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Believe

Luke 4:21 (AMP) He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.”

We are in the Christmas season. I did not teach my children about Santa. I focused on the story of Christmas as centered on Christ. My oldest son has a vivid imagination. We had a guest speaker come into the church, when Ari (our son) was about seven, and that guest speaker got a new name. The speaker had black hair, a mustache and wore fitted suits. My son was convinced that man was Tony Stark, the Iron Man. We have referred to him as Tony Stark since then. I did not want my kids to question God being real to them, although God chooses to make Himself real to all of us. I never wanted to be that stumbling block.

As I was reading Luke 4 this morning I had a thought about belief. Jesus went to His hometown and read from the scroll of Isaiah.

Isaiah 61:1,2 (AMP) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

He stopped in the middle of the second verse, rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and proclaimed, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” First let’s dig into what the favorable year of the Lord is and back track the rest of the scripture from there. The favorable year of the Lord is also known the year of the redeemed, or if you like to be traditional, The Year of Jubilee.

Described in the book of Leviticus. A “Year of Jubilee” is a special year occurring every 50 years in the Jewish tradition, as described in the Bible, where slaves are freed, debts are forgiven, and land is returned to its original owners, signifying a time of liberation and renewal; it is considered a time of sacred rest and a reminder of God’s mercy and providence (source Google AI). Jesus said He fulfilled it. Did they believe Him? Absolutely not. It actually made them upset to hear this proclamation. Their intent was to throw Him off of a cliff because of those words. We know that did not happen.

My question is, what do you believe? Jesus said that He was sent to bind up our wounds, to proclaim release from captivity, to set the captives free, and that it is the year of the redeemed. When is it? Now! Are we living that way? Or have we taken the bait of unbelief and are awaiting for something else, still looking forward to the Year of Jubilee. Are we still looking for the new year for something to change in our lives. Is 2025 going to be my year? It is already my year. It is already the year of the redeemed. If you are made new in Christ, everything that Jesus accomplished through His life, death and resurrection is available to you right now. Jesus even gifted us with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Joyce Meyer wrote “God anointed Jesus to bring the good news and to set the captives free, and it’s important to receive the freedom He has provided for us. A battle takes place in our mind when we choose freedom instead of remaining in bondage. The devil puts thoughts in our mind, thoughts that disagree with God’s promise of healing, but we can choose to cast down those thoughts and imaginations and believe God’s Word. We will choose to listen to one voice or another, and our deliverance depends on that choice. If we listen to Jesus and believe Him, deliverance is not only possible, but it will become a reality in our life. Jesus came to open prison doors and set the captives free. You and I can be set completely free as we choose to trust God and obey Him.” (from an excerpt of The Battlefield of the Mind Bible)

Lord, Abba Father, El Shaddai, You are so Wonderful. Thank You for sending Your Son to be the anointed One. Through that anointing we have been set free. Forgive us for our unbelief and for not allowing the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to bring us to the fullness that You desire. We repent for listening to any voice that makes us feel shame. You have set us free from the power of shame and feeling inferior through Your Son. We desire to walk in the fullness of everything Christ restored to us. Now is the favorable year of the Lord. We are the redeemed. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Oily Garments

Psalms 133:1-2 (AMP) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil [of consecration] poured on the head, coming down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron, coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body].

While in corporate prayer for my church I opened up my Bible to this verse. I had gone to Psalms 130 to read over us being watchmen, that our souls should be waiting in expectation. Watchmen are on guard and while we are interceding in prayer (Ephesians 6:18) we should have an expectation of change in the spiritual battlefield. Many of us go as we make a contribution, “I showed up, didn’t I?” I remember being taught about prayer that if one of us can put 1,000 to flight and two can put 10,000 to flight (Deut. 32:30) what would happen when the whole church was unified in prayer?

Last week I wrote about being set free. The battle we fight against is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Arguments, knowledge (anything contrary to that of God) and thoughts can become strongholds and all of these refer to the mind. I had come across Exodus 28:36-38 and how the turban put on Aaron had a signet that said, “Holy to the Lord.” Then I read in Isaiah 61 (also the passage Jesus read in Nazareth) that He was going to give us a turban. Turbans were the head dresses of the priests. We are called in 1 Peter 2:9 a royal priesthood. Jesus said (as quoted from Isaiah 61), “To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.”

John 17:15-23 (AMP) I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world. For their sake I sanctify Myself [to do Your will], so that they also may be sanctified [set apart, dedicated, made holy] in [Your] truth. “I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message, that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.

How does this verse from John go with the opening verse from Psalms 133? The focus is on unity. Jesus desired for us to be one just like the Father and He are one. What is the purpose of our unity? The Great Commission, to go out into all the world and present the Gospel (the ministry of reconciliation). A few things jumped out at me as I was reading this passage. Jesus knew that we would be in a battle (He prays for us to be kept from the evil one). What is the weapon of choice? Look at Ephesians 6:14, the first piece of armor we are to put on is the belt of truth. If we do not know the Word (have revelation knowledge) then we will not have the rest of the weapons against the evil one. The battle starts with our mind. Disunity starts with our minds. We have to be equipped with truth.

Leviticus 19:16-18 (AMP) You shall not go around as a gossip among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor [with slander or false testimony]; I am the Lord. ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may most certainly rebuke your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the Lord.

I have to watch how I talk, how I think and how I interact with the family of faith (the body of Christ). What happens when we do not align our thoughts with Philippians 4:8? You cannot think of anything that is true, that is honorable, that is respectful. My thoughts do not bring peace, but make me anxious and angry. I do not repeat things of good repute, but of harm. I cannot center my mind on anything excellent or worthy of praise. Then disunity set in. Why? My heart has become hardened.

Matthew 18:19-20 (AMP) “Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”

We need to get together with the body that will build our minds back up into the truth of the Word. We do not prey against one another. We pray, uplift and intercede for one another. Remember, Jesus prayed for us not to be taken out of the world, but to be equipped with truth to withstand the evil one. Why? So that we could go out into the world unified to present the Good News (the message of reconciliation).

What if we looked at the unity in the body as part of the garment? We call it the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are His royal priest hood. Our battle armor should be adorned like priestly garments. Remember to keep your mind holy to the Lord. Put on the belt of truth (the revelation knowledge of the Word). When we are unified and do right within our family of believers the anointing flows freely, now covering those garments. What a mighty people we become for the Kingdom!

Father, You are so merciful and good to us. Your Word is a light to our path. Thank You for sending Your Son to light up the Word in my life. I repent for the wrong thinking I have had against the body of Christ. I want to be effective in establishing Your Kingdom here on earth. I repent that I have ever caused another to stumble because of my words or my actions. I repent that I have caused another to not say ‘yes’ to Your Son because of my words against another kingdom family member. Let any word that does not produce from the fruit of the Spirit fall on deaf ears and not take root. God You say that since You are Holy that You desire us to be holy. I thank You that You have given us the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth of Your Word. I do not take it for granted. Renew my mind and let me see how You want me to see. In Jesus Name, Amen.