Different Life: 1st CommandmentSample

God set apart the people of Israel to be different. When God gave them his 10 commandments and made his covenant with them at Sinai, he told them they would be a “treasured possession,” a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). Following his covenant would make them different from those around them. It would bring them into harmony with how God wants the world to function and people to live.

For anyone born again in Christ, God sets you apart too. He wants you to be different—not different for different’s sake—rather different as one devoted to him. Many people aren’t. But God wants you to put him first in everything. What (or whom) you put first defines you.

These next few days we’ll focus on the 1st Commandment (with a new 5-day plan each subsequent week focusing on the others.) For now, just read a few select passages on God’s call to be different. As you do, ask yourself if you’re different God’s way, and maybe for the help and grace to want to be different as he wants for you.