I'm the one...

Luke 4:18 (ESV):
¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. ¹⁷And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
 ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
 He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
   and recovering of sight to the blind,
   to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."

Jesus' ministry on the earth was a complete picture of what God has been doing and has wanted to do with His people for all of history.  Our problem is often that we don't see the need for the completeness of Jesus' ministry in our own lives.  We exclude ourselves from thinking we are weak and in need.  As I read this passage recently, I was struck by the thought that I'm the one who is poor in spirit, lacking in the knowledge of God.  I'm the one who is held captive, bound by my sin.  I'm the one who is blind, and cannot perceive the truth right in front of me.  I'm the one who is oppressed by my enemy and in need of God's favor for my life.

My father's suicide broke my heart more deeply than I can express in words.  But then I realized that my heart had been broken before by other circumstances of life.  I desperately needed, and still do, the touch of Jesus to bind up my broken heart.  I want to say to you, whether you believe in Him or not, that the healing of your broken heart will not come by intellectual understanding.  It will not come through counseling.  It will not come from meditation, or even modern medicine.  It will only truly come when the living Jesus touches you in a supernatural way that no other god is capable of.  Come away from the gods you follow and see that Jesus is the one true God, that His power is likened to no other.    

 Isaiah 61:1-4 (ESV)
¹ 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;
² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
³to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
 the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
 that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations.