25.1.25 Luke 4:24-30

25 January

Prepare

Heavenly Father,

We come before You with humble hearts, knowing that You are holy and good. We bring our praise and our burdens, trusting in Your mercy and grace. Help us to draw close to You, to hear Your voice, and to rest in Your presence. Teach us Your ways and guide our hearts as we spend time with You. 

Take a moment to be still, to humble ourselves to our heavenly Father.

Read Luke 4:24-30

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in their hometown. I 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. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Reflection

In the film "Evan Almighty" Steve Carell plays Evan Baxter, a rising congressman who is called by God (played by Morgan Freeman) to build an ark in preparation for a modern-day flood. Initially sceptical, Evan's life takes a wild turn as he starts to grow a long beard, experiences unusual behaviour, and begins constructing the ark in the suburbs of Virgina, all while facing ridicule from others. This obviously is the retailing of the story of Noah.

Jesus (like Noah) was rejected by those in His hometown. We too may face rejection or opposition when we share our faith, values, or truths that challenge people's ideas or move people out of their comfort zones. This passage encourages us to stand firm in the truth of the Gospel and trust that God is with us, even when others may not accept or understand what we are saying.

Be

Christ is my reward

And all of my devotion

Now there's nothing in this world

That could ever satisfy

Through every trial

My soul will sing

No turning back

I've been set free

Christ is enough for me

Everything I need is in You

I have decided to follow Jesus 

No turning back, no turning back

Become

We live in country where generally telling people about our faith does not come with serious persecution and yet we all are often frightened to tell others the good news of our Saviour. 

Holy Spirit, allow us to be bold and speak without fear of the good news of Jesus. We have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.

Do

Spend so time now praying for Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. You may want to look at the Open Doors website to guide your prayers. (https://www.opendoorsuk.org/)

Practice

Why not today, subscribe to a monthly email from an organisation like ‘Opendoors,’ to hear stories of courageous faith and hear how you can make an impact for persecuted church and Christians around the world.