THURSDAY, MAY 3
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-10

1 Peter 2:1-10 says, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone, and A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” We were chosen for this! We were chosen for opposition and adversity and we were chosen to be a people who were rejected by men. Isn’t that amazing? God looks for people who can bear rejection; He applauds those who occupy a lowly place. God loves the humble and that is quite a statement! Can God’s acceptance overcome the world’s rejection? Our first order of business is to wake up to the fact that we were chosen. We found acceptance and found it from the most glorious place, we found it in God! To look circumspectly is to look not with our natural eyes but to look from an eternal perspective. Are we finding that acceptance in God? Are we absolutely certain we are accepted in Him, for this is what we are chosen to grasp and embrace. It is foundational in the growth curve as believers. God loves a people who are willing to be rejected when they stand up for truth. He loves it! And He found us, so here we are. We are called to this just like Israel in Egypt.