Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV), "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn..."
Jesus echoes that statement in Luke 4:18-19.
"Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him." Acts 10:37-38 (MSG)
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV), "...and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."
Jesus says in Luke 12:28 CEV, "God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith!"
Jesus reminds us that beauty can arise out of the ashes of our circumstances if we... what?... Have Faith. Believe. Be still and know.
Jesus is God's Chosen One, sent to purify and renew the world (as explained in The Essential Study Bible CEV). In Hebrews 1:9 NAS,God is speaking of His Son. I believe God is waiting to anoint you, too. I cling to the King James Version of Psalm 23 because that's how I memorized it back in the day: "Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." The runneth over of the cup denotes gladness, to me. On me, please poureth!
Jesus, full of joy, turns back to praise God in Luke 10:21. We, too, will exude a spirit of praise when we are covered with the Holy Spirit! Despair evaporates in the Light of His Glory and Grace!
Jesus, no doubt, produced the fruit of the Spirit all throughout His ministry. He set an example for us to follow.
Isaiah 61:4 (NIV), "...They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."
Jesus died a cruel death on a cross so the ancient ruins of your past and the desolate places in your life could be restored.
All you do have to do is accept the free gift.
Trade in your sorrows for the joy of the Lord!
Posts
Don't forget to Stop, Drop and Pray. You can copy and paste this link...
ReplyDeletehttp://shellysc.blogspot.com/2010/05/shelly-says-stop-drop-and-pray.html
...or go to the archives in the green box, click on May 3, then Stop, Drop and Pray.
How do YOU see Jesus fulfilling the promises of Isaiah 61:1-4?
(There are so many examples)
How did you answer the other study questions?
What does it mean to you that God sent His only Son so that you have the option of simply trading in your sorrows and sin?
Do you have any other comments you'd like to share?
Two comments I'd like to share -
ReplyDelete1) What does Beth mean by legalism? The first time she used it was in regard to one of the kings when God extended his life by 15 yrs. I thought it meant good works because the king thought that he was kept on earth to do good and to show God how he was worshipping him. But then later when she used the term,she said it stops our enjoyment of God's presence. So now I'm confused. Anybody want to help me out??
2) I just happened to be using a bookmark that has the Beatitudes on it (Matt 5:3-12) and I noticed how it seems to parallel our memory verse from Isaiah 61. And by the way, I'm not doing too well on the memorization. I would love to get some tips.I looked up the Beatitudes in my study Bible and there was the referral - right back to Isa 61: 2-3!
That's it for me today. Sometimes I need more than a day to mull over the study questions!
Hi everyone! Let's get a discussion going on this legalism thing!
ReplyDeleteSue, I think that the term legalism in our study does refer to "good works." The problem, to me, isn't the good works. The problem comes in when we allow good works to define our salvation. We are Children of the King because of Christ... that's it... period. In Christ alone, we are saved... not because of our good works.
When we rely on our good works to get us to heaven... we are putting our faith and trust in what we do. When we rely on Christ alone and know that our salvation comes from His blood, we are putting our faith and trust in what God has done.
Too cool about the bookmark! I think that's God giving you a glimpse of His glory! He is able to orchestrate something as simple as a bookmark landing in your hands at just the right time!
Thank you for blessing me with your reference to the Beatitudes!
I hope you received the helpful tips for Scripture memorization!
Oh, and two more things... you may want to write down the study questions and things that stick out to you/are unanswered... maybe in a journal. This may help you remember what you're still "mulling over."
ReplyDeleteAlso, take this study at your own pace. If you feel like God is asking you to spend some more time on one particular thing or lesson... camp there. Let Him work gently within you. The lessons, comments and blog posts will all be here when you're ready!