ACCEPT HIS GIFT< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 14:16-22

Jesus came to a synagogue in Nazareth where He was brought up, ÒAnd He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written 18 Ò The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed MeTo preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.Ó Jesus identified Himself by pointing out the gifts that He had brought to every man and none could relate with all that He was reading, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah long before the birth of Jesus. As many have failed to receive that gift then, so many are refusing to accept the gift today.  So many know His name, so many celebrate His birth, so many claim to know about Him, but greater numbers are yet to take to all that He brought for an abundant life. He said in John 10:10, ÓThe thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.Ó The thief is the devil, and he has been working vigorously to deny as many as possible all that Jesus came to give a present. Jesus, the Anointed One is here to heal every broken heart but the broken hearted are not open and He will not force Himself to enter someoneÕs heart that is broken for it to be fixed. The Spirit of the Lord that He, Jesus, was carrying is a gentle Spirit, not a forceful or competitive spirit. The captives remain captive because they have yet to capitalize on the privilege of grace that came for their freedom. The blind remain blind because they refused to look up to Jesus. Many are attempting to see through other gods instead of the One and Only God and many are putting man in the place of Jesus. And by that virtue the vision is not clear enough for them to move in the right direction. Jesus is the Lord and Savior and that demands looking up to God through Jesus. The birth of Jesus made salvation available that is not to be manipulated neither to be monopolized by any man because it is not from man, but from God to every man. Jesus came for the poor so that He can make them rich in the things of the Lord. Knowing about Jesus is half knowledge, to know Jesus is not enough when your behavior does not comprehend with Jesus. He wants us to be like Him and to be like Him is to behave like Him. Do you believe in Him? If you believe in Jesus then behave like Jesus. Behaving like Jesus is being known in Him. Behaving like Jesus is not of determination, but it is by the grace of God. Ask God for the grace to be known in Him today.