Dear Family and Friends,

Have you ever wondered what God has planned for your life? I imagine we all have at one time or another.

We know that Ephesians 2:10 NIV says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

The word ‘handiwork’ comes from the Greek word poiēma which means – a work that was crafted by skilled hands. We were crafted to do good works. And like an artisan whose crafts are never exactly alike, God has crafted us for a purpose unlike those of others. His plans for us, prepared in advance, are unique. It’s ours.

Yet knowing this, we assess our skills and knowledge and try to imagine ourselves being of some use to God, usually by comparing ourselves to others, which by the way, is never a good idea.

I wonder how many of us end up telling God, ‘Really? I sure don’t feel worthy enough to be Your handiwork.’

We easily find fault in ourselves, and convince our inner selves that we are not good enough. Or we make up excuses like – we are not yet ready.

For those who feel this way, let me share a true story from the Bible.

The story begins with a man having a lustful affair with an ungodly foreigner. Together they have three sons.

He marries off his first son. But because of the son’s wickedness, the Lord puts him to death before they can start their family.

The father then directs his second son to go to his sister-in-law, and have children on behalf of his brother. But because the second son refuses by sinfully practicing birth control, he too is put to death by the Lord.

The father’s quest for grandchildren comes to a halt. The third son is too young to marry so the man tells the widow to wait. But it’s all a lie. After losing two sons to this woman, he has no intention of jeopardizing his remaining son.

Well the widow eventually realizes that her father-in-law deceived her. So one day, she dresses like a prostitute and positions herself to meet him. Not knowing who she really was, he consummates the transaction and not only pledges to pay her but gets her pregnant! With twins!

This sordid story can be found in Genesis 38. If they made this into a movie, a PG-13 rating would be generous. And by the way, the father’s name was Judah.

Yes, this was ‘that’ Judah we’ve all heard of. He was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. The ring leader who suggested selling off their kid brother Joseph saying, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers listened to him.” Genesis 37:26-27 ESV

Judah was not exactly a model of the God fearing person we all strive to be. But did Judah’s sinful track record stop God from fulfilling His plans, which included Judah?

Nope, for this was also ‘that’ Judah who the Kingdom of Judah was named after.

He was ‘that’ Judah whose lineage fathered the great King David.

Which also means he was ‘that’ Judah named in the messianic lineage of Jesus the Messiah. See Matthew 1:3.

So, what can we learn from this story? How does this relate to the plans God has for us?

Our God plays many roles in our lives. He is our Creator, Father, Rock, Comforter, Provider, Defender, and more.

Today, we’ll look at our God the Redeemer, Who says, “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22 NIV

Do you recall me saying earlier that it was not a good idea to compare ourselves to others? Well, if you must, try comparing yourself to the indiscretions of Judah.

I hope you’re feeling better. But can I share that it gets even better.

Take another look at the last sentence from Isaiah 44:22 which has God saying, “Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Do you notice God says the word ‘for’ and not ‘then’? He does not say, “Return to me, then I will redeem you.”

Friends, we worship a God that just will not stop loving us. It does not matter what we have done, it’s in the past. It’s gone in the eyes of our Lord.

Can I encourage us to allow it to be gone in our eyes too? Allow ourselves to be free of any burdens of guilt or inadequacy we may carry. God will redeem our bad choices.

Now, can I encourage us to love God back? How so?

Worshipping and praying is good but according to James it’s not enough.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 NIV

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17 NIV

“You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” James 2:24 NIV

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:26 NIV

Let me share what Judah did that was pleasing to the Lord.

He twice offered himself as a sacrifice for his youngest brother Benjamin. The first was when Judah offered to bear any blame if his aging father would allow him to take Benjamin to Egypt.

The second was when Benjamin was about to be taken as a slave in Egypt, Judah stepped in to take his place.

For the full account of this story, please read Genesis 44.

Judah did what was pleasing to our Lord. We should be moved to do the same.

So now that we know we should be doing something, what exactly are we to do?

This quote from C.S. Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity, may help us better understand God’s plan for us and our role in it.

“If you picture Time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn. We come to the parts of the line one by one: we have to leave A behind before we get to B, and cannot reach C until we leave B behind. God, from above or outside or all round, contains the whole line, and sees it all.”

Imagine that we are each on a line, experiencing the line one moment at a time. We can remember the part of the line we passed and we can see the spot on which we stand. What we cannot see are the parts of the line to come.

Only God sees the whole line. Only God sees where it leads. Only God sees where our line intersects with the lines of others. And may we be comforted that God is always watching over us on our line.

Our role, quite simply, is to walk on the line set out before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. Taking one step at a time. Obeying His wishes and commands. Being ready when called upon as our line intersects with another’s line.

Our God is all seeing and all knowing. He knows where He is taking us. Any guess on our part as to where that will be, will only be a guess.

Judah was redeemed by God. And in response, he acted when the Lord needed him.

Can we be encouraged to do the same?

In love always,