CALLED AND CHOSEN
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Opening Prayer
Lord, I lay at your feet any worries or fears that might distract me from your Word today.
Read ACTS 7:17–34
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[a] 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[b] For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[c] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[d] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’[e]
Footnotes
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
In what ways do you see your life’s story fitting into God’s story?Stephen’s retelling of the history of God’s chosen people moves to their time of slavery in Egypt and the rise of Moses.
What stands out in Stephen’s summary of the story is how God’s hand is on Moses throughout. From the start he is ‘no ordinary child’ (v. 20), then he becomes ‘powerful in speech and action’ (v. 22). By the time he visits the enslaved Israelites, Moses appears to be aware that God has chosen him (v. 25). The Israelites, however, are not ready to hear this, so Moses runs away. God remains with him and continues to bless him (v. 29). Then we see his dramatic calling (vv. 30–34) as God speaks to him through the burning bush.
Few of us will have a calling as dramatic as that of Moses! But God has a purpose for each one of us. Sometimes it might seem as if we’ve given up on his call or even that he has changed his mind: Moses spent 40 years leading a quiet, unremarkable life (vv. 29, 30), but God had not forgotten him. Whether you are a child (v. 20), in education (v. 22), aged around 40 (v. 23), at home with children (v. 29), or age 80 (v. 30), God has not finished with you yet!
Apply
How willing are you for God to use you in his plans? In what ways do you make yourself available?
Closing prayer
Thank You, Heavenly Father, that you never give up on me even when I make mistakes. Please continue to use me for your purposes.
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