Welcome!
Date: Thursday, July 01, 2010
Today: Don’t quit!
Passage: Luke 4: 24-27 NIV
24“I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy[f] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
Jesus was addressing the issue of how He was going to be rejected in His hometown
Jesus is seen quoting two examples from the O.T, where Elijah became a blessing to someone far away and Naman the Syrian who was healed
For some reason, there is always some demand for that which is foreign
However, the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 did something different
We see that the power of God was so amazing upon those people
Jesus, before his ascension told the disciples:
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV-emphasis added)
Many a time, we don’t know the value of what we have, or of those we live with
Everyday, as we sit together for family prayer and read and pray together, we are making some investment into our own family
About thirty years ago, my dad wanted to start a church in his own home village. He bought a property and built a church. But most of the people who gathered in our little farm-house left us by that time.
For about five years, during my high-school-college time, we gathered in that church with a pastor, our family of four and another sister
Then we moved into the town church, and the other one in the village was handed over to another fellowship
But I still remember those days. Those became a good training for me and my brother
It helped us in what we did later, at Mangalore and back home in our house
Jesus said about himself as the stone that was rejected by the builders, which later became the corner stone
Sometimes, I keep/hold on to some of the things we usually throw in the garbage
Those empty cans-I keep some of them-thinking of using them as lamp shades or as pen/pencil holders
But you cannot pile up such things too much. House will be full of garbage!
If the world looks at us and say “useless” or “good for nothing”, do not feel discouraged or quit!
We have to see what the Lord has to tell us
He finds great worth in the people who are rejected by others
Peter was a person who would have been rejected if you or I have been his master. After three or more years with Jesus, he said “I don’t know Him”
But Jesus still came back to Peter and asked “Simon Peter, do you love me?”
Jesus did not wait for Peter to come to him. He (Jesus) took the initiative
Q: When you have a disagreement with someone, who takes the initiative first, for reconciliation? Jesus is our role-model
Peter could have gone back to his old fishing job, if Jesus had not gone after him, after his resurrection (John 21)
There was this British born, bare-foot Architect Laurie Baker, in Trivandrum, India
He has used those empty bottles to embed them in the walls to give little light inside the house, instead of a ventilator. Many things that people throw in garbage would find prominent place in his low-cost, exposed brick buildings
God wants to put us in some important, unique places (Jeremiah 29:11)
So, don’t quit! Just wait (Acts 1: 4, Isaiah 40: 27-31)
God bless
BG
Prayer: Lord, I thank you because you care. You have great plans for me, I know. Help me to understand them and to be a useful vessel for you, and to become a light to many. Amen