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To Deliver the Broken
Andrea Lende • September 17, 2020
Luke 4:18
To Deliver the Broken
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/To-Deliver-the-Broken-ejq33q
Daily Word:
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],”
After Jesus was baptized and spent forty days in the desert being tempted, He went to the synagogue to teach.
He opened the scroll to Isaiah and read the words in our verse.
He was, indeed, sent by God to release the captives and deliver the oppressed.
The Amplified Bible’s interpretation for the word oppressed is those “who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity”.
Jesus was sent for the downtrodden.
He was sent for the bruised.
For the crushed.
And for the broken.
Many of us fit into more than one category.
Some of us fit into all of them.
Life is difficult at best.
It is filled with wonderful and beautiful moments.
But there are also times of great difficulty.
We are living in them.
These days are different and difficult for most of us.
Jesus came two thousand years ago to deliver the poor, afflicted, blind, crushed, and broken.
He also came to deliver us today.
His death on the cross gives us life and hope.
His death on the cross gives us a relationship with Him and His Father.
His death on the cross gives us grace.
As calamity abounds, He saves us.
Our circumstances may not be perfect at the moment.
They may be wrought with difficulty, but the Lord is with us through all of it.
Today I am thankful that Jesus came to deliver all of us from the brokenness of this world.
May you find hope and life and deliverance through Jesus Christ as He is with us even today.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for sending Your Son to deliver me from all brokenness. Thank You for choosing me to know You and learn of You. Thank You for being able to sit at Your feet and be restored over and over again. No matter how many times my spirit breaks You lift me to You and Your Spirit. Thank You, Father, for always bringing me back to You. Thank You for loving me through every difficulty and every failure. You see my heart. You see me as Yours. Thank You for grafting me into Your fold. Strengthen me as trials come my way. Equip me to do Your work. Help me serve You, Lord, and do as You ask of me. Help me be obedient in every way. Do not let me shy away from Your will. For thine be the glory. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: My Son gave His life to deliver you and all My people so that you could be Mine.
Response: Undeservedly Yours, Lord, thank You, and may I be forever Yours.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.