The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Tuesday 13 October 2015 - "Called to speak of God’s wonderful acts"

The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Tuesday 13 October 2015 - "Called to speak of God’s wonderful acts"
Daily Scripture: 1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah.

9 But you are a chosen people,[1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; 10:15] the King’s cohanim,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6] a holy nation,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6] a people for God to possess![1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:21; Exodus 19:5] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[1 Peter 2:10 Hosea 2:25(23)]

Reflection Questions:

Peter wrote that God’s mercy builds us into a community of people who can show forth God’s marvelous light. Peter no longer believed that only a select few people got to be priests. God, he said, calls all believers (including you) to be a “royal priesthood.” Our God-given mission is to “speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.”

• “A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (verse 9). Peter applied Old Testament terms for Israel to God’s people, “the church.” How can we show God’s grace and light by acting together in ways we can’t do alone? How can the sense that together we are God’s hands in the world give us energy and courage?
• Some Bible scholars believe 1 Peter may have been adapted from instruction to new converts at their baptism. How, if at all, do you remind yourself of your confirmation, baptism or other time when you first “owned” your faith in Jesus? How does your identity as a Christ-follower shape your day-to-day life?

Today’s Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you’ve asked all of us to be a part of your ongoing mission to seek and to save. Give me the courage and concern to seek to share you with the people I care about who don’t know you. Amen.Insights from Randy Greene

Randy Greene serves in the Communications ministry as the Digital Media Specialist. He helps develop and maintain the church’s family of websites.
This weekend, Pastor Adam discussed our call to be ambassadors for Christ. Today’s scripture talks about how we are living stones, being built into a spiritual temple, a royal priesthood.
As I read these verses, it really struck me that stone resists change. It is not shaped easily – it requires a lot of work to craft a rock into a cornerstone. And it made me think about how often I resist the changes that God tries to make in me.
When he prompts me to talk to a stranger in the coffee shop, he is trying to shape me. When he whispers for me to share my sandwich with the woman who can’t afford one, he is trying to shape me. When he asks me to give up an evening to help my neighbor fix his fence, he is trying to shape me.
Am I stubbornly refusing God’s guiding hand?
If I want to be an excellent ambassador for God, I must follow his leading even when it presses me out of my comfort zone. Every time I respond, God is shaving away a little piece of me that is out of place so that, when it is all finished, I can be a chosen, valuable cornerstone.

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