February 1, 2014

“He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he MARVELLED because of their unbelief.” Mark 6:1-6

"As he entered Caper′na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he MARVELLED and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”  Matthew 8:5-10

If you are going to have a faith that moves Jesus you will need to enjoy His presence in the moment. The Centurion did that, but the people of Nazareth didn't. They struggled with faith because they were caught in an old paradigm of Jesus the carpenter and Jesus the son of Joseph and couldn't accept the Jesus the Messiah.

They demonstrate several things that happen when your faith gets stuck in the past.

One is prejudice -  “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?"

Prejudice is judging someone ahead of time based on previous experience. Prejudice is what the Nazarenes displayed when they refused to believe differently about Jesus despite ample evidence supporting He was a prophet of God.

Another problem with getting stuck in your past is pride - "And they took offense at him".

Even though they were astonished by the depth and authority of His teaching, they were unwilling to yield to His teaching because they would have to admit He was more than a carpenter.

Faith cannot be stuck in your past. You can't rest your faith on memories, no matter how significant the events that inspired the memories. Faith is expressed in the moment from an up to date relationship with Jesus! 

The Centurion demonstrated that truth and this poem says it well.

MY NAME IS “I AM” 

I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking: “My name is “I AM.” He paused. I waited.

He continued, “When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ‘I WAS.’ 

When you live in the future with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ‘I WILL BE.’ 
When you live in this moment it is not hard; I am there! My name is ‘I AM!’