Daily Devotions – Jesus comes, bringing Comfort

Daily Devotions – Jesus comes, bringing Comfort

Photo by Ester Marie Doysabas on Unsplash

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed 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, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 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. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

 

Luke 4:17-19 (NIV)
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

 

Choose one or two key verses from the Scripture reading in 2 Corinthians today and do at least one of the following for your chosen verse(s).
A –  Ask questions of the text (Who, what, why, where, when)
– Emphasize certain words as you read the text over & over
I  –  In your own words (paraphrase one or more verses)
O  – Other verses in the Bible that say the same or opposite
U  – Use it; apply the truth from the text in your life

 

Lord, I have all kinds of wounds and past hurts. It is Your plan for me to hand them over to You so You can, in return, give me Your beauty. What a precious gift. Why is it then, that I struggle to let go of my past hurts? Please take them all. Allow me to receive Your beauty by displaying it in my life. Help me be like an oak of righteousness in the ways that please you by loving others. Let Your beauty shine through me in ways that display Your Glory. Amen.