Yesterday I was amped up all morning. I’m pretty sure it was the second cup of coffee that I usually do not drink, but it may have been that I really love Monday’s lately. It’s the start of a new week and I am, normally, coming off a refreshing Sunday spent in worship and service. Monday’s also mean that on my way home, I listen to Pastor Steven Furtick‘s podcast from his weekend sermon. Pastor Furtick is the head pastor of Elevation Church out of Charlotte, NC. He is currently my favorite pastor, a true prophet in our midst. I have spoken of him many times in this blog already.
Thanks to Pastor Furtick’s word, it makes my Monday’s something I look forward to every day. And I look forward to my Tuesday’s, as well, because it gives me a chance to share his message with you. If you have time today, give this a listen, let me know what you think.
February 11
4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:4-6)
Humans are incredibly foolish. Here Jesus comes back to His hometown and finds few that believe He is a prophet or the Son of Man. Why? Because they watched Jesus grow up as the carpenter’s son, so why would they suddenly think Jesus is the son of the Living God, miracles or not? I’m sure Jesus was performing miracles even before His few years of ministry, but I wonder how many of His neighbors truly bought into Him being the Son of God. They just saw Him as the oldest of Mary and Joseph’s kids, a wise and insightful youth that could hold His own at the Jewish Temple reciting scripture and explaining the Hebrew Bible. Despite the miracles they saw in His return to Nazareth, very few actually believed He was who He is.
Fast forward 2,000 years and not much has changed. While we do not live in Jesus’ hometown, we live on Earth, where God came to live among us. Despite all the miracles carefully documented in the Gospels, and the endless miracles God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit still perform every day, the majority of this world does not believe Jesus is who He is. Christianity is still the largest religious group, according to a Pew Research study. In 2015, Christians accounted for 31.2% of the world’s population.* That leaves almost 70% of the world not believing Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That’s a figure we need to change, especially in 2020.
Reading plan: Mark 7:24-37
Deeper reading plan: Deuteronomy 4-6
Prayer and meditation: continue to pray for your request from day 1 and pray more of the world will come to know Jesus in 2020!
Fitness challenge: Sprints week 2! Jog a half mile warm-up and perform 7 x 40m sprints/runs at 80-100% of your max effort.
Common Sense Reborn 