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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.
“But
now listen, Jacob, My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the
Lord says—He who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help
you:”
“Do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.”
Isaiah 44:1-5
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
A Christian brother who lives
abroad sent me a picture of his beautiful newborn daughter yesterday, one of
countless children born in the world to waiting parents. It’s one of the Lord’s
greatest miracles every day as He replenishes His creation with new children to
abide and serve His kingdom.
Note one important point here.
These children that are born belong to the Lord. They are His children first
and foremost, entrusted to the care of the parents He blessed to carry His
child, the parents who He has assigned the awesome, challenging responsibility
to care for, teach, and nurture into adulthood where they too might have the
opportunity to parent the Lord’s children themselves. It really is the cycle of
life.
And so given all this, the bottom
line is that all of us are the Lord’s. There is no wondering who we belong to or
what our purposes are for the Lord has made it clear. He created us to His
glory and we are purposed from the beginning to honor and obey His commands to
love and serve others just as He does. In return, He blesses us abundantly with
life to the fullest and the opportunity to love and learn under His ever
present guidance and protection.
In the end translation of things,
none of us have an identity crisis. We all have one Maker and that is the Lord
God Almighty, the One who ordained life at the very genesis of the heavens and
earth as we know it, the One who continues to ordain and sanction all life
today, and the One who brings us the opportunity to live forever so that death
might not be the end for us but just the glorious beginning of reveling in
salvation.
The opening scriptures of Isaiah,
Chapter 44, affirm the aforementioned truth as to who we belong to for as we
trace our origins, it all goes back to the first man and woman in that Eden
garden and the people of Israel who would emerge from them. We can’t divorce
our connections to the very advent of mankind. Look at these words:
“But now listen, Jacob, My servant, Israel,
whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says—He who made you, who
formed you in the womb, and who will help you:”
“Do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.” Isaiah 44:1-5
Notice the words here. The Lord is
referred to as “He who made you, who formed you in the womb.” The Lord’s
creative work is at hand and on us well before we are birthed and continues to
be on us, ready to help us every step of the way in life if we turn to Him and
seek His direction and refuge.
What a comfort and assurance this
is for us in life! Thus, it’s little surprise that we see the Lord give these
words to His people of Israel (and to us as well today):
“Do not be afraid, My servant, whom I have chosen.”
The Lord doesn’t bring us into His
creation and let us fend for ourselves. No, He is always with us, pouring water
on the thirsty lands of our souls and flowing streams of living water through
our hearts and minds as He pours out His Spirit upon us. He blesses us and
through His tender nurturing, we find ourselves blossoming like fresh, green
meadow grass and poplar trees by flowing streams. And as we grow and ripen - becoming
ever stronger day by day in His word, will, and way - we see more and more that
we are the Lord’s and testify as much to everyone we encounter.
Friends, we are so richly blessed
to not have to wonder who we are and whose we are.
Thanks be to the Lord that we are
His, now and forever more. All glory, honor, and praise be given to His
precious and holy name!
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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