An Old Brown Book

It's an old brown book -- simply entitled, "Search the Scriptures." The pages are faded and yellowed from years of use, the cover is cracked, and worn. Yet, the book has held so much for me already, in the short while I've been using it. 

My Grandma Schnupp has been into this book in the past years, and more recently Mom is too. Mom went through this when she was a young girl. Awhile ago grandma talked on how she's been doing this book once again for her devotions, and how much she has been enjoying it and getting so much good from it. I decided then I'd like to do it too. But that was months ago. You know how life can go, you get busy, you forget about things such as that. Then just a few weeks ago, I was dusting, and believe me, I decided good CAN come out of dusting :-} Surprisingly, huh? I for one, am not such a fan of it, mainly because dust triggers my allergies which in turns make my Asthma bad, and I'm not a pretty sight after that. So mask over nose to avoid dust, I was busy dusting, when I came across this old brown book, dust-covered, worn, and entitled, "Search the Scriptures." Yes! I remembered then how I had wanted to start this book. What a find! So I've been doing it as part of my devotions ever since, and thoroughly enjoying it!

This morning I was reading in Luke, and a familiar verse that I've always appreciated took on a whole new meaning to me. Jesus is in His hometown, Nazareth, and rejected there by His own people. He speaks words from Isaiah 61:1,2. Jesus quotes, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." [Luke 4: 18]. That verse has always meant so much to me, but here is where everything took on a whole new meaning. A few verses down, in verse 21, Jesus again says, after He had given the book to the minister and sat down, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Wow. Those words hit me like never before, and tears came. Jesus is the fulfill-er of those words! THAT is why Jesus is here, to bring the gospel, healing, deliverance, recovery, and liberty! And that day, those words were fulfilled, that is Jesus' mission.

And what a mission! And all these many years later, Jesus is still fulfilling those words. Heal the brokenhearted. Those words always hit me; I've felt at times my heart as been completely broken, and to know Jesus has not come to only save me and leave me go from there on, but to comfort me, to heal my broken-heart. That is almost too much for me to even comprehend. 

The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus, He was ANOINTED on this mission, mission of preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, delivering the captives, recovering the sight of the blind, and setting liberty them that are bruised. 

The dust-covered, worn, faded brown book has brought me so much truth in my devotions, as it brings out a whole new way of studying the Scriptures. And today, I am thankful for my great Healer, and Deliverer, and Liberator, and Best Friend -- Jesus!