"Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.'" - Luke 14:21. Recently this verse has been a great comfort to me, for I realize that I am poor, crippled, blind and lame.
I have also been spending lots of time in Isaiah 61. "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 broken hearted, 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 favour, the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn."
I used to read these verses and pray, 'Yes LORD, use me to bring good news to the poor here in Winnipeg, use me to bind up the broken hearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives, use me to comfort those who mourn.' Lately, however, I have realized that I am poor in spirit, and I am broken hearted. Many things hold me captive, and I am often in considerable need of comfort.
In Luke 4 Jesus visits his home town of Nazareth and preaches Isaiah 61, proclaiming that it is fulfilled in him. Jesus came to set people like me free! Hallelujah! The Spirit of the LORD God is upon him to do the work of rescuing people like me. That is wonderfully good news.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:3
Thank-you LORD Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment