Happy Friday, friend!
I hope you have a lovely rhythm going by now in your daily time with God. How are you at weekends? Those were harder for me when I was first trying to establish a daily time with God. I found that if I promised Him my “first available minute” even on a weekend, I was able to meet with Him fairly early in the day. I am so GLAD you are studying this great fast-paced book with me!
I’d like to highlight Herod’s response to reports of Jesus healing people. Did you notice his fear? He thought John the Baptist had come back to life! His guilt was eating at him. The ugly truth about the devil is that after he tempts you and succeeds in getting you to do something bad, there are no congratulations. No, then he turns around and whispers accusations and condemnation in your ear. I think Herod was genuinely scared. I John 4:18 in the old King James Version says “fear hath torment.” Yes, it does! And Herod was a man who had to always look over his shoulder and be afraid of what might happen to him. There was no rest for him. Evil does not let you rest.
What did you think about the people from Nazareth not believing Jesus could heal them? I wonder how many sick people stayed away and didn’t ask that could have been healed? I also love that Jesus didn’t hoard His power. He gladly sent His disciples out to do as He did, healing and casting out demons in His Name! What a full passage!
My recorded verse: Mark 6:12-13 “So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.”
My response: The message keeps being repeated, Lord. Repent and then turn to You! That hasn’t changed in all these years. It’s when we turn our needy selves to you that we are healed. Also, I love how they anointed people with the simple every day olive oil. It didn’t have to be fancy oils that cost a lot. It wasn’t the oil … it was Your Name and Your authority that brought the healing! Olive oil did just fine.
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vs 5 “And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them.”
This makes me wonder if this is why we don’t see as many miracles today in America. You hear of amazing miracles in other parts of the world but not so much here. Is this because of our unbelief? Lord, help my unbelief! I want to see your miraculous powers around me.
Oh, I agree. We don’t come to Him in faith believing asking for the hard things. So often “we have not because we ask not.”
v4 – Jesus said a worker for God is never honored in his hometown. Rejection! Jesus is rejected and I will be too. The responsibility lies in the person accepting Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit. I am not responsible for others accepting or denying Jesus. My job is to present the Good News clearly and faithfully with strength faith and love.
Such a straightforward and correct response, Debbie. If we can just expect that we will be rejected by some, we won’t take it as personally. When it’s about Christ, we bear His Name and a rejection of Him means a rejection of us at least in terms of our faith walks. Our job is just to present in love. Well said.