1 Peter 1:9-10(ESV) “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

BUT! What a great way to start the day. Sometimes you have to get your BUT in gear. Sometimes you need to be reminded that God put a BUT in the story.

BUT YOU! Now it’s personal. Today we’re going to talk about you. There’s only one you. There’s not another person on the planet with your personality, your exact DNA, eye color, or fingerprint. You are uniquely loved and chosen by God. Do you believe that?

We all need to be reminded who we are, and not by all the voices from people who don’t believe in us. Not from jokers from our past who want to blame us for their failures. Not from the lies of the enemy. Not from a stupid choice you made in 7th grade you keep thinking about.

You need to hear the voice of God over your life today. You are chosen. Brought into a new family, a new nation with a new King. You are a special possession belonging to One who brought you out of your dark past into a new, bright reality where His light shines and makes every shadow of doubt, fear, and insecurity run for cover.

You are a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD! Two beautiful images. Divine royalty. Marked by God with direct access to the throne of God. You don’t need a priest to enter the temple and make sacrifices on your behalf. You have One who already paid the price for your sin, and you have direct access to the God of the universe. You don’t need me as a pastor to pray you into salvation. You don’t need a YouTube preacher or superstar Christian icon to go to God for you.

You can sing in His presence, dance in your freedom, shout songs of victory, and lift up your heart to Jesus. He hears. Now let’s face it. At one point you couldn’t do it. You were separated. You were not a part of the family. You were not in the kingdom, but now, if your trust is in Jesus, you are HIS!!

Oh, I pray this fills you with HOPE today! Write these words on a card or the notes app on your phone. Put them on a screenshot, and share them online. Let them be your screensaver, a reminder to your heart all day today.

I am CHOSEN. I am royal. I belong to Jesus. I am a part of a priesthood. I am special to God. I am liberated from sin and death. Today. This is who I am.

Do you receive it? Maybe you have a bunch of doubts right now, and it’s hard for you to see yourself the way God sees you. I want to encourage you right now to ask Him to give you His eyes on you, view yourself from His perspective. The wonderful reality is that His choosing us isn’t based on our perfection or ability to perfectly follow His ways.

It’s mercy. Now you have received mercy. Grace is God’s unmerited favor where we get what we don’t deserve, but mercy flows from God’s kindness and spares us from what we deserve because of our sin and brokenness. This is all made possible by Jesus’ one act of death on a cross.

Peter understood this because he had been changed by mercy. He knew what it was like to live “without mercy” and to live as a “product of mercy.” Now he invites us to let mercy be the theme of our song. It’s hard to hear these lyrics that Peter throws down without mercy erasing all of our doubts, fears, and insecurities.

Before we wrap up, I wonder if you would allow God’s kindness and mercy to step into the room for a moment. I know it’s really uncomfortable for some of us to be on the receiving end. Before we march into pouring out for the day, let mercy be poured in. Let Jesus’ eyes of perfect love cast out all fear. Let Him speak to you, son. Let Him hold you, daughter. Enough mercy to erase a lifetime of failures is present in the room today!

Come Holy Spirit, and help us know the heart of God! Open our eyes. Help me see me the way The Father sees me.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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