I Am Thine, O Lord

"But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

There's a scene that brought me to tears in the first episode of The Chosen series. When Jesus finds Mary, and calls her by name and tells her "thus says the LORD, who created you, and He who formed you fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine." Then he touches her, heals her completely and embraces her. A long embrace.

According to the series, Mary had been possessed by demons and no aid could be given to her. Even Nicodemus, a high regarded Pharisee, tried to exorcise her to no avail. After she was restored by Jesus, Nicodemus finds Mary and thinks that his own actions had helped her, but Mary tells him that someone else had done it and told her "I am His."

I'm moved by that scene because when Jesus touches you and restores you, He tells you "you are mine." He is the only one who can tell us that because of two reasons: He created us, and He redeemed us.

After God created the heavens, the earth, plants and animals, He said that all He made was good. But something was missing--us. So, He created man and woman in the image and likeness of Himself. We weren't the afterthought in creation. We were his special masterpiece.

Is it difficult for you to believe you belong to God? Maybe other people have made you feel that you are insignificant and worthless. Maybe you are in a stage of life in which you feel useless. Perhaps you are locked down, unable to do the things you want to do. If so, you need to know that you are special no matter what--because you bear God's image. God created you distinctively! You are unique, not a copy of someone else. You are not a clone. When God made you, He did something that only He can do, and He did that for His glory.

The Bible says that we are redeemed from the grave (Psalms 49:15), from death (Hosea 13:14), from all wickedness (Titus 2:14), and from sin (Colossians 1:14). We are saved from eternal death by Jesus Christ, our Savior. In John 10:10 Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

An abundant life comes from following God's ways, spending time developing your relationship with the Lord, letting His Word settle deep into your heart so that it influences every aspect of your life.

Jesus tells you today "You are Mine", will you answer, "I am yours, O Lord"?

1
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.

Refrain
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.

2
Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,
by the power of grace divine;
let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in thine.

3
O the pure delight of a single hour
that before thy throne I spend,
when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!

Words by Fanny Crosby

Binge Jesus at:
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