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Thursday, January 9, 2014

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1 John 4:19—5:4
Psalm 72:1-2, 14-15, 17
Luke 4:14-22

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the spirit's jubilee-freedom

"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." —Luke 4:21

Jesus prophesied: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; therefore He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Lk 4:18-19). This "year of favor" is the Jubilee Year, which occurred every fifty years (see Lv 25:10ff) and Jesus promised the good news of great freedom each year.

As the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and anointed Him to set the captives free, so we need the Holy Spirit to be stirred into flame in our lives (2 Tm 1:6-7). Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, the last day of the Christmas season. As the Spirit descended upon Jesus at His Baptism in the river Jordan, so the Spirit will come to us in new and deeper ways. End this Christmas season by receiving the power of the Spirit to give jubilee-freedom to an enslaved and enslaving world. Come, Holy Spirit! Come, true Christmas Spirit!

Prayer:  Father, may I have more than Christmas parties. May I celebrate jubilee years and a jubilee life forever with You.

Promise:  "We, for our part, love because He first loved us." —1 Jn 4:19

Praise:  Jesus set Charles free from addiction to crack cocaine.

Reference:  (The truth will resound in your heart if you read the Bible daily. For encouragement, order any or all of these audio or video tapes: Ignorance of Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ, AV 82-1, V-82, How to Pray the Bible on audio AV 82-3 or on video V-82, How to Read the Bible on audio AV 46-3 or on video V-46, Principles of Bible Interpretation, audio AV 79-1, video V-79, Biblical Counseling, audio AV 13A-1, AV 13A-3, AV 13B-3 or on video starting with V-13A.)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 17, 2013

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