For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. ~ Deuteronomy 7:6-11
In this passage from the Old Testament, Moses was talking to the Jewish people, God’s Chosen People. Today, followers of Jesus are God’s Chosen People. We are commanded in the New Testament to be holy as He is holy. He loves us not because of our own merit, but because of His abounding grace. He has redeemed us from the slavery of sin and set us free; we should respond with obedience.
Father God, thank You for redeeming me from the slavery of sin. Empower me by the Holy Spirit to live according to Your will, in obedience to You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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