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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”
This is what God the Lord says—the
Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with
all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who
walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, I will take hold of Your hand.”
Isaiah 42:1a,
5-6a
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We’re
over half way through this eleven part series on Jesus who was sent to save us
as God’s perfect servant. To date, we have seen how God delighted in His Son and
brought us the Holy Spirit through Him. We have seen how Jesus was a servant
who was just and gentle as well as restoring and teaching and righteous in the
way He carried out the will of His Father, a will that wasn’t easy as Jesus
faced many perils and dangers through His time here on earth.
As we
will see in part seven, Jesus did not have to walk this earth alone as He did
His work for God held His hand along the way. Look at our scripture as we
continue looking at Isaiah 42:
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I
will put My Spirit on Him.”
This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who
stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who
gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, I will take hold of Your hand.” Isaiah 42:1a, 5-6a
What a
comfort it had to be for Jesus to know that His Father was by His side, holding
His hand and guiding Him from place to place where He fulfilled need after need
whether imparting knowledge and wisdom or performing miraculous healings or
feedings or resurrections. Jesus never needed to fear that He was alone and
indeed He wasn’t except for His last moments of human life while crucified on Calvary’s
cross where He bore all the sins of mankind, an occurrence that brought Jesus
great anguish (Matthew 27:46). Indeed, what could cause greater distress than
knowing you were no longer held by the hands of Your heavenly Father?
And yet,
so many people today run free from God, their Father, like a child who doesn’t
feel the need to hold their parent’s hand anymore because they find it
restraining them from doing the things they want to do, things that the parent
would typically not allow. There are many who don’t think they need God in
their life. Sadly, these people are confident and reliant on their own wisdom
and intellect and strength to make it through life, not realizing that they are
surrendering their very souls in the process. For only when we hold God by the
hand can we be led to His Son Jesus, the perfect servant, and the salvation He
brings to anyone who places their faith and trust in Him. For He (Jesus) is the
only One who can make the way for us to spend eternity with Him and God when
this worldly life ends.
In other
words, God intends to hold your hand forever through the saving power of His
Son. Please don’t turn down His offer.
Now, this
would be awesome enough if I stopped right here but there’s one more thing I
need to add. For just as God held the hand of Jesus during the righteous ministry
work He came to do, Jesus in turn holds our hands today as we carry out His
will and way. We know because He told us so during the Great Commission:
Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus
commanded all His disciples (and that includes all Christians today) to go and
make disciples, baptizing and teaching as we seek to help others become Christ
followers as well. You’ll remember He promised that the work would not be easy
and indeed our lives could come into danger for the cause of the Gospel just as
His did as a result of the hatred of others (John 15:18-19).
But we
weren’t sent out to do this on our own without backup. Rather, Jesus assured us
that He would be with us, to the very end of the age. In other words, He will
always be with us along our life’s journey as we continue His work, holding our
hand just as His Father held His.
Friends,
this is a blessed assurance that should buoy us up in confidence and hope as we
go forth as Christians to make disciples in a world where we see so much
rejection and despising of the cause of Christ, particularly in places where
heavy persecution and even execution of Christians takes place. In everything
we do, let us not forget that we are not alone in life, no matter where we go
and what we encounter in our disciple-making work. For Jesus, the perfect
servant who continues to serve us as we do His work today, is with us and will
be us until that day when He returns to bring us to His side forever.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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