Letting Christ Transform You From The Inside Out
The following passage was written by the prophet Isaiah (who spoke the words of God) as God showed him his vision for humans. These words were written about a future person who would be anointed by God and who would make this vision become a reality in our lives.
"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 favorand the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, 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.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated."
When Jesus was ready to begin his official ministry (after his baptism, battle with Satan in the desert, and anointing by God's Spirit) and while he was attending the temple worship, he was asked to read this scroll (Isaiah 61 above) to the congregation. See what the bible tells us about this event in Luke's gospel below:
"Jesus returned to Galilee in the
power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
He taught in their synagogues, and
everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he
had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was
his custom. And he stood up to read. The
scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
Unrolling it, he found the place
where it is written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor.
Then he rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the
synagogue were fastened on him, and
he began by saying to them,
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." "
The gospel of Luke does not include the whole portion of the scripture Jesus read. That's why it has been included above for you. After reading this in front of everyone, Jesus validated that "he" is the "one" who is anointed by God to fulfill God's vision for us in Isaiah 61.
Questions to reflect on: Since the above is true, how might you look at yourself through Jesus' eyes? Or, how does God see you and what did Jesus come to do for you?
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Some of this comes from "The Truth Project" (www.thetruthproject.org):
Satan, also known as Lucifer,
was one of the most "brilliant and beautiful" angels. In fact, he was an
Archangel. He had command of ALL the heavenly host of heaven. Apparently,
he allowed himself to develop an insidious pride and felt entitled to having
control over everything else as well! When God made man, Lucifer thought he would have the command of man too!
When he found out from God that man had FREE WILL and could make CHOICES, i.e.
the choice to love and trust God, he was very very angry. Lucifer
wanted to control man, and because he was jealous of this new creation that God
loved so much, he also wanted to hurt man. So, he
challenged God. "CHOICE...What Is Choice??? They don't have a choice; you've protected them from everything
and provided everything for them. So God let Lucifer visit with them and God let man choose...and the rest is history.
Yet, all was not lost. Somehow, in his timeless understanding and his sovereign
purpose, God knew that man could become something even greater through this
hardship. God knew that many people would respond to the power of love (the
blood of Jesus on the cross) and would choose to love him back and want to live
with him forever. God knew the good that man was capable of. So, he sent
Adam and Eve outside of Eden....into "time"...to learn lessons and develop. Since they
chose to follow Lucifer (and in a sense, who we choose to trust is our "real"
father) they would learn what life under Lucifer as a father was like. Someone
parented by Lucifer's principles will always feel accused, full of shame and
guilty. Instead of being secure enough to take responsibility for their
actions, they will blame others. With Lucifer, nothing is ever enough! He
always wants more. And....he dares to portray God this way.
That's the life that a person who is separated from God lives. That's Lucifer's
goal. Controlling man, who is made in God's image, is what Lucifer wants.
God knew their lives would now be hard. Yet, he knew that they would
develop spiritually this way. They would learn to call on God and learn to seek
His input. Remember, they didn't seek His input when Satan tempted them. They
just did what "felt" right and "looked" right. Now they would learn just like a
child learns in order to become an adult. And, hopefully, before they crossed
over from "time" into "timelessness" they would make another choice, a different
one: the choice to listen to God's call, to turn to Him, to trust Him enough to
humbly admit their sins, to humbly accept Jesus' blood in place for their sins,
to mercifully let Jesus' blood also pay for "blood" they want from others who
have hurt them, and thus, to joyfully
have access to and eat from the Tree of Life in Eternity and live with God in the New Eden.
Additional scriptures to reference:
Genesis 1:27; John 8:34-37; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:21-25; Romans 5:8-9
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