Good Morning.  Here’s Today’s Nugget to chew on:

“Make The Exchange”

Isaiah 61:1-3 Living Bible (TLB)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind.

2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies.

3 To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

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Further Thought:  Jesus quoted from this passage in Luke 4:18-19. He stopped in the middle of this verse and didn’t speak about the vengeance of the Lord as described in verse 2 above. That’s because His first introduction wasn’t for condemnation but salvation (John 3:17). We now live in the church age, where God is not imputing our sins unto us (2 Corinthians 5:19). A time is coming when the day of God’s vengeance will be released on those who have not accepted the salvation that Jesus provided. But that day is not today; therefore, Jesus stopped before speaking that part.

With that background, Romans 2:11 Living Bible reminds us, “For God treats everyone the same.”  So, if he did it for the children of Israel, the same is available to us today.  Now, our part is to continue to spread the message of today’s passage.  Let’s also continue to make this personal by giving God our ashes in exchange for his beauty.  The ashes are the dead things we refuse to let go of. Give him the hurt in exchange for his joy.  Give him the disappointment and the rejection in exchange for his spirit of praise.

Have a great day, and keep chewing on God’s Word.

Additional references:  Matthew 11:29-30; Proverbs 4:20-22 and John 16:13-15

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“2024 Seeking to Know, Understand and Experience the Kingdom of God”

Today’s Recommended Reading 1 Corinthians 16