July 2: Affirming His Grace.
HIS RESCUE.
"He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives."--Luke 4:18
The aftermath of the epic accident of August 5, 2010, when a Chilean mine collapsed, dragged on for sixty-days, while the rescuers relentlessly continued their efforts. The thirty-three miners trapped under seven hundred thousand tons of rock could do absolutely nothing to save themselves. Help could only come from above, and it did. On October 12, global audiences in the hundreds of millions, including myself, watched the live TV coverage of the first rescuer arriving at the spot where the miners were trapped. Twenty-four hours later, all thirty-three miners and all the rescuers were on the surface. * Two words kept coming up in the interviews that followed: all and joy. All had been rescued, the healthy and the sick, the strong and the weak. All had been saved through the plan designed from above. And at the end, only pure joy remained.
The Gospel of Luke was written to announce a rescue of even greater magnitude! The Savior of the world came down to fulfill Heaven's plan to rescue the world! As you can imagine, Luke's Gospel is filled with joy and excitement as a response to such great news of salvation. Luke narrates his Gospel in a way that makes his point loud and clear: salvation was achieved, for ALL who would accept it: the fearful, the anxious, the poor, the enslaved, the marginalized, and the destitute. Luke intercalates stories of men and women, Jews and Gentiles, religious people and public sinners. He excitedly announces that Jesus offers salvation for all. If someone says that you don't qualify for salvation because of the color of your skin, your gender, your failures, your past, your family circumstances, or anything else, tell them: "You are right...none of us do, that's why the Savior came down to rescue us." If you are buried under an overwhelming burden of sin, anxiety, or fear, remember how Jesus started His Sabbath sermon in His hometown of Nazareth: He reminded us that He came for "the poor" the "captives," "the blind,: and "the oppressed" (Luke 4:18). In other words, He came for you and me!
My Response:________________________________________________________
* Richard Pallardy, Encyclopedia Britannica, "Chile mine rescue 2010," modified April 11, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/event/chile-mine-rescue-of-2010.
HIS RESCUE.
"He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives."--Luke 4:18
The aftermath of the epic accident of August 5, 2010, when a Chilean mine collapsed, dragged on for sixty-days, while the rescuers relentlessly continued their efforts. The thirty-three miners trapped under seven hundred thousand tons of rock could do absolutely nothing to save themselves. Help could only come from above, and it did. On October 12, global audiences in the hundreds of millions, including myself, watched the live TV coverage of the first rescuer arriving at the spot where the miners were trapped. Twenty-four hours later, all thirty-three miners and all the rescuers were on the surface. * Two words kept coming up in the interviews that followed: all and joy. All had been rescued, the healthy and the sick, the strong and the weak. All had been saved through the plan designed from above. And at the end, only pure joy remained.
The Gospel of Luke was written to announce a rescue of even greater magnitude! The Savior of the world came down to fulfill Heaven's plan to rescue the world! As you can imagine, Luke's Gospel is filled with joy and excitement as a response to such great news of salvation. Luke narrates his Gospel in a way that makes his point loud and clear: salvation was achieved, for ALL who would accept it: the fearful, the anxious, the poor, the enslaved, the marginalized, and the destitute. Luke intercalates stories of men and women, Jews and Gentiles, religious people and public sinners. He excitedly announces that Jesus offers salvation for all. If someone says that you don't qualify for salvation because of the color of your skin, your gender, your failures, your past, your family circumstances, or anything else, tell them: "You are right...none of us do, that's why the Savior came down to rescue us." If you are buried under an overwhelming burden of sin, anxiety, or fear, remember how Jesus started His Sabbath sermon in His hometown of Nazareth: He reminded us that He came for "the poor" the "captives," "the blind,: and "the oppressed" (Luke 4:18). In other words, He came for you and me!
My Response:________________________________________________________
* Richard Pallardy, Encyclopedia Britannica, "Chile mine rescue 2010," modified April 11, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/event/chile-mine-rescue-of-2010.
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