Daily Devotional

Spring is my favorite season of the year (Christmas is my favorite “time” of the year). Why? Well…warmer weather, flowers, sunlight, birds, everything growing and flourishing! It is good news to me when it is almost here! As I write this, it is the first week of March. The first day of spring will soon be upon us, on March 22. One day earlier is Lynn’s birthday, March 21, often the actual first spring day. Lynn is a “spring chicken!”

It is a good news time for us, as a rule. It is also a good news time for the world right now. What? How can you say that, with all we see and hear in the news going on around us?! I think we more often need to “refresh” our focus, clear our eyes. We live in the most wonderful good news era since time began!

When Jesus started His public ministry, He declared it! Do you remember? He marched right off to Nazareth into their synagogue, after His victory over the devil in the wilderness. He took the book of Isaiah given to Him, and read from chapter 61, quoted in Luke 4.

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant
and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue
 were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them,
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:18–21, NKJV

What an offer to the whole world! The gospel (good news) to the poor! Who else cares about them? Healing for the brokenhearted! We are surrounded by these! Liberty to captives! Not only setting them free to hit the streets with $20, but leading them to prosperity! (Psalm 68:6). Recovery of sight to the blind! Some literally! For all who will have it, “blind” eyes opened to glory and blessing and favor; salvation with eternal life! Deliverance for the oppressed! We hear of those all over the news!!

Then He says it is the beginning of the acceptable (favorable) year of the Lord! The year means an era. It started with Jesus’ resurrection. It has continued to this day, more than 2,000 years later. The door is open to the kingdom of God, for anyone! Just to walk in, if they will! What can be better news than this?

A little later in Luke it says Jesus went through “every city and village preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God.” Luke 8:1, NKJV, emphasis mine. How much more needs to be said? I really think we need a “refresher” from time to time on this marvel! So drink in the following samples of hundreds and hundreds of verses of glad tidings:

• How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation. Isaiah 52:7, ESV. This is us, telling our friends and neighbors!
• In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19. ESV.
• And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. Ephesians 2:17, NASB.
• For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Psalm 36:9, NASB.
• Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14, NASB.
• Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13, NASB.

This good news, these glad tidings are constant. We are in the “favorable year of the Lord!” But it is also continuous. For those of us in the kingdom through believing in Jesus, we become progressively more free and alive. We have the Spirit! We have His fruit in our lives – love, joy, peace and the rest. We are kept, protected from stumbling, and will be made to stand in God’s presence blameless, with great joy! Jude 1:24.

I encourage you to enter into a kind of “spring” season of the gospel. Refresh yourselves in the vast extent of the fabulous news of the gospel! Feed on it! Then let your feet be those beautiful pair on the mountains bringing good news to a world desperately in need of it! Publishing peace! Telling the good news of happiness! Sins not to be counted against people! The door of the kingdom of God standing wide open! Recovery! Deliverance! Liberty! Eyes opened! Prison doors opened! Joy! Life! Love! Good will! Security! Purpose and fruitfulness. LIFE INDEED!

Read: Isaiah, chapters 61–66
Sing: Since Jesus Came Into My Heart, Rufus H. McDaniel (Charles H. Gabriel)