.
– Brad Boydston