My Dear Sisters, just as I was writing this post to you, a family urgency arose and I’m not going to be able to finish it. I’ve erased it and, in its place, put the segment of Scripture that I shared today in staff time before I got news of a serious family need. By faith, I choose to believe that this was what our gracious God wanted you to have today. It is a beautiful segment from Isaiah 41 that spoke very richly to us in staff and I pray will minister to you. (Vv.8-16) In it God is addressing Israel but, as you will see, many of the truths He speaks over them in this chapter concerning His heart toward them and His promise to help are echoed in the New Testament to believers under Christ’s new covenant.Ā If you have a more formal translation like the ESV, consider reading it first then below you’ll find the portion in Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message. Its vivid language jumped out at me and really tended to my soul. My staff and I printed it out and circled parts of it that the Holy Spirit brought to life in our own hearts and minds and amid our own circumstances. We also wrote notes in the margins and reminders of other coinciding verses and then, in our closing prayer, we let the passages guide our intercessions. You might consider doing the same thing. The two simple words “don’t panic” leapt off the page at me. So did this: “I, God, want to reassure you.” Thank You, thank You, Lord.
Here it is and you’ll find my SSMT entry at the end of the post.
Isaiah 41:8-16 The Message
8ā10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBut you, Israel, are my servant.
Youāre Jacob, my first choice,
descendants of my good friend Abraham.
I pulled you in from all over the world,
called you in from every dark corner of the earth,
Telling you, āYouāre my servant, serving on my side.
Iāve picked you. I havenāt dropped you.ā
Donāt panic. Iām with you.
Thereās no need to fear for Iām your God.
Iāll give you strength. Iāll help you.
Iāll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.
11ā13Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCount on it: Everyone who had it in for you
will end up out in the coldā
real losers.
Those who worked against you
will end up empty-handedā
nothing to show for their lives.
When you go out looking for your old adversaries
you wonāt find themā
Not a trace of your old enemies,
not even a memory.
Thatās right. Because I, your GOD,
have a firm grip on you and Iām not letting go.
Iām telling you, āDonāt panic.
Iām right here to help you.ā
14ā16Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āDo you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob?
Donāt be afraid.
Feel like a fragile insect, Israel?
Iāll help you.
I, GOD, want to reassure you.
The God who buys you back, The Holy of Israel.
Iām transforming you from worm to harrow,
from insect to iron.
As a sharp-toothed harrow youāll smooth out the mountains,
turn those tough old hills into loamy soil.
Youāll open the rough ground to the weather,
to the blasts of sun and wind and rain.
But youāll be confident and exuberant,
expansive in The Holy of Israel!
Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Is 41:8ā16). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
For my SSMT selection, this is the portion I have next in my memory work out of the Book of Colossians:
Beth, Houston. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ. Colossians 2:1-2
I love you guys so much. Let’s press on with eyes of faith, Sisters. He who calls us is faithful!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
For the Word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.
Donna
Ponder, TX
Thank you so much for sharing this… I awoke this morning wanting to spend quiet time with Jesus and didn’t know how or what or where. Then Beth came into my mind- The last two weeks I’ve found something that my soul has needed here at Living Proof Ministries… Thank you so much Beth, thank you Jesus.
Doris, Whiteville, NC
Psalm 18:31 ESV
For who is God, but The Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
Jean Herrick, Princeton Maine
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Romans 12:9 (ESV)
Karen, Hewitt
James 1:18 NIV, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created”.
Jennifer, Tomball, TX “Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your conviction, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping.” I Cor 16:13-14 The Message
Haley
Conway, AR
Donāt love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, āI will never fail you. I will never abandon you.ā (Hebrews 13:5 NLT)
Roxy
Riverton, Utah
Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.
Joshua 3:5 NIV
Linda G
Richmond, VA
A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
Proverbs 11:28 (The Message)
Micki Prairie Village,KS
Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
Proverbs 10:19 NLT
Jacqueline M, Lancaster Co, PA
Ephesians 6:10-11
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Kelly Snodgrass
Rogersville, TN
Ephesians 1:16-17 ESV
I do not cease to give thanks for you remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him
Exodus 15:11 NIV
Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Praise the Lord!
Tammy,
Ingleside, TX
Paola, Pinellas Pinellas Park,Fl
John 17:17 ESV
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Mary Anne
Osler, SK, Canada
2 Timothy 1:7 (Amp)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
Candy Seale, La Grange, Texas
“Thou will show me the path of life:
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
at Thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore”
Psalm 16:11 KJV
Donalda, Osler, SK
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Matt 6:34 (MSG)
Michelle, Alberta, Canada
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
– 1 James 1:4
Tara
Greensboro, NC
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the source of life.
Proverbs 4:23
HCSB
Karen from Indianapolis
So that the righteous and just requirements of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit.
Romans 8:4 AMP
Jessica from Rockvale, TN
Exodus 14:14 (HCSB)”The Lord will fight for you; you need to be quiet.”
Lisa M, Davidsville, PA
26 I have planned this
for the whole world,
and my mighty arm
controls every nation.
27 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have made these plans.
No one can stop me now!
Isaiah 14:26-27 CEV
Rita Cottonwood, AZ
Timothy 4:7-8
New Living Translation (NLT)
7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wivesā tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 āPhysical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.ā
Matthew 20:16 NIV
āSo the last will be first, and the first will be last.ā
Brenda Kelley, Taylors, SC
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18 NIV
Leigh, Montgomery: “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” Matthew 5:6 MSGq
Susan, Houston, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor. 12:9 ESV
Kathy Leamington Ontario Canada
“The Lord touched my mouth and said, Now I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage
one another-amd all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Carol, The Woodlands, TX
James 1:26 NIV – If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
Jones Creek, Texas
You will keep in perfect peace him whose
mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3
(NIV)
Nancy, Junction City, Ar.
“Now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”
Psalm 39:7 NKJ
Julie, Sugar Land, TX
2 Samuel 22:31-32 NIV
“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of The Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”
James one six but when he asks he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind
Syneva Mullins
I Corinthians 13:7 NASB
“bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Jenni, Murray, KY
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22, 23 ESV)
Sandy, Ft. Gibson, OK
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 NIV
Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 NIV
Karen, Redmond. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NIV
Stephanie in Woodward, OK
Philippians 2:5 NIV
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus
Matthew 19:26 (NIV)
Jesus looked at them and said, āWith man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.ā
Nadine Fry, Morton,UK
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 NIV
Jackie UK
James 1 : 5-8 NET
5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.
Anita Livingston – Odem TX
Psalms 27:1 TEV
The Lord is my light and my salvation; I will fear no one.
The Lord protects me from all danger; I will never be afraid.
Beth – Mt. Carmel, IL
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy & good fruit, impartial & sincere. James 3:17 NIV
Moreen, Sydney Australia
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)
Kari
Charlottesville, VA
If you say, āThe Lord is my refuge,ā and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; (Psalm 91:9-11 NIV)
Caroline from Rio, WI
“You go before me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head.” Psalm 139:5 (NLT)
Annie, Alabama
In 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. In order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:1-2 (NIV)
Midland TX
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:5-7