Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! Isaiah 43:3 The Message

Sometimes you need an image to realize what God has truly accomplished in your life. Exiles and refugees don’t exactly view themselves as being priceless. They often live in fear of being caught and having nothing to live on. In today’s language this is called cheap labor. You’re hired to do the job done for far less than you are worth. And you’re supposed to be grateful you get something. The Israelites were treated that way long before Christ, the Savior, was born. They were exiled because their “God” was angry with them. The few left behind were homeland refugees fending for themselves. They weren’t a threat to anybody. All they had was a Holy Promise, by a Holy God, and His Word that a Savior was on the way.

What are you worth? More than you could ever imagine. God could have “bought” you for pennies on the dollar, and yet, He emptied His treasury through His Son. His life became the buy-back price. High price? When you think about His life and blood and how it paid for every second of your life, every sin, and every day until you see Him face to face, inexhaustible riches means God can never exhaust His generosity of grace. The Apostle Paul never got over what the riches of Christ did in his life. When you’ve been infected with the grace of God, you won’t either. You’ll change, however slowly, because Jesus paid you up. Were you worth it? God can’t stop smiling over all His purchases. You’re alive today with a story to share. It only takes a moment…

And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Ephesians 3:8-9 The Message

Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! Isaiah 43:3 The Message

Sometimes you need an image to realize what God has truly accomplished in your life. Exiles and refugees don’t exactly view themselves as being priceless. They often live in fear of being caught and having nothing to live on. In today’s language this is called cheap labor. You’re hired to do the job done for far less than you are worth. And you’re supposed to be grateful you get something. The Israelites were treated that way long before Christ, the Savior, was born. They were exiled because their “God” was angry with them. The few left behind were homeland refugees fending for themselves. They weren’t a threat to anybody. All they had was a Holy Promise, by a Holy God, and His Word that a Savior was on the way.

What are you worth? More than you could ever imagine. God could have “bought” you for pennies on the dollar, and yet, He emptied His treasury through His Son. His life became the buy-back price. High price? When you think about His life and blood and how it paid for every second of your life, every sin, and every day until you see Him face to face, inexhaustible riches means God can never exhaust His generosity of grace. The Apostle Paul never got over what the riches of Christ did in his life. When you’ve been infected with the grace of God, you won’t either. You’ll change, however slowly, because Jesus paid you up. Were you worth it? God can’t stop smiling over all His purchases. You’re alive today with a story to share. It only takes a moment…

And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Ephesians 3:8-9 The Message

When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end— Isaiah 43:2 The Message

Why does the Lord remind us constantly who He is? He was always reminding His covenant-breaking family when they turned to empty gods and even emptier promises. God knows exactly what we are feeling and thinking when we wander off the path. When the covenant-drifters ran into a dead-end, they would ask and beg for God’s forgiveness and promise not to stray again. But they would. He knows without Him, without faith in Him, without trusting Him, we will run aground, just like they did over and over. God should have walked away, let em go, and maybe call the whole thing a bust. How many times did He remind them, and even clear the way back for their lives? How many times will He remind you? 

Jesus described how much we are to forgive when someone asks as 70 x 70. It is an unimaginable number. Without Him, without faith in Him, without trusting Him, others will reach the end of your rope, and you’ll let them go. You’ll think you’ve done your part, exhausted your patience, and just say no more. A long time ago, the Lord promised men and women just like you, He would not let go. He would be with them when life, sin, and chaos would overwhelm them. He knew the condition of their hearts and how messed up life becomes away from Him. He found them, rescued them, redeemed them, and restored them. He hasn’t changed the formula. They wondered what their Redeemer looked like, you don’t have to. Jesus is at the end of your rope. It only takes a moment … 

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. Matthew 5:3 The Message