“But now saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

For I am the Lord thy God, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 

Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (innocent), and I have loved thee…” Isaiah 43:1-5a 

The magnificence of the Lord. Jesus loves us and is good to us not because of anything we do or could ever do.

Just as he creates us in our mother’s womb, he breathes life unto us and upon salvation gives us his overflowing presence, he calls us by name, and he calls us not servants but brothers and sisters and he calls us his friends.

As he was with the Hebrews as he made a way of their escape through the Red Sea, as he lifted up Peter when he was afraid, and the Hebrew boys, not bowing down, and from the flames he protected them.

He is “I AM THAT I AM”, which means he is who is and he makes his own choices and has none above him nor any beside him and yet he gave all of Egypt in rescuing his people. 

Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness I have drawn thee.”

He loves us simply because he is good, he is merciful, and he is Holy and when we repent and go on to know him, love him, and serve him in love, and worship him in truth and spirit, we become partakers of those wonderful promises he gave us through Isaiah.

Maybe you’re having a rough day, maybe the world, satan, or even self-doubt is making you feel that you or even your life doesn’t matter at all.

But to God you do! He even said that we are precious in his sight!

How could it get any better than that?

So, if you if need a little encouragement today, remember these words: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…”

Φλογιζω NBJ 2019 Revisited 02/17/2022  Rev. Nina Brown Johnson * 01/31/2024 Because sometimes we need reminded*