The Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord
has anointed me/
to bring good news
to the poor;
he has sent me to
bind up the brokenhearted
to proclaim
liberty to the captives,
and the opening of
the prisoners to those who are bound.
Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)
The prophet Isaiah spoke these words. Isaiah was
commissioned by God to prophesy to the people of Judah. They did not care for
what he told them.
In our focus verse, two ideas come through. Isaiah speaks of
his mission as a prophet and, yet, in another sense, this passage looks forward
to the Messiah. Jesus quotes these words in Luke 4:18.
Jesus brought freedom (liberty) to each of his spiritual
children. I once heard a guest preacher speak of those caught in sin as being
in “bondage”. In today’s world, we see a lot of people entangled in sinful
practices. Jesus mandates those who believe in Him to carry His Word to those
who are poor, broken-hearted, incarcerated, and those who are in bondage.
As believers in Christ, we are commissioned to carry His Word to this fallen and hurting world.
Dear Father God: Please guide us as we go through our days.
Help us to walk with you. Show us how You want us to present Your Word to our
hurting fallen world. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen
Great post Cecelia, sensitive to God's heart. Thank God, there are many ways to carry His Word into this broken world, often without speech :)
ReplyDeleteMarja: Last night at church a young woman came back seeking Jesus because the way she had been trying to live was not really helping her. Those in attendance welcomed her and loved her. She even said that whenever she returns after staying away, she feels loved. Please pray for her.
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