Isaiah 61
"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.
Do you ever sit back and think about why Jesus came when He did, and why He preached how He preached? He came during a simpler uncomplicated time period, and His preaching was simple, powerful, and pure.
Jesus drew people because He preached in demonstration and power. The Bible says He made of Himself of no reputation. Jesus didn't need to promote Himself or His ministry. Phil.2:7
The depraved, desperate, and ones needing deliverance saught Him out because of the power of His word and the compassion of His heart. Jesus used word pictures that were relevant to the times but not over the top. He spoke clearly about the Kingdom of God, Heaven and Hell, sin, and the devil. He spoke about fisherman, farmers, athletes, etc.. to prove His points. He spoke as the Savior, the Son of God, the Son of Man, The Word and on and on. There was nothing ever sensual or entertaining about His ministry or style, He gave the world what they needed--the Truth and He gave it in simplicity. One thing about the times we live in is that the demands on our time are greater and that sometimes results in our attention spans are prone to becoming are short. Sometimes we want what we want quickly and with as many bells and whistles as we can stand, is anything wrong with lights, cameras, and action of course not, but the problem arises in how we respond when those things are not present or are present and don't work. Can you still press through when the sound goes out during praise and worship, or what if the dry ice doesn't get blown in the right direction as scripted? Do we need to be relevant in this time period absolutely, but we need to also by mindful to keep our attenion focused on Christ and not on the toys that may or may not be available whenever the Gospel is presented. One thing is true, if you have to be entertained to accept the Gospel chances are you will have to be entertained to stay with the Gospel. Be thankful for all the creative ways there are to present the Gospel, but keep yourself from relying on them to entertain you. Church services or just someone talking to us on the street about Christ should captivate us because of the Word being preaced or spoken and not so much in the presentation as a whole. written by Marva Johnson
For the LORD Takes Pleasure in His People..Ps. 149:4
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Prayer for Everyone
God Bless You
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