Friday 18 Jul 2014

July 18: Isaiah 61:1-3

Key Verse: Isaiah 61:1
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Devotion:
God spoke to the prophets to give the people of Israel instruction and guidance. He continues to show us that same instruction and guidance because it is right. We are the ones who choose whether we are going to follow that instruction or not. These words were brought to life by Jesus when He lived them out during His time on earth and He fulfilled what God had said to the prophets. It is no secret that God gave instruction. It is no secret and we have our bibles. But linking the two facts together just does not seem to gel in many people’s minds!

There are times when I have wondered what I would have done if I was alive when Jesus came to live amongst us in human form… Would I have been one of the zealous people that refused to believe that He was fulfilling the prophecies, or would I have been one to follow Him, or could I have even been one to reject it all? I guess I would have done the same as I do nowadays… I know God is real because He has done so much for me, but it is not just the experience that I base my belief on. I believe because I can see how all the prophecies have come to life and have been fulfilled. I believe because I can see my bible as being the truth and the word of God.

Jesus did not waste His time by coming and being killed. He came to set us free from our sinful lives through which we are condemned because of the rules that God set down in the beginning. Jesus came to teach man that the scriptures were and are the truth. Jesus came to show us how it was all possible even if we could not fully understand it. We may still struggle with interpreting the scriptures and understanding God, but it is the truth still and will always remain the truth.

Christ did this for us all, from the strongest to the weakest and wants us to continue on by reminding people of this truth whenever we can. He wants us to spread the Gospel so that more people will accept it as the truth and be able to be set free by this truth. Jesus set’s us free. But in order for that to happen we have to believe. How can we believe unless we are told the truth? How can others know this same truth unless we keep on telling it?
 
Points to Ponder:
Are you telling others about God?

Do you share God’s Word?