"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed...." (Luke 4:18, from today's Gospel reading)
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,..." to do everything you and I need, everything. So why do so many lack so much?
Jesus is for, "....the poor;...the brokenhearted,..the captives..., the blind,...the oppressed...," and in Jesus' being for for us, He does our text. The declaration encompasses our whole being. Jesus is Our Complete Provider. If these Words apply to any reading this, I remind us all that Jesus is for us. This text is for you and me today, "to have and to hold." Just as Jesus provided for Mary and John from His Cross, Jesus is the "Always Providing One."
If you and I do not accept these Words, well, we just need to remind ourselves that God is He, "....who cannot lie...." Maybe what is needed for us, at least at times, is the persistence of the widow before the judge. The Word for, "wear me out," in the passage literally means, "to hit under the eye." Could, "....take it by force," apply to some of us?
Don't be discouraged, my friend. Those long awaited Promises of the Savior are yours and mine. Maybe we need to "suck it up" and once again do what we did so long ago-- remember? We believed Jesus. We "pressed in" to Jesus. That child-like faith did so much, didn't it. Rekindle it, in Jesus' Name!
Father, in Jesus' Name, be will all who are worn out. Renew them in Your Words, Your Holy Spirit. May that anointing, which You said is our too, be upon us all, the anointing to obey, receive and walk in. Amen.
*****************
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
