Thought for July 27

  • 1549: First Christian missionary reaches Japan--Francis Xavier 
  • 1586: Walter Raleigh brings first tobacco to England from America. On this same day in 1965, manufacturers are ordered to add health warnings to cigarette packages.
  • 1789: Department of Foreign Affairs [State Department] created
  • 1890: Vincent Van Gogh shoots himself, dies 2 days later
  • 1921: Frederick Banting isolates insulin. He sells the patent to his university for $1 saying he does not own insulin.
  • 1940: Bugs Bunny makes first appearance in "Wild Hare"
  • Born: Maureen McGovern, Leo Durocher, Peggy Fleming, Christopher Dean, Alex Rodriguez, Jordan Spieth, 
  • Died: Bob Hope, Gertrude Stein, Claire Chennault [Flying Tigers], James Mason, Frank Zamboni, Tony Dow [Wally on "Leave It to Beaver"]
Thought:
Thinking about Mark 6:6 today. Jesus went to his home town, Nazareth, and was teaching in the synagogue. The people are astonished by His teaching and miracles. Now, consider their reaction--isn't this Mary and Joseph's son, the carpenter/mason. Don't we know His family. "And they took offense at Him." [6:3] Then read 6:6--"He wondered at their unbelief." 

Why would the people in Nazareth be offended by Jesus, His teaching and miracles? The word for offended is from the root from which we get "scandal." So the people think it is a scandal that someone from Jesus' roots should be teaching them and doing miracles. He had no right, He was not the right person to do such things. Who is this poor carpenter to tell us what the word of God means and who is He to perform miracles. In fact, they were so offended that Luke says they tried to throw Him off a cliff. [Luke 4]

I just don't understand the people in Nazareth--teaching with authority, performing miracles. Why don't they believe? Why do they reject Jesus? Why don't they follow Him? These must have been bad people. But wait. I wonder if today Jesus looks at me, at us, and says, "I do not understand their unbelief." Why don't they trust Me, believe Me, follow Me? Lord, are You wondering about my unbelief, my lack of trust, my failure to follow? 

Sometimes I think I, we, the church, gets so familiar with Jesus that we fail to worship, honor, obey Him. Jesus did not save me to be His buddy, He saved me to be His sheep. Lord, help me to be a good sheep today.

Blessings
Larry

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