Once Not a People

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) I grew up near Williams Lake, B.C., on a small reserve called Sugar Cane. I have many sweet memories of playing in the beautiful surroundings of my childhood home. When I started attending the Day School on the reserve, everything changed. The teacher was very cruel and racist. After completing grade six, I went off to residential school until I completed high school. After these experiences, I had very low self-esteem and a deep confusion about authority figures. I started using alcohol and became dependent on it to boost my confidence and ability to interact with people. However, my sister gave her life to God and I noticed a change in her. She encouraged me to come to church with her. A missionary shared the gospel, and I put my trust in the Lord. In a study one night I heard, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” Those words did not fi t my image of myself. I cried because I felt unimportant. God’s Word was telling me something different. I was interested in learning more. Since then, I have learned how God sees me and about His love for me. John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13 and Psalm 139 are only a few passages that tell us of God’s love, His goodness, and His generosity. Father God, I ask You to help me treasure the truths that Your word speaks, and to learn to apply these truths to my life. – Theresa Bose   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org