"Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel." Isaiah 44:6-8,21-23
A servant proclaimed - "for you are my servant". "I formed you, you are my servant", "you will not be forgotten by me". God created us and he will NOT forget us. No matter where we walk, no matter how far we travel, no matter how hard we try to hide, to possibly even be forgotten. "I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist" - how far the East is from the West the dear Lord takes our transgressions and shifts them from us. The cross, the death of the divine, the blood of a savior. "return to me for I have redeemed you." The resurrection, new life, abundant joy, washed in the living river of blood so that we might shine clean and without sin so we might even consider to stand before the Lord our God.
Each time I sin I am nailing my God's hands to the cross. Each time I act in thought, word and deed in a way that does not glorify my king, I am hauling that hammer high above my head and pounding his flesh to the wood of a tree. I can blame no one but myself. I can not stand before my God with anything but pain in my heart for every transgression I commit.
But yet I have been redeemed, the Creator of the universe beckons me "do not fear" "come follow me"! Stop the shame, stop the sinful hammering, pick up your cross and delight in my presence!
"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’ (When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love." Ephesians 4:1-16
"We must no longer be children." How do we grow and learn?. We eat the bread of life, drink the cup of salvation. We get on our knees and confess our humanness, our sin. We read our scripture and we sit with it ingesting and pondering each Word. We surrender our will to God's divine will, we serve our brothers and sisters in this world, we embrace our humanness and give it to God as our gift, we free our hearts and minds from evil and idols and meditate on all that is good and holy. We empty ourselves so that we might be vessels of the Holy Spirit. We are forgiven and redeemed - we must honor that and move forward asking God "thy will be done" "forgive us our trespasses". When we acknowledge that we are forgiven we must rejoice, praise God and live an abundantly thankful life to shine the light of Jesus on everyone who encounters us.
"The gifts he gave" - what gift were you given? Do you honor your gift? Do you embrace and proclaim your gift? Do you use your gift in service and to "promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love."
Tonight I meditate in prayer:
"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."
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