A Garland Instead of Ashes

TNIV Scripture for Friday, August 8, 2008 [Isaiah 61:1-2]

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor...

According to Luke's account of Jesus's life, not long after Jesus was tested in the wilderness for 40 days, Jesus went to Galilee and began teaching in the synagogues (Luke 4:16-21). One Sabbath, Jesus was in Nazareth, His home town. He stood up and read Isaiah 61:1 and part of verse two (the verses above). Then, He closed the book and said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." However, the story of Jesus did not end with this first coming and Isaiah's prophecy continued with the following words, "and the day of vengeance of our God..." According to Isaiah, there is another day coming and another coming of Jesus. This time He is coming for judgment and not salvation. We have this message for all who will listen; come to Jesus now and accept His salvation and escape His approaching wrath and judgment. But, the message doesn't end there. If you continue to read Isaiah 61:3-4, you can see what you have to offer to those who accept Christ in these last days.

3To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
4Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.

May you be someone who is mindful of the message God has given you to share with the fallen people of this world in these last days. May you, by God's grace, see lives rebuilt as you share the gospel of Jesus.

Beth Warlick, 8/8/2008 1

Feedback:

	Mark (Guest)	10/15/2018 11:37
I read a book on Spirit of the Sovereign which is quite good for me. The https://www.tripodsdslr.com/best-sirui-zomei-tripods-reviews/ is the place where I get it.
	Walker Neon	12/09/2018 10:22
I did not know about Instead of Ashes before but now I read this article and get a lot of information. The https://www.australian-writings.org share some more stuff which really interested.
	Yadunandan Sodhani	02/20/2019 03:18
Your brand name commitment might absolutely guide your acquisition, however regards to the video games and also functions you obtain for the rate, it's no competition. https://freepsncodes.monster-pod.com/
	ASDqwelk ASDqwelk	06/29/2019 03:57
http://fngzweb.com http://fngzaa.com https://1807614030.wixsite.com/fngzmy https://1807614030.wixsite.com/fngzjnd
	Dream Child Fertility Center (Guest)	08/07/2019 07:23
Welcome to Dream Child, IVF Clinic in Delhi, we are best Surrogacy Centre based in Delhi we have top IVF specialist doctors. Many people are finding best ivf doctors to start surrogacy treatment under ivf experts.
	Alex Fergussin	01/10/2020 06:08
https://canvas.newschool.edu/eportfolios/31659/_/Texas_Backpage_Personals https://training.instructure.com/eportfolios/62626/Home/A_little_perspective_on_Alaskan_Backpages https://study.mdanderson.org/eportfolios/2406/Home/The_Backpage_Plan We, each of us, can contribute to healing the world. We can participate in bringing forth peace and happiness, we can make a difference in the lives of our loved ones and those in our communities, even our sisters and brothers throughout the world.
	ena lm	04/17/2020 06:06
thanks for posting good post https://aboutdogfence.com/best-dog-fences/ this is good.