Isaiah 44:6-8, 21-23 ~ I appointed

Isaiah 44:6-8, 21-23


⁶ Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”



²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
²² I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.

²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified ^{[will display his beauty]} in Israel.

Sunday's Sermon was visiting Anglican Priest- Rev'd Dr. Jon Shuler. Jon is 66 years old, looks 40, and is leaving his prosperous fledgling Church to do as Peter Drucker once said IS the work of Jesus - to save the lost. Jon said he'd been in Church for many years, each Sunday, as a pagan. Eager to be in Church, but not praying, not believing, doing what the world said was good for him and relying upon that advice.

Jon believed Jesus, came to love Jesus. And his sermon today was about the Jews. God's chosen people. God using people with a different viewpoint from everyone else - to do His work.

God takes us just as we are, today, warts and all and Loves us. Servants whom He raised up to be His Children, His Beloved. His Friends. God saw weak Gideon and saw him as able - to do God's work. God saw Peter begging Him to depart and God saw diligence and love - a man willing to walk on water or jump in and swim when needed. Isaiah was blessed to see hope, we see fulfillment of the law - Love.

John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 19:26-27
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John 20:17
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mark 3:33-35
³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”


Psalm 95:7
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts


1 Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.





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