God’s Grace and Peace to you!
I don’t think that it matters how old you are, you could be in elementary, junior high, or high school, or even a working adult or a retiree; there are various points in life in which a person might have reason to question their place in the world.
In the history of the Jewish people, there have been times when they doubted their place in this world. In the Old Testament we can read of a time when were in slavery in Egypt. But, as we know, the Lord sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt and then they were led by God with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. Through the use of these two pillars and other signs and wonders, God established that the people were worthy. The Lord God then used those pillars to lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
The Bible also tells us of the time when the Jewish people were in exile. The Babylonians had conquered the Promised Land and destroyed the Temple. The Israelites were then exiled for hundreds of years; entire generations had grown up having never laid eyes on the Promised Land given to their people thousands of years before.
And again, we know that God sent messengers – prophets – to remind them that they are valued in God’s eyes. But their value in God’s eyes was not always realized by the people. They would stop following and believing in God. They began to doubt their worth as God's chosen people, and they also started to lose faith that God would deliver them.
Yes, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon and no doubt are feeling depressed. They began to feel that God had forsaken them. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple was gone. They began to believe that God had left them, and that they had no hope of salvation.
God sent the prophet Isaiah to them, and Isaiah reminds the people where they’ve come from. Specifically, he reminded them that God has created them, that God has formed them. Isaiah added that even as they find themselves in exile, God has plans for them. He tells of how God had redeemed them, and that God will be with them. At the worst moments of their lives; at the moments when they’re under the greatest pressure, God will always be there.
What a fantastic message! A message that clarifies who God is, who Israel is, and, most importantly, whose Israel is. God comes to Israel in one of their most depressed, vulnerable moments. God comes when they feel down and out and at their lowest. God comes to pick them up again; to remind them of their true identity and worth. God assures them that they have not been forgotten; that they belong to God; that they are loved by God!
That is also the message of Christ’s baptism and our baptism. We are a very special people because we’ve been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our baptism gives us the assurance of God’s true identity and our true identity. We are precious; we belong to God; we are one with Christ.
In the waters of baptism, God seals his love for us, no matter what me might have done and what might happen. In the waters of baptism, God gives evidence of God's claim on us.
Always remember your baptism by accepting your identity as precious and loved by the Lord. In response, we take on the ministry God has given each of us to do – with the gift of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
In Christ!
Pastor Bakker
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3a
I don’t think that it matters how old you are, you could be in elementary, junior high, or high school, or even a working adult or a retiree; there are various points in life in which a person might have reason to question their place in the world.
In the history of the Jewish people, there have been times when they doubted their place in this world. In the Old Testament we can read of a time when were in slavery in Egypt. But, as we know, the Lord sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt and then they were led by God with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. Through the use of these two pillars and other signs and wonders, God established that the people were worthy. The Lord God then used those pillars to lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
The Bible also tells us of the time when the Jewish people were in exile. The Babylonians had conquered the Promised Land and destroyed the Temple. The Israelites were then exiled for hundreds of years; entire generations had grown up having never laid eyes on the Promised Land given to their people thousands of years before.
And again, we know that God sent messengers – prophets – to remind them that they are valued in God’s eyes. But their value in God’s eyes was not always realized by the people. They would stop following and believing in God. They began to doubt their worth as God's chosen people, and they also started to lose faith that God would deliver them.
Yes, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon and no doubt are feeling depressed. They began to feel that God had forsaken them. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple was gone. They began to believe that God had left them, and that they had no hope of salvation.
God sent the prophet Isaiah to them, and Isaiah reminds the people where they’ve come from. Specifically, he reminded them that God has created them, that God has formed them. Isaiah added that even as they find themselves in exile, God has plans for them. He tells of how God had redeemed them, and that God will be with them. At the worst moments of their lives; at the moments when they’re under the greatest pressure, God will always be there.
What a fantastic message! A message that clarifies who God is, who Israel is, and, most importantly, whose Israel is. God comes to Israel in one of their most depressed, vulnerable moments. God comes when they feel down and out and at their lowest. God comes to pick them up again; to remind them of their true identity and worth. God assures them that they have not been forgotten; that they belong to God; that they are loved by God!
That is also the message of Christ’s baptism and our baptism. We are a very special people because we’ve been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our baptism gives us the assurance of God’s true identity and our true identity. We are precious; we belong to God; we are one with Christ.
In the waters of baptism, God seals his love for us, no matter what me might have done and what might happen. In the waters of baptism, God gives evidence of God's claim on us.
Always remember your baptism by accepting your identity as precious and loved by the Lord. In response, we take on the ministry God has given each of us to do – with the gift of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
In Christ!
Pastor Bakker
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3a