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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
He says:
“It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says—the
Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to Him who was despised and abhorred by the
nation, to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see You and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
Isaiah
49:6-7
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Speech as a weapon, His hand of
protection, splendor, reward, honor, and strength
Six specific gifts given to Jesus,
the perfect Servant, by God, His Father and ours, gifts that can be bestowed
upon anyone else who commits themselves fully to the will and way of the Lord.
These gifts, as discussed in parts
1 and 2 of this series would be enough on their own. But as we see in our final
installment, God placed special riches on Jesus who flawlessly followed Him and
carried out His purposes in unwavering obedience. Look at these two verses from
Isaiah 49:
He says:
“It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to Him
who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see You and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.” Vv. 6-7
From these words, we glean the
following blessings placed on Christ and Christ alone by His loving Father:
1. The blessing of providing light
for all people.
I will also make You a light for the Gentiles.
Study the Old Testament and you
will find numerous prophecies about a coming Messiah who would save God’s
chosen people. Under Roman rule when Jesus arrived, the Israelites were sure He
had come to vanquish their oppressors and once again deliver them to freedom as
God had done many times prior. Little did they know that Jesus had come to them
as a light, illuminating the path to salvation, not just for them but for all
people to include the Gentiles that they treated as outsiders.
Today, Jesus remains the Light of
the world, the One who leads people from the darkness of sin and the
destruction it brings to a life of righteousness and holiness that brings life
as God intends it, now and forever.
2. Salvation for all creation.
“I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may
reach to the ends of the earth.”
It was believed that the only way
to God was to be a Jew and so anyone who was a Gentile was without hope (unless
they converted to be Jew of course). But with Jesus came a new covenant promise
which was open for Jew and Gentile alike. For God so loved the world that He
gave His one and only Son so WHOEVER believed in Him would not perish but have
everlasting life (John 3:16). Note that it wasn’t only the Jews who would have
the opportunity to spend eternity with God the Father and Jesus His Son but
rather anyone who placed their faith, hope, and trust in Christ as their Savior.
Thus, God’s salvation offer through Jesus extended to all people of the world,
to the ends of the earth.
Through Christ, eternal hope became
available for all, a gift of God given to Him to extend to His beloved people.
3. Authority and reign over all the
world’s leaders.
“Kings will see You and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because
of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
When God raised His Son from death
to life, He resurrected Him in power over all things. Jesus was given authority
over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and thus was the King of
all kings and Lord of all lords (Revelation 17:14). All worldly authority
figures thus were, are, and will always be subordinate to Him, God’s chosen
ruler over His creation.
Friends, we need to see Jesus as
the gifted Son of God, the perfect Servant lavished with blessings by the
Father who sent Him to be our Light, Salvation, and Master forever.
In other words, in Jesus, God
presented us with the greatest gift possible and through Him, all other things
we consider gifts are possible. Let’s revel and rejoice in Him every waking
moment we have now and forever.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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