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
Lou Ann Smith, McAllen, TX
Jesus wept. John 11:35 ESV
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Cindy/Midland
Beth, London Ontario
Isaiah 26:12 NIV
LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Melissa, Nicholasville, Ky.
“I love you, oh LORD, my strength.” Psalm 18:1 (NIV)
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
I Corinthians 6:19
“…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5b NIV (84)
Pat
Crawfordsville, IN
Zoe from Oklahoma City:
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thess. 5:23 NIV
Cottonwood, CA:
“The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commandments of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living!”
Psalm 19:8, NLT
“You are the Lord my God, who brought me out of slavery; You broke the bars of my yoke and enabled me to walk with my head held high.”
Leviticus 26:13 (NIV)
Terri, Pleasant Hope, MO
and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:12 (NIV84)
Carolyn R.
Houston, Tx
But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6 NIV
Debbie, Rochester, MN
Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
1 John 2: 10 NLT
Psalm 33:8-9 (NIV)
Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command.
Mary Margaret, Franklin, TN
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Heather, London ON
” lord, you alone are my portion and my cup, you make my lot secure” Psalm 16:5 NIV
Ashley, Kingwood “He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.” Isaiah 40:29 NET
Vicki Knott, Greenwood, SC
Do whatever he tells you. John 2:5b (NIV)
Cathy Morris Sedona, AZ John 15:5 NIV
āI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Angie M – Macon, MS – I love you, Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1, NIV
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Shelly Hough
Gordon, Texas
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Emily, Derby, Kansas
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on , however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
Heather—Corpus Christi, TX. “You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.” Deuteronomy 2:3 (NKJV)
Diana—San Patricio, TX. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Luke 12:25 (NIV)
Shelley, Fort Walton Beach, Fl
“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”
Daniel 2:22 (NIV)
Marilyn from Missouri:
rater let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
1Peter 3:4 NKJV
Cheryl Primeaux, Pensacola, FL
Jeremiah 17:7 GNB
But I will bless the person who puts his trust in me.
Kimberly, Watha
Esther 4:14, Amplified
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?
Bonnie, Port Orchard, WA
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6 NIV
Amy G, clovis ca-
When I said, āMy foot is slipping,ā
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
psa 94:18 NIV
Amy Coxhead, Fort Collins,CO
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
Psalm107:1 (NIV)
SSMT Verse 20:
Judith, Orillia Canada
2 Tim 1:7 (NIV)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.
Vicki from Lake Jackson Tx
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Col.ossians 3:15 NIV
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26 (ESV)
Melissa
Waco TX
Lora
Mooresburg, TN
Psalm 119:58 (NET) “I seek your favor with all my heart.
Have mercy on me as you promised!”
Ruth, Shawnee, KS
Leviticus 26:13 (NIV) — You are the Lord my God, who brought me out of slavery; You broke the bars of my yoke and enabled me to walk with my head held high.
If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set you mind on things above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 NASB
Melissa, Augusta, GA
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14, NIV
Karon from Canton, NC
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1 NKJV
Psalms 143:8
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. (NLT)
Alexia-Champaign, IL
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord, because you are called an outcast Zion for whom no one cares.
Jeremiah 30:17 NIV
Pam D., Hendersonville, TN “I asked the Lord for help, and He answered me. He saved me from all that I feared. Those who go to Him for help are happy, and they are never disgraced.” “Psalm 34:4-5 (NCV)
10/1 verse:
Penny, Cincinnati. Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. Psalm 46:10, NLT
10/15 verse:
Penny Cincinnati. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father. Romans 8:15 NLT
Monica Pribe, Blacklick Ohio “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life”. Proverbs 4:23 ESV
April
Pittsburgh, PA
(19) When anxiety was great within me,your consolation brought me joy.
Psalms 94:19 (NIV)
Laura H, OFallon, MO “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” John 17:26 NIV
Rachelle H. Cedar Park, TX: If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. Acts 20:24 NIV
Michele, Houston, Tx ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 ESV
*Beth, Praying for you and your family’s needs to be met in His power and wisdom!! Hugs and Love:)
Romans 8:26 (ESV)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Jennifer Olmstead
Janesville, WI
Patty Pierce
Searcy Ar
Eph 6:18 NIV
Ephesians 6:18 NIV
[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lordās people.