It makes me ponder and reflect on how people view Christ today. "Oh, He's a good guy", "He taught people how to show love and care then people killed Him for it", or "He had a good message, but He wasn't God". Oh God, how much they doubted then...how much more they doubt now. God, open the eyes of people today and bring them to you! Enlighten the eyes, melt the hearts of stone, and draw masses of people to you today. This weekend, the world looks toward the Christian church. Some people get days off work, tv and radio news give brief descriptions of today's happenings, and many people actually darken the doors of local churches.
Oh, God that you would be made much of. Help people to see why today is such a "Good" day! God bring many people to yourself in this city. Use your word to impact hearts in Philadelphia. Use the mobility of your saints in the Northeast to bring people to commune with your church today and Sunday.
Reflecting on the reading for tonight's service, working on intonation of the words for a public gathering, and becoming freshly affected by the words of the prophet in the Old Testament. God gave Isaiah many glimpses of what is and what is to come, and his words resonate the tragedy that was Christ's unlawful treatment and the beauty of the Father's purpose in "crushing His Son".
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Now, I'd encourage you to read it again or if you're like me sometimes with blogs and you tend to skim/skip scripture passages, read it...really read it. Don't let the words become too familiar. Yea, you might have heard it before, but take it in, drink it in, and don't leave this page unaffected by truth.
Now that you've read it...or read it again. I'd encourage you to pray. Pray for God to help you see Christ as the all-satisfying atonement for your sin. Pray for God to melt you heart to be freshly affected by the truth of the gospel today. Pray for yourself to not be made much of today, but God. Pray for God to remind you throughout today of what He's done for you, and how that should not only affect you, but how you interact with e-v-e-r-y one around you. Pray for God to open eyes and bring people to himself. Pray for local churches around the world that they would proclaim the truth of the gospel today and this weekend.
Now take a minute...read the passage again. No, I'm serious...it's only eight verses...how much of your time could it really eat up? You're probably going to waste 60 seconds messing around with your favorite app later today anyway...so take a moment to pause, reflect, and thank God for the greatest news that you could ever be given. There's hope for sinful people like you...thank God for that. There's hope for that sinful person that you think is outside of grace...thank God for that. There's hope to live out our days in light of Christ's once-for-all atoning sacrifice...oh, thank God with me for that!
I've been long-winded, but thank God for long-windedness over grace. Here's a great song we sang a couple of weeks ago at Grace & are singing on Sunday too. He truly is the Saving One...from sin and self when we are least deserving of it. Oh, and CRANK THIS BABY UP!!
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