A Beginning

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he stands in the synagogue and reads from the Isaiah scroll.

“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.”

Isaiah 61: 1-2a

Growing up, I loved this passage, thinking that this was God’s plan for my life. I especially grabbed on to the words “bind up the brokenhearted”. In my mind, this meant going to Afghanistan or Sudan to open a hospital or clinic that would physically heal their ailments and somehow restore hope in these war-torn countries. I thought of myself as a savior to the afflicted and brokenhearted. Little did I realize that I was the blind and trapped one.  Thankfully, Jesus saved me from trying to live life on my own strength and day by day has shown me that I am needy for more and more and more of God’s mercy. God has also shown me that I do not need to cross oceans to meet hopeless and hurting people. Right in front of me are people who are paralyzed by insecurity, drowning in expectations, and simply worn down by their circumstances.

Jesus uses this passage to begin his ministry, because He is the one that this passage is talking about. Jesus is the good news that each of us needs to hear. God used this passage in my life as a beginning to reveal that the Bible directly speaks to my life. At CCC, we do not want the teaching and preaching to end as a nice concept. God’s word needs to impact your life. Keep reading Isaiah and you will see a God who takes the down and out, the ugly, the outcast, and the broken and makes them into something new. God brings his people to himself and calls them “mine”, beloved and redeemed.  In this Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Brendon emphasized how God’s priority is not providing materially for the poor; it’s about Jesus. If as a church we only focus on physical needs of people, we missed the good news.

My hope is that these words, prophesied by Isaiah and proclaimed by Jesus, will be the beginning of our counseling ministry at CCC. We are all the poor, the captive, and the brokenhearted. The reason why we are at church is because we desperately need a Savior. Let’s partner together to see the miracles that God is working out in your life. Come and see how He personally transforms insecurity and grief in your life to freedom and joy