Beauty from Ashes

Have you ever let the words of Isaiah 61 fall over you, rushing in to the point of realizing the “me” is “you”? We carry a message - the good news - that God is taking these ashes we sit in so often and turning it into beauty.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach 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
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes…

So the real question for us is…
What can we make beautiful today?

4.23-4.25

[youversion]Matthew 4:23-4:25[/youversion] | After calling his first disciples Jesus begins to travel around a small area called Galilee, teaching in the Synagogues with the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. What does that mean? After all when I grew up hearing the word “Gospel” I honestly thought it was a type of music I didn’t like… But then I was told it was something like, “You’re a vile sinner doomed to hell, but Jesus died for your sins, so if you pray this prayer Jesus will save you and then you can go live with him in heaven for forever when you die.” Uummmmm…hhhmmmmm…not sure this is really the Good News…
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4.18-4.22

[youversion]Matthew 4:18-4:22[/youversion] | So we pick back up with Jesus selecting his first disciples. We cannot miss how crucial this is to the “good news” story Matthew is telling us. Jesus calls two sets of brothers to leave everything they are pouring their lives into and come follow him. So maybe leaving behind a life of bad sunburns and only dating girls who have lost their sense of smell isn’t that hard, but maybe leaving behind everything you have worked for up to this point in your so-so (c’mon you know being a fisherman is only so-so) life would be a challenge. But these four guys lose their fish-sticks over a chance to follow the Messiah. Somehow they have gotten word that this man is worth more than what they are currently giving their lives to. They don’t understand the amazingness that following this man will get them into or what it will cost them… but they follow.
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