Isaiah 61
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor
He has sent Me
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and
the opening of the prison to those who are bound
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn
To grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit
That they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord,
that He may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
We went to the National Gallery of Art as a family vacation. And came upon a quiet room displaying The Descent from the Cross by Rembrandt Van Rijn. The room was slightly dark, the light was coming from the Portrait of Jesus. We all 4 walked to the painting. Our faces up to Jesus, being tenderly lowered in weakened and quiet death. And our son burst into tears. Streaming down his face, "How could they do this to JESUS? The blind see. The deaf hear. How. Could they do this to Jesus?"
And we hugged him. More people came up to the portrait. They wept. One woman said, it is so real and so tragic. She wept. As we left the room in a few moments, another viewer came up to the woman and put a hand on her weeping back.
The faces of the mourners, were our faces.
They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks
Foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.
For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God
will cause righteousness
and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
Later in the June weekend, we came back to the Portrait of Jesus, and other people were weeping before Jesus.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
We witness in Jesus His Life on Good Friday. We face the loss of Jesus and know again how much we want The Lord in all of our life.
On Good Friday, the Loss of His Ministry on earth causes us to want more of Jesus.
John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true Light, which gives Light to everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become Children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
I had a long conversation today with family today. We were discussing the after Pandemic world. He was telling me about a friend who lost $30,000 in a costly, special purpose, camera suitcase. The man was recently divorced and was leaving the country, his dog and had this one suitcase of his photographic equipment. And in this man's sorrow and distraction, he left the suitcase in a parking lot after retrieving one piece of the equipment. And they were all charged with the horror of this situation for a man feeling the world had left him plunged into darkness after the loss of his beloved spouse. And without hope, they posted on NextDoor and Facebook. While repeatedly returning to the parking lot. About 2 hours later, they were asked to return to the huge city parking lot to have the suitcase returned intact. No reward was accepted.
And in our area, people write about having two jobs for the first time. A divorce. An eight-year-old daughter who just wants a Barbie Birthday. And seeing a 100 people offering their Barbies and bakers who will make a free Barbie Cake. A Barbie bicycle belonging to their child. An elderly couple inviting the divorced mother to come to Walmart and pick out Barbie things. And in fact, this generosity led to an overwhelming overflow of Love for the child and her mother. Posts came back of the gifts and donations.
We see animals loved and cared for that never would have happened during my childhood years. People are hungry to love and cherish one another and their pets.
And yet, so many will tell you of the day-to-day disappointment with grumpy people in their small and more care worn paths and lives. Not the joy of sunny days from all ages, remembering a less care worn world. Even Baby Boomers, Millennials and all the Generation named age groups will tell you of people and families with fewer worries. The exponential rise of the cost of necessities in the last 30 years. Especially since the Pandemic. A fear of the future imposed on each life.
Good Friday reminds us of our need for His Mercy,
His Forgiveness and our repentance in adding to the difficulties in His Path and the people surrounding us. We need Jesus and we acknowledge and bewail manifold our sins and wickedness.
I was asked if I see hope for the future.
I do. More people are awake to the forces of Good in Jesus Christ and the evil of His absence. The Bible bears witness to the pendulum of each generation finding out we need Jesus and His Love, Mercy and Shelter based upon what they can see and put hands on in their lifetime.
Abba, Father,
Life assures us the road has sharp turns,
Unforeseen corners and the comments do not cease.
Jesus Himself tells us
He is the way, the truth and the Life.
Know the Scriptures,
Know the Power of God.
And we will believe in the One He has Sent.
Surely, He took on our infirmities
and carried our sorrows;
yet, we considered Him stricken by God,
struck down and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace
was upon Him,
and by His stripes
we are healed.
Each Day we are Blessed
to ask for more
More Heaven on earth.
More Give us This Day.
More Daily Bread.
The Universe is upheld
by the
Power of Your Word.
May The Lord God Almighty
His Son Jesus
surround and uphold us
in This Peace.
The Peace is Upheld by God Himself
and
we ask
His Blessing and Favor.
Gently, we hand You our Cares
knowing Your Hands hold
this so well.
Tenderly.
And we are Loved and Filled.
We give thanks for
Your Sacrifice
to bring those unworthy
to be adopted into Your Family.
Knowing we are not perfect,
have weakness,
flaws
and sins.
And draw near to you with confidence
in Jesus Christ
according to Your Will
Your Word
Your Steadfast Love
and Your Promises in Jesus.
Dwell in us
and help us to be Pleasing to You
Dwell in those we Love and Honor
and help us to seek You first
and we will end well in Jesus Christ.
In the Highest Name
of Jesus Christ,
Amen
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
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