Announce Freedom to All Captives

Here's a challenge.

Do you actually believe the Bible? Do you actually believe that the Bible is not only true, but that it is true for you? The challenge is this--read Isaiah 61(yes the whole thing!) and intentionally apply each line to your life. No, don't just apply--REALLY apply each idea to your life as if written to you...


The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.


He sent me to preach good news to the poor,


heal the heartbroken,


Announce freedom to all captives,


pardon all prisoners.


God sent me to announce the year of his grace—


a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—


and to comfort all who mourn,


To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,


give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,


Messages of joy instead of news of doom,


a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.


Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"


planted by God to display his glory.


They'll rebuild the old ruins,


raise a new city out of the wreckage.


They'll start over on the ruined cities,


take the rubble left behind and make it new.


You'll hire outsiders to herd your flocks


and foreigners to work your fields,


But you'll have the title "Priests of God,"


honored as ministers of our God.


You'll feast on the bounty of nations,


you'll bask in their glory.


Because you got a double dose of trouble


and more than your share of contempt,


Your inheritance in the land will be doubled


and your joy go on forever.


"Because I, God, love fair dealing


and hate thievery and crime,


I'll pay your wages on time and in full,


and establish my eternal covenant with you.


Your descendants will become well-known all over.


Your children in foreign countries


Will be recognized at once


as the people I have blessed."

I will sing for joy in God,


explode in praise from deep in my soul!

He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,


he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,


As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo


and a bride a jeweled tiara.


For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,


and as a garden cascades with blossoms,


So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom


and puts praise on display before the nations.

Isaiah 61

Honestly, I read this and believed it with my mind, but not with my heart. Over and over I read it and wonder to myself How radically would my life be changed if I could just truly believe this one chapter? And if one chapter would change my life so radically, what about the 1,188 other chapters in the Bible? What would my life look like if I was able to apply all of those?

Is that what a Christian life is supposed to look like?