FWD: Morning Manna (Dec. 13); BP: Is. 61; RBTTY: Rev. 4; Hos. 12-14

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:49:21 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Dec. 13); BP: Is. 61; RBTTY: Rev. 4; Hos. 12-14
 
December 13                                                                                       "Christ, Our Great Liberator"  
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me—because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted. . .to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are mourn. . .to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes. . .the oil of joy for mourning... the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. . .that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. . .that He might be glorified."
                                                                                                                                             Isaiah 61:1-3
      In Christ, it’s never the cavalry to the rescue; it’s always Calvary.
     A tiny, helpless, dependent, vulnerable Baby in a cow’s trough.
     A deliverer? A liberator? Someone who’d rescue those in need? Our natural eyes and minds would say, "Not hardly!" or "You’ve got to be kidding!" But, God has a way of "confounding the minds of the wise" (I Cor. 1:18-31; Is. 55:8-9), doesn’t He?
 
     Assuredly He does. And, this same God, Who specializes in the "impossible" (Gen. 18:14; Lk. 1:37), is the same God Who sent His "only-begotten, one-of-a-kind Son" into this world to become the greatest Emancipator Proclamator who’s ever lived (Jn. 3:16). That’s why we must "chew the cud" for quite a while on today’s Manna if we are to truly understand—and stand in awe of—what happened that night in Bethlehem.
 
     Jesus’ birth in the "House of Bread" that night. . .coupled with the fact that He never owned a house, never had a college education, checking or savings account, 401K, etc. . . certainly seems to disqualify Him from being on the list of "Top 10 Liberators in History."
But, that still doesn’t change things, does it?
 
     Not hardly—especially when we realize His is an "inward deliverance," not an outward one. Even though His "ministry of the interior" (as Hannah Whithall Smith called it) produces outward, visible results, Jesus’ primary mission was/is to rescue us from ourselves, sin and the forces of evil (Lk. 19:10; Eph. 6:10-13).
 
     Thus, we should not look to any other person or thing to set us free from that which enslaves us. Only, Jesus. . .God’s sinless Son. . .the "Lamb that takes away the sins of the world" (Jn. 1:29; Heb. 9:14). . .can "preach good tidings to the meek (Heb. ‘anav’—‘depressed, needy, lowly, etc.’)". . . "bind up the brokenhearted" and, as the song says, "Make the heartstrings that are broken to vibrate once more". . . "proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound," whether it be a literal or figurative prison, imposed or self-inflicted. . . "comfort all that mourn" and "give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the mantle of heaviness."
 
     Only Jesus, God’s Great Liberator, can do all that.
     And, how thankful we should be that he can and will. He’ll transform us into "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, so that others will see and glorify the Father." Isn’t this a wonderful Christmas message? Share it with someone today.