I Will Help You

This is an encouragement to me today.  Hoping it will encourage you too.

Isaiah 41: 8-16

8"But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,

9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, 'You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.

10'Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

11"Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

12"You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

13"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'

14"Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15"Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,
And will make the hills like chaff.

16"You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in the LORD,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

God is talking to the Israelites, His chosen people. But He is also talking to you.  He chose you to be His long before He made the earth and everything on it.  He has encouraging things to say to you through Isaiah.

Print out this passage, or do this right in your Bible.  Get a colored pencil or highlighter and put about around what God is, what God has done for you, and what God will do for you.

Mine looks like:

8"But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, 'You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10'Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'
11"Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12"You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'
14"Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15"Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,
And will make the hills like chaff.
16"You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in the LORD,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Pin that up where you can see it every day

The Cornerstone

Matthew 21:33-46 
The Parable of the Tenants

33"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

38"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

41"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

43"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he a prophet.

I have read the parables of Jesus many times, but they never stop giving me new and different viewpoints.  This morning I read this parable and it struck me how simple it makes the salvation message.

Let's break down the story in a literal sense:

Who: the vineyard owner

What: makes a vineyard, adds to it what is needed for it to produce fruit, rents to some tenants in exchange for part of the crops.  Harvest time comes, he tries to collect his rent by sending his servants for it.  They are killed.  He sends his son for it, he is killed.  But the rent must still be collected.

When: the harvest is in, time to collect the rent

Where: at the vineyard, where the tenants live

Why: That is the deal that was made.  The tenants give part of the harvest to the vineyard owner in exchange for living there.  He sent his son to collect because his son would be respected.

How: the vineyard owner will remove the tenants who do not obey and replace them with people who will.

To see what this parable means to our lives today, do the 5 W's and the H again but use a new cast of characters:  God, the people He chose (the Jews), Jesus, the gentiles (us):

I Know Who I Am

THE BELL 

I KNOW WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )

I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)

I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)

I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)

I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)

I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)

I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)

I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)

I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)

I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)

I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)

I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )

I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)

I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)

I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)

I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)

I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I belong to God

Do you know

Who you are?

This has been circling the internet.  I don't know who made it, but it is pretty great.  It is a wonderful reminder of who we are.  You are at the point in your life when you are learning who you are and where your life might take you.  But, no matter what point in life, you are God's child.  This bell tells you what that means.  Anytime you are unsure, come back and look at this bell.  It would make a great quiet time study for a month.  Look up one verse each day and journal your thoughts about it.

Because it is Christmas, and that is a season when we can easily forget who we are because of finals, shopping, travel, and general craziness, I would like to read this one today:

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )

John 15:16 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

You know that you were chosen by God before you were born to become His child.  That means He chose you to pray for salvation so you could be with Him in heaven for eternity.  But, there is more to being God's child than that.  He has appointed you to bear fruit.

Fruit in the bible is a way of saying sharing God's love.  You have God's love, He expects you to share it.  You can share it in many ways.....sharing the gospel story and the story of salvation is one way.  Another way is loving people who we would be more comfortable avoiding or would like to punch. 

Spend some time thinking about how you can share God's love in this Christmas season, this season of love.  Serve a meal at a soup kitchen with a group of friends? Adopt a needy family and make gifts or a meal for them?  Say Merry Christmas to people instead of happy holidays?  Smile at someone having a bad day?  Help a Mom loaded with kids and bags get them into her car?  If you think about it, you will be presented with many ways everyday that you can share God's love.  Be open to God's prompting.

And, in our verse, Jesus has promised you that He will give you whatever you ask in His name.  That does not mean a new car.  That means if you are sharing His love and you are going to serve dinner at the rescue mission and you want people to go with you and share that experience, ask God.  Adopting a family for Christmas and need money or gifts for them? Ask God.  He might not answer the way you plan for Him to, but He will take care of the situation for you.  Try it, it will amaze you!

Giving Thanks

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Ephesians 1:4-12 

4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

It is mind boggling to think that God chose me to be His child way before I was born.  He planned for Jesus to die, and His blood to redeem me from my sins.  And it gave Him pleasure.   It is the same for all believers.

He has everything planned and everything will work out according to His will.

What do these verses tell us that He has planned for us?

- adoption as His children

- Grace through the death of Jesus

- our sins are forgiven

- He will make known to us the mystery of His will

- when the time comes, we will all be one

What that tells us is that God has our lives planned.  His will is going to go according to His plan.  He is God.  So, there is no reason to worry about anything.  Whatever He has planned is what is going to happen in my life, in His timing.  His plan is perfect.  

It's Your Attitude

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.


Psalm 30:11-12

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.


Psalm 94:19

19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.


Romans 15:13

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some days, I have a bad attitude.  I can change my attitude because it is mine, mine alone.  It is all about perspective.  

Do I look at like this?  My neighbor's dog barked all night and I didn't get any sleep.  My car had a flat tire on the way to work.  I have so much work that I will never get it done.  My Mother is driving me crazy!

Or, do I look at it like this?  Thank you God for the warm bed you provide for me every night.  Thank you God for my own car.  Thank you God for allowing me to have a job when so  many people are out of work.  Thank you God that my Mother is alive and loves me so much that she is constantly teaching me things.

Does it feel better to have an attitude of anger and negativity, or does it feel better to have an attitude of hope and joy?  It is your choice.  You can choose joy.  You can make a conscious choice.

When all is pressing down on you, how do you do that?  Make a list of all of the great things in your life and thank God for them.  Turn on your favorite praise and worship songs and sing!  Who can keep a bad attitude after that?

Psalm 139:13-14

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Sometimes I wonder who I am.  I know my name and where I live and what I do and all of that, but I wonder what I have inside that has not come out yet.  How will I react when certain situations pop up?  These verses remind me that God knows exactly who I am.  He made me.  His work is wonderful.  That means I am exactly who He made me to be.  He knows who that is and He directs my life, so I have no worries.

I read this today and it explains it well:

One of the first things you hear whenever you start an adventure is the phrase, “Who are you to think you’re qualified to do that?”

Whether it’s a new job, a new ministry, a new blog or simply a new conversation with a neighbor, this question is bound to pop up. A friend will say it. A family member will say it. Someone well intentioned and close to you will say it. And eventually, after hearing “Who are you” or “Who do you think you are” enough times, you’ll start to hear it inside.

You’ll start asking yourself those questions and start thinking that maybe even God is saying that. When things start to falter, when the adventure doesn’t unfold the way you planned or things don’t happen as quickly as you’d like, doubt will set in.

You’ll think, “Maybe I made the wrong decision. Maybe God is the one that keeps asking me, ‘who are you to write a book?’”

But He’s not. I think that if we asked God in the middle of all that doubt, if it was coming from Him, He would say:

“One thing I will never say to you is ‘who are you?’ I know who you are. I knew you before the world was made. I knit you in the womb. You are my child. My work of art. If you ever hear the condemnation of ‘who are you to take this adventure,’ then you’ll know it isn’t me because I already know the answer to that question. I created the answer to that question and never need to ask it.”

Knowing that doesn’t magically take away that doubt. So expect it. Understand that at times, the doubt of feeling unqualified for whatever it is God called you to do will rain down hard and deep. But the voice asking, “Who are you, who do you think you are?” is not God. He already knows and more than anything, all He wants to do is tell you the answer Himself.