ACCEPT HIS GIFT
Luke 14:16-22

Jesus came to a synagogue in Nazareth where He was brought up, “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To 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; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.’” (Luke 4:17-19)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. Today many know His name and many celebrate His birth, but greater numbers are yet to accept His gift. Jesus came to give Himself as a present; a gift for all who will accept Him. Jesus declared, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)How can you not hear His knock of gift? Jesus, the Anointed One, is here to heal every broken heart but the brokenhearted are not opening their doors and He will not force Himself to enter someone’s heart that is broken and needs 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 in on the privilege of grace that came for their freedom. The blind remain blind because they refuse to look up to Jesus. Many are attempting to see through other gods instead of theOne and Only God. Also, 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 and that cannot be manipulated nor monopolized by any man because it is not from man, but rather is 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 and to know Jesus is not enough when your behavior does not comprehend with Him. Jesus 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.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be known in Him today.