Breaking Free

On a Sunday night in church many years ago, while flipping through the pages of my Bible, I came to Isaiah 58.  As I read that chapter, the Lord changed my whole perspective on Christianity.  It was no longer about knowing the rules and following them to the best of my ability. It was no longer about trying to please God and gain his approval. It was all about his heart and his deep passion for his people. At the time, I memorized every word.  David and I set about to create a congregation of people who understood and lived by these words.

“Is not this the type of fasting I have chosen—to loose the chains of injustice and set the captives free.”  

Through the years, David has taught and lived by the principles found in Isaiah 58.  He is a very visual person, so he saw a campus of Isaiah 58 ministries in a kind of a village where retired people loved on single moms and their babies and people struggling with addiction found freedom. But instead, the Lord planted the “vision” in the hearts of the people and changed their whole perspective on Christianity,  just as He had mine on that Sunday night.

Through the years, God has continued to show us His heart as revealed in His precious son — the gentle, loving, compassionate heart of God made flesh to dwell among us.

I know that many people who are reading this blog also caught the vision as we worshipped the Lord and studied his Word together and you too developed a whole new perspective on Christianity and found your own ways of reaching out to the oppressed and setting the captives free.

Here are verses 6-11

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: “Here am I.“ If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

Am I promoting a “ social gospel”? Not at all, but Jesus must be revealed to the world as He really is, not only a just, but also—a loving, compassionate, beautiful savior who came to set the captives free.

~Lanie