When You Pass Through the Waters

“But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

    he who formed you, O Israel:

‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

    I have called you by name, you are mine.

When 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.

For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.’” (Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV)

Under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel, his people were those of Jewish descent, who were physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah. But under the New Covenant God now has with his people Israel, his people are both Jew and Gentile by physical birth who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives. All Jews who did not believe in Jesus were cut out of Israel, and all Gentiles who believed in Jesus Christ were grafted into Israel and became one with Israel under the One True God.

We who now believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, both Jew and Gentile by physical birth, are one people under God. We are collectively Israel, God’s holy nation, his holy people, a people belonging to God. And we are the body of Christ, his church. And the church did not replace Israel, for true biblical Israel has not been replaced. Gentiles are now included by faith in Jesus Christ along with all Jews who also believe in Jesus Christ. And all Jews who have been cut out can be grafted back in by faith in Jesus Christ.

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; John 8:18-19,38-47; Jude 1:5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

Those who are included in Israel today are all who have been redeemed of God by genuine faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And that means that Jesus Christ, via his death on that cross, bought us back for God (redeemed us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives in walks of surrender to him and in obedience to his New Covenant Commandments. Through God-gifted faith in Christ we are delivered from our old lives of sin so we now can live holy lives to God.

Therefore, all of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, are the redeemed of God, who were redeemed for a purpose. And that purpose is that we serve the Lord Jesus with our lives, living holy lives pleasing to him, in walks of obedience to his commands, and that daily, by the Spirit, we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh and we are putting on God’s armor.

So, we now belong to God, and he is our Owner-master, and we are his possession, and now our lives are to be given over to him to do what his will commands. And he promises to be with us and to not leave us nor forsake us through all of the trials and tribulations that we will go through in this life. And no matter how bad things may get, and they will get much worse (the Bible says so), we have to keep trusting the Lord with our lives to carry us through every difficult circumstance, which many in the world are facing.

[This was written on October 8, 2024, but it is being published on October 20th, so this was nearly two weeks ago. But this is an ongoing situation as many people lost homes, family members.]

Present Day Trials

I live in the USA. Right now some of the people of this nation are going through many hardships and trials and tribulations. Within the past two weeks we had a major hurricane (severe storm) which swept through half a dozen of our states and caused enormous damage and loss of life, homes, properties, and the basic essentials of life for many people. And now another hurricane is expected to hit the state of Florida by sometime tomorrow, and it is being reported as something that could do serious damage.

Now, this promise to the people of Israel at that time in history is not necessarily to be taken literally by Christians today, for the New Testament Scriptures definitely warn us of all kinds of trials and tribulations and destruction of properties and the taking of human lives which will occur in our lifetime, and which only are going to get much worse as we get closer to the return of Christ. And we are only promised that our Lord will carry us through these storms, but not necessarily that we will escape them.

And what I know of what the New Testament Scriptures teach on this subject, not only will God be with us and that he will not leave us, but that these trials and tribulations are for our good, to make us strong spiritually, to humble us, to purify us, to make us holy, to make us more determined to follow our Lord in obedience, and to teach us to rely on God and not on ourselves. And I know personally that the trials I have gone through in my life have drawn me closer to Christ and much determined to follow him.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

My Jesus, My Savior 

 

By Michael W. Smith

My Jesus, My Saviour,

Lord, there is none like you,

All of my days, I want to praise

The wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter, 

Tower of refuge and strength 

Let every breath, all that I am 

Never cease to worship You.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing, 

Power and majesty, praise to the King!

Mountains bow down and the seas will roar, 

At the sound of your name!

I sing for joy at the work of your hands, 

Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand 

Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSQvoinDE4 

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