<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="mr+6:45-51">Mark 6:45-51</span></span></p><p>Yesterday we said that we all want to be happy - and rightly so. This is a deep-rooted instinct which God has built into us. But happiness is not something you make but something you receive. You cannot make happiness any more than you can make love. You can express love but you cannot make love. So it is with happiness. You cannot make it. She is a coquette: follow her and she eludes you; turn from her and interest yourself in something or someone else and you may win her. The Scriptures and psychology are at one here, and the experience of millions confirms their findings. The most miserable and fed-up people I know are those who are most bent on being happy. They are saying to themselves what the old lady said to the frightened child whom she had taken to the circus: "Now enjoy yourself, do you hear? I brought you here to have a good time, so make sure you do" - as she shook him till his teeth rattled. In the passage before us today, it is said that the disciples were toiling, rowing in the dark and getting nowhere. The wind and the waves were against them and the whole venture was ending in futility. Then Jesus came. In John's account of the same event, we are told that they took Him into their boat and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading (<span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+6:21">John 6:21</span>). This is the way it is with happiness. We strive to achieve it, but we "toil in rowing". Then we let Christ in - and lo, we reach the shore where we were going. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, I see that to get happiness, I must for-get it. It is not an achievement, but a by-product - a by-product of knowing You. Help me to know You better, not just today but every day. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="isa+61:1-10">Isaiah 61:1-10</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="lu+10:21">Luke 10:21</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+15:11">John 15:11</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+16:11">Psalm 16:11</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ne+8:10">Nehemiah 8:10</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was Isaiah's testimony?</li><li>Where does our strength come from?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"And he saw them toiling in rowing '" (v. 48, AV)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="lu+24:28-35">Luke 24:28-35</span></span></p><p>Another thing that brings about a changed perspective when we make our way to the house of God is the reading and exposition of the Scriptures. I make this statement on the assumption that the Scriptures are expounded in your church, for, sadly, in some congregations this is not so. In the days of the psalmist, of course, they did not have the Bible as we know it today, but the portions of the Word of God that they did have they recited and meditated upon. How many times have you gone to church feeling confused about God's dealing with you, only to find that as the Scriptures are opened your view of God and life changes, causing you to leave refreshed and reinvigorated? Calvin put it like this: "As the elderly, or those with poor sight can hardly make out the words in a book, but with the help of glasses can read clearly, so Scripture crystallises ideas about God which had been very confused, scatters the darkness and shows us the true God clearly." You could, and should, read the Scriptures at home, but there is something special about hearing the Word of God expounded in church. Merely to hear a well-known text spoken by someone who emphasises a word which we might not emphasise, can strike us in a way that adds new meaning to it. Do you have a jaundiced view of God and life at this very moment? Go to church on Sunday, to a Bible-believing church, and expect God to speak to you from His Word. I have it on the highest authority that He will. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, forgive me for taking for granted the revelation that flows from Your Word - whether it comes privately or in church. From now on, whenever I am "talked to" by the Scriptures, help me to recognise it and to receive it with gratitude. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="lu+4:16-31">Luke 4:16-31</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="isa+11:2">Isaiah 11:2</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="isa+61:1">Isaiah 61:1</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+3:16">Matthew 3:16</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Jesus do in the synagogue?</li><li>What rested upon Him?</li></ul></div></div>

"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (v. 32) 

<p>Happy is he whose heart is broken in such a sense that he will no longer expect from earth what earth cannot give, and who is in despair of all below the sky. Yes; though he may esteem himself the most wretched of beings, and though he indeed have sorrows far more poignant than those of other men. Other men do not discover their true misery, their true bankruptcy, and do not so intensely feel their need of a special provision sent from the throne of God. They are reconciled to the sterilities of the world. But this one is broken-hearted because he found as he imagined some heaven, in contrast with which the wilderness condition of the world came out very distinctly; and when his oasis vanished he found himself unutterably and hopelessly ruined. So he thought: until he heard a voice saying, " If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Why will ye die? Is there no balm in Gilead? No physician of the soul? No fountain opened? Christ's heart was broken, that yours might he bound </p>

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

" He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted." -  Isaiah 61:1. 

<p>I am the Lord who heals you.<br><br>Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. § You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. § All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.<br><br>“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” § He is gracious to him, and says, “Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.” § He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. § He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. § Your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.</p>

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 I have seen his ways, and will heal him. 

<p>Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. § He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.<br><br>“Messiah” . . . (who is called Christ.) § The Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.<br><br>The last Adam became a life-giving spirit… The second Man is the Lord from heaven. § My Lord and my God! § You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.</p>

Evening Daily Light

 Jesus Christ our Lord. 

<p>When Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died. § Who can bear a broken spirit?<br><br>Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? § The Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, … to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. § Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.<br><br>Philip … preached Jesus to him. § He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.</p>

 The sorrow of the world produces death. 

<p><h3>The Year of the Lord’s Favor</h3></p><p><span class="bible-text "><span class="chapter-num mid-paragraph">61 </span><poetry>The Spirit   of the Sovereign <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>   is on me,<br/><indent>because the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> has anointed   me</indent><br/><indent>to proclaim good news   to the poor.  </indent><br/>He has sent me to bind up   the brokenhearted,<br/><indent>to proclaim freedom   for the captives  </indent><br/><indent>and release from darkness for the prisoners, </indent><br/></poetry> </span></p>

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit<cr>1</cr>  of the Sovereign <smallCap>Lord</smallCap><cr>2</cr>  is on me,<br/><indent>because the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> has anointed<cr>3</cr>  me</indent><br/><indent>to proclaim good news<cr>4</cr>  to the poor.<cr>5</cr> </indent><br/>He has sent me to bind up<cr>6</cr>  the brokenhearted,<br/><indent>to proclaim freedom<cr>7</cr>  for the captives<cr>8</cr> </indent><br/><indent>and release from darkness for the prisoners,<ft>1</ft></indent><br/>

 1 The Spirit   of the Sovereign Lord   is on me, because the Lord has anointed   me to proclaim good news   to the poor.   He has sent me to bind up   the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom   for the captives   and release from darkness for the prisoners,  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 

<p><span class="bible-text "><poetry>The Spirit   of the Sovereign <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>   is on me,<br/><indent>because the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> has anointed   me</indent><br/><indent>to proclaim good news   to the poor.  </indent><br/>He has sent me to bind up   the brokenhearted,<br/><indent>to proclaim freedom   for the captives  </indent><br/><indent>and release from darkness for the prisoners, </indent><br/></poetry> </span></p>

 The Spirit   of the Sovereign Lord   is on me, because the Lord has anointed   me to proclaim good news   to the poor.   He has sent me to bind up   the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom   for the captives   and release from darkness for the prisoners,  

Bible Verse of the Day

February 22, 2026

Isaiah 61:1 NIV

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