Lingering Doubt

Isaiah 42:1 (NET) - Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

In these words, the prophet speaks of the commissioning of a very special servant.

A servant who is yet to come.

That servant is Jesus.

It would take centuries for this prophecy to be fulfilled.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read about the time Jesus confirmed the prophecy.

Jesus goes to Nazareth and enters the synagogue.

He stands up to read and the scroll of Isaiah is handed to Him.

He looks for a particular passage and reads the words.

Luke 4:18-19 (NET) - “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus then returns the scroll.

Everyone looks at Him waiting for Him to speak.

His words astound them.

He tells them that the scripture was fulfilled even as they heard it.

At first the people are amazed.

Luke 4:22 (NET) - All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

But Jesus continues to speak.

He reminds them that “no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.”

The people are filled with rage.

They force Him out of town and threaten to throw Him down a cliff.

But Jesus passes through the crowd and goes safely on His way.

Many doubted Isaiah’s prophecy.

Especially as it took centuries to unfold.

Even those who heard the words directly from Jesus doubted.

Now, 2,000 years later, people still doubt.

But those who believe know that Jesus is our redeemer.

We know we can continue to rely upon Him.

We can speak well of Him.

We can praise Him.

As we do, we also help others overcome their doubt.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 17, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, September 24, 2021

Words and Conduct

 

Leviticus 23:32a (NET) - You must not profane my holy name,

When we think about profanity, we immediately think in terms of careless language.

The Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20 certainly warns of this.

We are commanded not to take the name of the Lord our God in vain.

But to be honest this warning from Leviticus goes beyond language.

Therefore, we must ask ourselves what the word “profane” really means.

Simply put, the verb “profane” means “treating the sacred with irreverence or disrespect”.

This certainly happens with a careless choice of words.

It also happens through a careless choice of conduct.

We must be as careful with our conduct as we are with our words.

Peter understood the importance of Christian conduct.

In fact, he pointed this out in his first letter.

1 Peter 1:15 (NET) - but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct,

Peter stated that our conduct helps make us holy.

Controlling our words can be difficult.

Controlling our conduct can be even harder.

That is why we need Christ in our lives.

He understands that love is the key to controlling both.

Love helps us choose our words.

Love also helps us determine our conduct.

In Matthew 22, an expert in the law tests Jesus by asking Him which commandment is the most important.

Jesus surprised him with a two-fold answer.

The first is to love God with all our being.

The second is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

When we fail to love God, we profane God.

When we fail to love our neighbor, we also profane God.

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) put it this way:

“Whenever you encounter one of your neighbors, regard him as yourself in another form (which he is), or indeed as God in another form, for he is the image of God, and God will be watching to see how reverently you treat him.”

Like most worthwhile things in life, we can find loving others difficult.

But God can help us.

He can help us reflect his infinite love through our words and our conduct.

He can bolster our faith and guide our steps as we move among those whom He created.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 3, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, September 10, 2021