"The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has aniointed me to proclaim 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 favor and the day of vengenace 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 joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:1-3 NIVJohn Eldredge said, "There are few passages in Scripture more beautiful and more promising than this one. This is the very passage Jesus chose to announce his purposes as recorded in Luke Chapter 4. He stands in the synagogue to read. They hand him the scroll of Isaiah, all eyes on the incarnate God himself, and he selects this passage to declare his and his Father's purposes for the human race. For you, your humanity."
"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."He goes on to say, "Jesus is our Deliverer and our Healer. The two go hand in hand. Because it often takes lifting spiritual oppression to get us into deeper experiences of Jesus. And those deeper experiences are what usher in our healing. Deep experiential union with Jesus is not something that comes easily to most people - because it is opposed. Many of you know exactly what I mean. As John of the Cross reminded us, "the devil fears a soul in union with God as he fears God himself." Which means that our intimacy with Jesus, every precious experience with Him, is something that must be protected and often fought for.
"To make this clear, the metaphor of shepherd leading us to green pastures is used once in the Psalms - once - whereas the metaphor of war is used more than a hundred times. Ignorance of this reality is what keeps most people from deeply experiencing Jesus and, through Him, healing and deliverance. You live in a love story, but it is set in a very dangerous war.
"Listen to Jesus as he describes our situation:
Matthew 10:16 NIV
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves."
""Sheep among wolves" is a very serious situation. If those sheep don't find shelter, they are going to get hurt. Which is why the mystics and all who would be like them seek to live a consecrated life. We don't want to give our enemy any opportunies in our lives, no open doors. And so we practice the simple and beautiful act of consecration and cleansing.
"Step one is to bring everything of your humanity back under his authority and into him, into Christ. Step two is to then cleanse your humanity with the blood of Jesus. Let's give this a try.
Matthew 10:16 NIV
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves."
""Sheep among wolves" is a very serious situation. If those sheep don't find shelter, they are going to get hurt. Which is why the mystics and all who would be like them seek to live a consecrated life. We don't want to give our enemy any opportunies in our lives, no open doors. And so we practice the simple and beautiful act of consecration and cleansing.
Romans 12 NIV"We are urged by God to present our bodies to him in an act of consecration. This is a good example of how we put ourselves into position to receive the wonderful experience of Jesus described in Isaiah 61. If we wnat to experience the victory of Jesus, the restoration of our humanity in a particular area of our life, we need to bring that part of our life deeply into his care, under his rule, and into his kingdom. Learning to consecrate things will become a very important part of your life in Jesus.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.
"Step one is to bring everything of your humanity back under his authority and into him, into Christ. Step two is to then cleanse your humanity with the blood of Jesus. Let's give this a try.
Lord Jesus, I belong to you. You have purchased my life with your blood, so I return my life to you. I rededicate and reconsecrate every aspect of my life to you. I consecrate to you my spirit, soul, and body; my mind, my thoughts, all my mental life; my emotions and heartaches, all my heart's life. I consecrate to you my will and this body, which is your temple. I cleanse myself with your blood. I cleanse my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind and will - all that is within me. Let your blood wash away every claim of the enemy. Let your Holy Spirit sanctify me through and through. I especially consecrate and cleanse our union, Jesus, and my ability to hear you, see you, and experience you."Now, is there any specific part of your life you need to cleanse and bring back into Jesus?"
If this speaks to you - there is so much more! To have our 9 year old wiping tears because they heard Jesus speak eternal words to them - can you imagine.
This song (attached below) came to me supernaturally. I sleep with "brown noise" playing from YouTube on my phone on my nightstand (I know...I know, someone will protest that's bad but it is what it is). The brown noise is a 12 hour video and I don't sleep long so I don't ever come near to the end. Two mornings ago the brown noise turned off suddenly and began playing drums. I had already been awake and I laid there with my brows furrowed trying to understand the sound I was hearing. This song began to play and the tears came. What a way to wake up!! It came at a time when our oldest is in great decision period...with strong desires to join the military after they serve in an orphanage in Africa. They play the trumpet and were the leader of their marching band last year. They have dressed like the leader of the band since they were six years old and asked for that costume which coincidentally looks like a military uniform.
JESUS!!! You are Awesome.
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