This week, Michael write
that Mama always said, "Be careful who your friends are, because whatever
they're like you'll be like." According to Scripture, "bad
company corrupts good morals." In our Christian "brotherhood & sisterhood,"
I'm here because you're here. You make others want to be a better man or
woman. The Christian ministry is a Journey for men and women who want to abide
with Christ. The Prophet Isaiah received revelation about Jesus' mission.
Isaiah 61:1-3 says, “The
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that
are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all that 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.”
Jesus Christ came to fulfill
this prophecy. He defined His mission by opening His ministry with a quote
from this passage in Luke 4: 17-19. At His first
coming He came "to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord." He will fulfill the rest of this
prophecy at His second coming. Jesus' mission was to "Proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them
that are bound...to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." As
we grow in our vertical relationship with Christ, our intimate relationship
with Christ allows us to live graciously and lovingly with the ones we
love.
According to Matthew
28:19-20, the Great Commission is, "Go ye therefore into all the world and make disciples of all men,
baptizing them ....and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world."
In Acts.
1:8, the disciples asked Jesus when he would return. Jesus said,
"that's in God's timing, but you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my
witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and unto the uttermost part of the
world." The witness is in the new life in Christ when He is the
object of our faith. We've been sanctified, and set apart for His purpose
when we enter into His presence. Oswald Chambers said the "rugged
reality" is redemption in Christ. For we've been bought with a
price. We're no longer our own, but Christ lives in us and through us when
He calls us according to His purpose. After Jesus said that you'll be my
witnesses, He was lifted up out of their sight.
We're witnesses by how we
react to the difficult times in our lives. Through our trials others will see
that He is our peace through the storm ... that He's the healer of broken
hearts. Continuing in Acts 1, As the disciples were looking up, two men in
white asked them, "Why are you
looking intently into the sky? He will come again in like manner."
Our hope is in looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Meanwhile, He's called us to
fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. If our commitment is to the
Great Commission, things that used to bother us no longer matter. Hurts and
disappointments no longer turn into bitterness and resentment. We take on the
new nature of our Resurrected Lord. His nature is grace, mercy, forgiveness and
love. Our witness is to walk in the newness of life. Upon this journey to
abide with Him and to walk with Him, He will change our hearts to be witnesses
of the gospel of Christ.
May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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