Thanksgiving is a time for expressing our thanks for
God's providence and blessing. I am
thankful that teenagers do grow up and eventually have teenagers of their
own. I am thankful I am not a Butterball
turkey. There is one thing, above all,
for which I give thanks, the lift of Jesus! Like the great old hymn says, love lifted me
There
is a word in the prophecy of Isaiah 53
that comes out of that word “lift”….borne
as in to bear or carry something.
4Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;
11 …he shall bear
their iniquities.
12… he bore the
sin of many,
There are some things that Jesus bears, or lifts from
our lives by virtue of His Lordship:
My
Blindness
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and
afflicted. Isaiah 53:4
Spiritual
blindness misses the Lord. Common sense
and worldly wisdom dictate that since Jesus was born on the wrong side of the
tracks, He wasn't going very far. And in
the eyes of the world, He didn't!
Jesus lifted upon Himself our sorrows and grief, yet
the world imagined He suffered because He was bad. It was MY
sorrows – MY blindness He
lifted, not His own. I am thankful! Besides my blindness he also lifted my…
My
Bruises
But he was wounded for our
transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that
made us whole, and
by his bruises
we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
If there is one spiritual principle that is
unchanging, it is the exchange of Christ's grace for our goof-ups. That may not be very "theological"
grammar, but it states the case. Jesus' stripes --- (literally "beaten
black-and-blue) and His bruises
--- (beaten to pieces) became the acceptable punishment for our
sins.
The worst thing I have in my life is my sin. Jesus took the punishment for my sin, and that which would have beaten me in little
black and blue pieces is now laid on Christ.
Jesus lifted my blindness and my bruises
from me! And I am thankful. He also lifted my…
My
Blunders
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6
The words are most revealing in this sentence.
· “Sheep” comes a verb meaning to migrate.
· "Astray" carries with it the idea of being
deceived.
· "Turned" is an action a person does
deliberately, and
·
"iniquity"
is a form of the word "crooked".
My blunders include both those things that I
ignorantly do to myself, and against other people...as well as those things I
stubbornly commit with my first-degree selfishness or crooked
ways.
The couple was nearing their 75th wedding
anniversary. She was no spring chick,
and he had almost completely lost his hearing.
The bride reflected, with affection in her heart, how faithful her man
had been over the years. Rocking on the
front porch one evening, she remarked, Lester, I'm real proud of you. Lester turned to her and replied, Well,
Charlotte, I'm real tired of you too!
Blunders, indeed!
With the coming and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, all my sins, and
self-will, my blunders and first-degree sin offenses have been laid on
Him. Jesus has straightened my crookedness. It was lifted from me! I am thankful!
Blindness, bruises, blunders and one other:
My
Banishment
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. Isaiah 53:10
This is a foreshadowing of the Advent of Christ, His
coming to die for us, His burial and resurrection. In this rests the entire hope and only true
lifting of man.
The prophet looked down the time warp of eternity, and
with the breath of God announced that we are standing on resurrection ground.
·
I don't have to
spend eternity separated from God.
·
I shall see Him
one day because Jesus said I could!
·
I am not
banished, separated from God’s presence, even though that’s what I
deserve! I am THANKFUL!
Tomorrow, don’t settle for stuffing the turkey, and
then being stuffed like a turkey…make it a totally awesome day of LIFT…let
the Lord take your blindness, bruises and blunders – let Him banish your
banishment. And, Be ye thankful!
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