Isaiah 61:1–2: “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; / To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,”

September 24th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

When Jesus was about 30 years old, He was invited to read from the scrolls on the Sabbath in His hometown synagogue of Nazareth. He turned to these verses in Isaiah 61, read them, and then preached His first sermon, announcing His ministry. If there was any question as to who Jesus’ ministry would be focused on, these verses answered it. To the spiritually poor, He would share the Good News. To those with broken hearts, He would bring healing. To the captive in prison, He would offer liberty and freedom.

Who Jesus came for and what He offers is the same today as it was 2000 years ago. He desires for us all to be free and healed so that we can become whole people of God. As Oswald Chambers said:

The Spirit of God is always the spirit of liberty . . . God who made the birds never made birdcages; it is men who make birdcages, and after a while we become cramped and can do nothing but chirp and stand on one leg. When we get out into God’s great free life, we discover that that is the way God meant us to live “the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

When we are surrender to God and He sets us free, we suddenly discover we have wings that allow us to fly. Then He points us to the world, a huge place filled with many cages, and tells us to bring this Good News to others. Now is the acceptable time of the Lord for freedom and healing.

“LORD, thank You for setting us free and remind us this day to share that Good News with others.”