The Baptism of our Lord: Old Testament Reading, Isaiah 43:1-7                 

Isaiah 43:1-7

Isaiah 43 is one of those chapters that God’s people may return to again and again for its rich and grand promises. This is my first meditation written for the new calendar year, though the church year is well begun.  Verse 3 begins, “For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” This is big. So often the God of the Old Testament is characterized by many as wrathful, angry and vindictive. Here He cries through dear old Isaiah that He is our Savior. And when I say “our” I mean the Savior of all. From the earliest pages of the Bible God is shown to be the rescuer of all mankind. He loves His role because He loves us.

“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name …” (vv. 5-7a). All His children are to hear and come home to the Father who loves them. “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you …” (v. 4a).

What a joyful way to begin our walk together in this new year. Remember, dear ones. You are precious in His sight and dearly loved. Let those truths give hope and fuel to the year just beginning.