Plea for Grace August 7, 2022

Isaiah 52:13-15 ESV - 13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14 As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.

Isaiah 53:1-3 ESV - 
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Being with Jesus did not make one part of the “in crowd.” There was no automatic social standing or political clout associated with him. It was Jesus’ message, his life, that attracted (or detracted) people.

Jesus did not escape the circumstances of this fallen world. I would imagine that a profound “acquaintance with grief” was the death of Joseph, his mother Mary’s husband. Jesus was at least a teenager when Joseph died. As the eldest son he would have had responsibilities for the provisions of the family. There is no mention in Scripture that Jesus’ family was wealthy. He was a carpenter by trade (Mark 6). He didn’t get any special awards because he “stepped up.” He had the same kinds of financial pressures, family pressures, cultural pressures, that we would experience.

Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV – 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Lord, Your mercy and love is so amazing. To come to earth as a humble man, born to a humble family in a humble town and willing to experience all the sorrows and pressures of a human existence is love beyond my comprehension.

John 1:10-13 ESV – 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Pray for the Persecuted Church –OpenDoorsUSA

Day 7: Pray for the children of persecuted believers—
that no hair on their head would be touched

Daily Wisdom
Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, 127
Proverbs 7