ODJ: known
I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as My prophet to the nations (v.5).
READ: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Hey, Gina.” The greeting was casual, but nonetheless surprising. Granted, I like my venti, decaf, nonfat, extra hot mocha all the way to the top, but I don’t go to Starbucks every day. I can only assume my high-maintenance order had emblazoned my name on the barrista’s mind. Amid my surprise, a lesson from the Lord hit home. I am known.
Who am I? Where am I going? Does my life matter? These are questions we all ponder, even believers. Drowning in the enemy’s lies of our insignificance, we sometimes hide away. Thinking no one sees, we suddenly hear a voice. Looking up, we realize that the God of the universe has just spoken our name (Isaiah 43:1)! We are not just seen. We are known.
The weeping prophet Jeremiah was a young man who had been set apart from the womb. Appointed for a daunting task, Jeremiah was called to facilitate God’s redemptive plan by bringing the Israelites to repentance. For Jeremiah, however, the difficulty of his task at times led to doubts.
Just like the prophet, life’s challenges may have caused you to question what you know is true. Does God really know how many hairs are on my head? Does He really see the deep places I’m walking? Jeremiah himself asked questions like these (Jeremiah 15:15-18).
First Peter 2:9 tells us we are “royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.” Our purpose is not found on a billboard from God that states: “Go this way.” We are His vessels called to carry His redemptive message in our lives. He wants us to rest in the assurance that we are known and that He is a God who is “watching, and . . . will certainly carry out all [His] plans” (Jeremiah 1:12). —Regina Franklin
What hinders you from believing God is intimately acquainted with your life? Do you believe you carry the message of God’s redemption in you? How does this affect you?
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Loading ...ODB: nailed to the cross
September 27, 2009
READ: Colossians 2:9-17
[Jesus] has made [you] alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. —Colossians 2:13
It was a touching church service. Our pastor talked about Jesus taking our sins upon Himself and dying in our place to take our punishment. He asked if anyone still felt guilt over confessed sins and was therefore not enjoying the forgiveness of God.
We were to write the sin or sins on a piece of paper, walk to the front of the church, and nail the paper to the cross that was placed there. Many went forward, and you could hear the pounding of nails for several minutes. That act didn’t give us forgiveness, of course, but it was a physical reminder that Jesus had already taken those sins on Himself as He hung on the cross and died.
That’s what the apostle Paul taught the church at Colosse. The people were being influenced by false teachers who presented Christ as less than adequate for their needs. But Paul explained that Jesus paid the price for our sins. He said, “The handwriting of requirements that was against us, . . . He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14).
If we confess our sin to God, seeking His cleansing, He will forgive (1 John 1:9). We don’t need to hold on to the guilt. Our sins have been nailed to the cross; they’ve been taken away. Jesus has forgiven them all. — Anne Cetas
Guilt is a burden God never intended His children to bear.
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