You Are Mine
(NIV)Isaiah 43:1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
Isn’t this a wonderful passage? Do not fear. Why shouldn’t Israel fear? Because God redeemed them, or bought them back. He called them by name and claimed them as His own. And here is the best part for us: God’s promise to be with Israel extends to the Church.
There is a Christmas movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger called “Jingle All the Way.” The movie is about a workaholic dad who promises to get his son the newest, hottest action toy. But, he fails to get away from work in time to buy the toy and, the remainder of the movie centers around the efforts of Schwarzenegger, along with other dads, to successfully purchase the item that, by this time, has become rare.
The climax occurs when Arnold portrays the real life action toy in a parade. He spots his son in the crowd, calling out to him by name and throwing one of the toys to him. The boy, unaware that his dad is portraying the hero, says “He knows my name!”
Well, may I tell you that God, our Creator, knows us by name? He created us for a purpose, and part of that purpose is to bring glory to Him.
So fear not! His promises are faithful and true, and we are His, now and forever.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sing unto the Lord
(NIV)Psalm 12:6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Sometimes I like to sing the Psalms. Or at least I used to. My vocal cords are shot. But this is one of the psalms I turned into song.
You are a hiding place for me
You Lord preserve me from trouble
You surround me with song
And shouts of deliverance.
Blessed be the Lord God Emmanuel
Blessed be the king of Israel
You are my deliverer and evermore shall be
I bring you honor praise and glory.
When we lived in Richmond I sometimes attended a Messianic church—Jews who had found Jesus as their Savior. The music was joyfully infectious, so it was not unusual for me to sing the Psalms in this vein.
I encourage you to find a psalm and add your own music to it. Our music teacher at Little Rock Central, Lois Jean Raymond, would tell us to take our courage in our hot little hands and sing.
Some psalms have already been turned into song. Psalm 42, as the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after thee…” touches my soul.
I may no longer be able to vocalize these psalms nor the songs of my youth (Higher Ground, Love Lifted Me, Amazing Grace) but they will be in my heart until I die.
Do you have songs that bring you closer to the throne of the most high God? Then sing them out!
May we let the joy in our hearts burst forth in song, and may we praise the Lord our God for all He is worth.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Who Touched Me?
(NCV)Luke 8:42 While Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ house, the people were crowding all around him. 43 A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years, but no one was able to heal her. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped. 45 Then Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
When all the people said they had not touched him, Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and are pushing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out from me.” 47 When the woman saw she could not hide, she came forward, shaking, and fell down before Jesus. While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.”
Oh how I cherish this story. Jesus goes to Capernaum to raise from the dead the daughter of Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue. The crowds are massive but suddenly Jesus feels power leave Him. What happened? Who touched Him, He asked?
The disciples were incredulous. How could anyone know who within the crowd had touched him?
The woman was fearful. What if, after finally feeling the relief of being restored to wholeness, Jesus withdrew His healing?
So she fell at His feet, expecting at the very least chastisement. Instead, Jesus called her “Daughter,” and said her faith had made her whole!
Desperation drove her but faith delivered her. She touched only the tassels hanging from His outer garment, His prayer shawl, and instantly she was healed!
May we boldly approach Jesus, knowing that a single encounter will be transformative, changing us from an outcast of society to a child of the King.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Be careful How You Listen
(NCV) Luke 8:16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. Instead, the person puts it on a lampstand so those who come in will see the light. 17 Everything that is hidden will become clear, and every secret thing will be made known. 18 So be careful how you listen. Those who have understanding will be given more. But those who do not have understanding, even what they think they have will be taken away from them.”
Well, this is one of those scriptures that I have undoubtedly read before, but have no memory of doing so. It is not the part about the lampstand that is hazy, nor is it the part about everything secret becoming clear. But, “be careful how you listen” in the NCV, or “take care then how you hear” in the NIV is not something I remember.
The key to this scripture is understanding the great responsibility we have in handling what we have been given. It is incumbent upon us to reflect God’s light, or that light will be dimmed; and to listen and truly understand or else our understanding will be taken away.
May we focus each day on knowing, believing and understanding that God gives to those who take care of whatever gift we have received.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Hoy Spirit. Amen.
Love in Action
(NCV)Luke 10:25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”
29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
The parables fascinate me. Jesus told these stories in response to questions designed to trap Him into saying something, anything that could be used against Him. In this particular parable, there are four main characters.
A man has traveled down from Jerusalem on the Jericho Road. The pathway was steep, twisted and narrow, with many places sufficient to hide those intent to do harm. The man was beaten, robbed and left for dead.
The priest surely would stop to help. He was moved by pity, but rather than help he moved to the other side of the road. The Levite, one who served in the temple, did likewise.
But a Samaritan, a tribe despised by the Jews, saw this man as someone worthy of his help. Where the other two men, holy by all accounts, were too busy, the Samaritan interrupted his journey, tore his own garment into strips to use as bandages, spent his own funds to provide help—and all of this for a man who likely looked down on him.
The first two men had pity. But pity failed to drive these men to compassion, and lack of real compassion failed to drive them to action. Love requires action. As intentional disciples we cannot afford to look the other way, nor can we pick and choose our neighbors.
May each of us begin to see others through the eyes of God, so that our response will always be driven by love, first for our Savior and our Lord, and then for humanity.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 