The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ
(Seed Sowers Christian
Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)
Friday,
January 18, 2013 I Was Once More
Rejected in My Home Town
Page 177 Matthew 13:53b-58; Mark 6:1-6a
In today’s reading we learn that
most of Jesus’ hometown still sees him as the carpenter’s son, not the Messiah.
The text gives us the names of some of Jesus’ siblings, including James, and
this prepares us for the rest of the story. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
15:7 that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to James. We learn in the Book
of Acts that James becomes a leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem and he
writes the Book of James, the 20th book in the New Testament. Jesus
has taught us about planting seeds and giving the seed time to grow. James is
an example of Jesus’ teaching in Mark 4:8, “Still
other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop
that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
However, in that same parable 75%
of the seeds do not produce a crop. We have no information about Jesus’ other
three brothers, or his sisters. Perhaps they came to faith in Jesus, perhaps
not. This periscope into Jesus’ family illustrates two important truths for the
followers of Jesus. First, “God
shows no favoritism” (Acts 10:34). Each person stands alone before God,
equal in His eyes as any other person in the world. We each get to “work out (our) own salvation with fear and
trembling” (Philippians 2:12 NRSV).
Learning to be
satisfied only with the sufficiency of God’s grace is the second truth. We all
desperately strive to be loved, to be accepted and to have a sense that our
life matters. All of us want adulation and respect from our family and friends.
In the writing and distribution of these meditations, I continually receive
reports on how many people are reading them. When there is an addition, or
deletion to the distribution lists, or change in number of page views on my
BLOG, I am notified. When the number increases I am happy. When the number goes
down, I feel rejection.
I want these
meditations to be helpful to my readers and my ego would like to see an ever
expanding increase in readers. However, I know the only thing that really matters
is if these medications are helpful for God to achieve His plan of redemption
for the world. I know that God wants me to rest in His affirmation and to be
satisfied even if He was my only subscriber. I’m not there, yet.
But, I want to
be.
Sē’lah
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What word or phrase
in today’s reading attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word
or phrase.
What insights come to
you?
How does this passage
touch your life today?
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(Selah is a word that appears in the
Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my
correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about
these things.)
These
meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.
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BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription
The Story of My Life as told by Jesus
Christ
(Seed Sowers Christian
Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)
Monday,
January 21, 2013 I Sent Out Seventy-Two Disciples
Page 181-182 Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 10:1-24
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