Freedom Starts Now - Day 54 Month 2-23 Week 8 Day 5

 Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)


Exodus 28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2028&version=NIV

Isaiah 41:17-42:13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2041%3A17-42%3A13&version=NIV

Mark 5:1-20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205%3A1-20&version=NIV


Freedom Starts Now


I have some questions.  Who can be described as:

  • Having God’s Spirit

  • A person of peace

  • Gentle

  • Not being disheartened

  • Establishing justice on earth

  • A new covenant to the people

  • A light to the nations

  • Opening blind eyes

  • Freeing the prisoners


There is a joke question that I will not repeat but the answer  a young child gives is, “I know the answer must be Jesus…but it sure sounds like a squirrel.”  In this case, I think we can be assured, the answer is in fact, Jesus.


The above list is from our reading in Isaiah 42 today, written several hundred years before Jesus arrived on the scene.  I’m not going to try to prove to anyone the authenticity of any portion of scripture because it is far more than what I am equipped to respond to in a blog.  That being said, there is documented proof that Isaiah was a real person and there are real prophecies written well before Jesus' arrival.  There is also documented proof that there was a man named Jesus who is the central figure in the entire Bible.  There are over 500 confirmed witnesses of Jesus living, after his crucifixion, not including the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:6).  Most who witnessed were still alive at the time of the Apostle Paul’s writing of  1 Corinthians.  I’m sure there are some, specifically the people of Judaism that would say their Messiah is still to come and that these prophecies apply to a different person.  However, Jesus fits the description.  


I suppose the only point that I am making is very simple.  If God is speaking through Isaiah's prophecies, about Jesus, and Jesus has died, and risen again, Jesus is in fact the Son of God.  This also means Jesus, as the Son of God, is incapable of lying.  Jesus' words then, are truth and He is “I Am”.


One of the descriptions of Jesus that sometimes I wonder about is “Freeing the Prisoners.”  What does he mean by prisoners?  There can be many explanations for what He means by prisoners but I can say, I was freed from the prison of death.  You see, I am currently living an eternal life.  You may say I’m crazy, and that is always possible, but I don’t believe I am crazy about this.  


There is a program that is commonly done in many churches called ALPHA.  It’s an introduction to the Christian faith through weekly meetings, in a relaxed atmosphere, over dinner, usually for 11 weeks. 


As I was participating in an Alpha session, a woman asked the leader a question about eternal life.   She said “So, if I become a Jesus follower, I will inherit eternal life when I die?”  He drew a line on the whiteboard that just happened to be beside him.  He marked on that timeline, on the left hand side, a person's birth.  Somewhere about two thirds along the timeline, he marked the person's death.  At a point somewhere between the birth and death, he marked a spot where a person decided to be a Jesus follower.  He then showed a second timeline starting at that person's decision to be a Jesus follower.  That line was infinite.  There was a point on the second timeline that showed physical death, but eternal life went on.  


You see, to follow Jesus, we immediately receive eternal life.  That, right there, is freedom from the prison of death.


In our reading in Mark, we read about a person who was possessed by many demons.  Jesus, as He is described in the Isaiah prophecy, freed the man from a prison of demon possession.  He became a Jesus follower.  Even though his eternal life timeline started at that point, he still was assigned a task while he remained on this earth.  His task was “Go home to your people and report to them what great  things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”  His assignment was to make disciples like himself.


You may now be in an infinite timeline if you are a Jesus follower, but it’s not all about us.  It’s our responsibility to spread the word.  Spread the word about the person who is “I AM.”  Jesus, a person of peace, who is gentle, who’s establishing Justice on earth.  He’s a light to the nations, who’s opening the eyes of the blind and freeing the prisoners.  He is the new covenant.


I hope you have a great day!

Steve

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