Chosen
You are different from other people. You belong to the Lord your God. From all the people in the world, the Lord chose you to be his own special people. ~ Deuteronomy 14:2 (ERV)
The Father himself loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. ~ John 16:27-28 (ERV)
Dear crucified and buried Jesus, of all the creatures and of all the people, you have chosen some to serve you in a special way. How is it that I've come to be among the chosen? And how is that in spite of that calling I still struggle. I struggle with my own significance. I struggle to live up to my holy calling. It's a miracle that you choose to use struggling people. For that I love you even more and desire to be used by you even more. On this day of anticipation I pray that you would grow my faith. Amen.
Challenging Words
- significance -- value, worth, importance
- anticipation -- When you are expecting and waiting for something to happen you are in anticipation. On the day before Easter we are participating in the story, and living in anticipation of the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
