Bring Good News to the Poor

{Isaiah 61:1-3}
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

I woke up at 4am this morning. I am not a morning person, this wasn't planned. I woke up with Aynesworth on my heart. Today is our Bag Sale. We've had this planned for a few weeks and received hundreds of donations. I'm praying every single item will be given away, that we'd arrive with much and return with nothing. I'm praying for 100 families to come through the door, for every single person we make eye contact with to know they are loved and valued by their Maker.

Last week, the community of Aynesworth heard some terrible news. A gang member out on parole, running from the cops, was shot and killed on our school campus by police. The community has been heavy ever since.

And as I prepared for my day in prayer this morning . . . the LORD reminded me of His mission on earth, found in Isaiah 61 and what Jesus read in the synagogue in Luke 4:18-19

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Last week Aynesworth received bad news. The community has felt unsafe and heavy ever since. It was a terrible tragedy and yet amazing timing. Just when many are feeling poor in spirit, God would have 20-30 of us go and serve, go and give, go and offer something positive, something uplifting, something . . . good.

As I read these words, I realized that nothing on this earth is an accident, not even timing. God knew what would happen last week and what will happen today.

Would you pray with us to proclaim the good news?
Would you pray that the families of Aynesworth would receive the good news?
That they would know they are loved and valued by their Maker?
That they don't have to walk in fear because Jesus has come to set them free from oppression?
That His spirit would captivate the families we will serve?

Would you pray that HIS light would shine through the darkness?

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)

"Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved." (Romans 10:1)