Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Are You Paralyzed or Propelled?

“Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.”
They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” 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.
And he was amazed at their unbelief.”
Mark 6:1-6 (NLT)
 
Don’t stew in rejection.
Some people struggle for weeks, months or years in rejection and are not able to get past it.
Why?
They dwell on the rejection instead of dealing with it.
By and large Jesus and the message He preached were rejected in His own hometown.
It was their unbelief; not anything in Him, who He was or what He preached.
Their offense was born out of their unbelief.
Jesus did not let that stop Him from ministering.
Again, because of their unbelief, the results were limited.
We are told that He healed a few sick people.
There are many lessons to be learned from this text.
We can see how it is possible to reject God’s messenger and in so doing miss the blessing that come with Him.
But we also learn that Jesus didn’t dwell on the rejection.
His focus was never on pleasing men but in doing the will of the Father.
Never let rejection stand between you and what God has called you to do.
It is a barrier which, if tolerated, is not easily removed.
Deal with the rejection.
Lay it down at the feet of Jesus and get on with the work God has called you to do.
Rejection dwelled on can paralyze you work for God.
Rejection dealt with can propel you forward into the work of God.  

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