10/13/16
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Many challenges arise when we are confronted by a group of people who already know what they think. It’s even harder to work with people who have decided they already know what we think. To introduce an idea to an audience which has already decided your idea is irrelevant or false is very tough!
In John 4:43-45 Jesus goes to Galilee. The people there have seen some of his actions in Jerusalem. They are now possibly more prepared to believe him than they were before. At least a little bit.
It is often said that a good reputation can be ruined in a day but a bad reputation takes almost forever to ruin. This is more accurate than we might think. In a time when Christianity is not readily accepted as relevant or even caring, sometimes God’s people simply need to be faithful and available for a long time. Eventually we may be seen for what we are - those people Jesus has redeemed from sin and trouble. Those people Jesus would use to care for those in need.
Lord, give us patience!
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Many challenges arise when we are confronted by a group of people who already know what they think. It’s even harder to work with people who have decided they already know what we think. To introduce an idea to an audience which has already decided your idea is irrelevant or false is very tough!
In John 4:43-45 Jesus goes to Galilee. The people there have seen some of his actions in Jerusalem. They are now possibly more prepared to believe him than they were before. At least a little bit.
It is often said that a good reputation can be ruined in a day but a bad reputation takes almost forever to ruin. This is more accurate than we might think. In a time when Christianity is not readily accepted as relevant or even caring, sometimes God’s people simply need to be faithful and available for a long time. Eventually we may be seen for what we are - those people Jesus has redeemed from sin and trouble. Those people Jesus would use to care for those in need.
Lord, give us patience!
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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