Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please take the time to take in a video of Chrystal Lewis and Ron Kenoly singing the poignant song, Beauty From Ashes, … proclaiming the truth that our Lord desires to turn the ash heap of our world into the beauty of His kingdom.
Highlight Passage #1 Luke 22: 50-51 [NKJV] …
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
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Highlight Context - Luke 22: 39-51 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Jesus heals the ear of the soldier, showing compassion in the midst of chaos
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Highlight Context - Matthew 26: 51-52 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Matthew’s account of Jesus’ rebuke of the disciple (Peter) cutting off the soldier’s ear
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Highlight Context - Mark 14: 47 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Mark’s brief account of the disciple cutting off the soldier’s ear
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Highlight Context - John 18: 10-11 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … John’s account implicates Peter as the one who cut off the soldier’s ear
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Reference Passage #1 - Isaiah 61: 1-3 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Isaiah’s prophesy of the Messiah who would come to turn “beauty from ashes” (see verse # 3)
Reference Passage #2 - Luke 4: 16-21 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Luke’s account of Jesus fulfilling Isaiah's prophesy … that He had come as Messiah
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Julie Ackerman Link, uses a story about two great jazz musicians to illustrate her point of turning a moment of discord into something beautiful. She writes …
... Early in his career, jazz player Herbie Hancock was invited to play in the quintet of Miles Davis, already a musical legend. In an interview, Hancock admitted being nervous but described it as a wonderful experience because Davis was so nurturing. During one performance, when Davis was near the high point of his solo, Hancock played the wrong chord. He was mortified, but Davis continued as if nothing had happened. “He played some notes that made my chord right,” Hancock said.
Then ODB author, Link, then turned to the life of Christ and made reference to how often our Lord took moments of error or chaos in the lives of His disciples to show how, in the words of today’s linked song above, He could (and did) turn “beauty into ashes.” How often in the parallel gospel accounts do we read of Jesus using the lack of faith or very human mistakes lived out by the 12 Disciples to show them [and us] how HE, Jesus, could and would show the ways of God’s Kingdom, rather than for us to live with the ways of man or the world.
Certainly the time, recorded in all four of the Gospels, and documented above was such an example, … of where Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, the Priest’s soldier/servant; and Jesus immediately healed the ear, showing all the compassion of the Savior/Messiah rather than relenting to the chaos of man’s ways.
And seven-hundred years before Messiah came on earth, Isaiah had predicted that our Lord would come to bring “beauty from ashes,” [see Isaiah 61: verse 3] as Crystal Lewis and Ron Kenoly also sing in the song linked above. But Jesus was the fulfillment of that prophesy, … as He clearly declared to the people in Luke 4: 16-21.
Hopefully, … prayerfully, … we all, this very day, will look to live to bring beauty from the ashes we see around us, doing all we can to exercise forgiveness, kindness, patience, and compassion, especially when we see life all around us expressing the ways of mankind, the world, and Satan.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, … Help me to be Your emissary of compassion in this world of chaos. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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