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 prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3
Wow! Just wow! This is the beautiful ministry of Jesus! And he does all of this for our benefit and His glory. Are you hurting, grieving, battling addiction or shame, feeling frustrated or weak, wanting to give up on life? Take heart. Even though this passage was written by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, it is describing Jesus! (see Luke 4:17-21) It's relevance transcends time. It was true for Isaiah and his contemporaries who never knew Jesus as we know him; it was powerfully true during the earthly ministry of Jesus; but incredibly, it is true for you and me in 2020!
My prayer today is that I would faithfully glorify the Lord as I witness his work in my life and the lives of people all around me.
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