envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

Thank God it's Monday Devo 45 Oct 18

by David Joynt on October 18, 2022


ISAIAH 61:1-2 | 1The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.

Jesus used this passage as a shorthand summary of His life’s calling. Notice the realism of Isaiah and Jesus. The Lord’s anointed must deal with oppression, in which one group exploits and dominates another. He must heal the internal sorrow that breaks hearts when there is confusion, failure, and disappointment. He must release those who are captive and imprisoned and comfort those who have known loss and tragedy. The day of retribution was the moment when God’s judgement would right wrongs and punish evil. What an assignment!

 What has your toughest assignment been?

 

Tags: heal, release

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

More from Pastor Joynts Devotionals

return to Pastor Joynts Devotionals