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;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”--Isaiah 61:1-3
To My Beloved Daughters:
Jesus quoted this passage (ending in the middle of verse two...to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord) at the synagogue in Nazareth right after His time of temptation in the desert. After He finished reading He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down...all eyes were fixed on Him and He said to them, "Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." This was an unambiguous claim that He was the Messiah who fulfilled prophecy. His hearers correctly understood His claim and His meaning and when they heard these things they rose up and thrust Him out of the city, leading Him to the brow of the Hill on which their city was built so that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Jesus passed through the midst of them and went His way. Wow...
The Spirit of God dwells in us and is with us! As believers, we have been sealed...we are always and forever His. We have been justified by faith and are at peace with our God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! Scripture tells us this in Romans 5:
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
I can walk in His strength, His grace and His power without fear because His perfect love casts out all fear. I am not destined to wrath but to eternal life in Heaven with my God. I have been saved by grace through faith to fulfill His will for me. I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that I should walk in them.
Like Jesus, I am to set my face like flint and focus on the race that He has laid before me. I am to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares me and run with endurance...looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of my faith who for the joy (us) that was set before Him endured the cross. Beloved, this kind of love...God's love...has been shed abroad in our hearts. Surrender to it and in His strength do as Jesus did:
Preach good tidings to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives...open the door of the prison to those who are bound, and comfort all who mourn. Bring the message of the gospel of peace to those around you and in so doing give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. God will work through you to sow fields and plant vineyards...and yield a fruitful harvest.
May this, Father, be the desires of our hearts...
