(Mark 6:4-5) "But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them." In the above story, Jesus went home to his home town where people knew him and saw him grow up. Everywhere else that he went people followed, and as a result, great miracles happened but in his own hometown not much happened because of their unbelief. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand this great truth. You see, people that know us the best have the hardest time with us changing after salvation because they judge us by the past and not the present. When we get saved, we become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5: 17). "Old things are passed away, and behold all things are become new." It takes a while for "kin" and friends to see that we are different, because they knew us before. Therefore "our honor" or the respect that others may give to our new testimony for Christ is not easily given. That's why we need to: 1) Accept this truth, 2) Not get offended by their unbelief, 3) Give them time to hear and watch us. Jesus' family and home town came around in time, and so can ours, but it takes years sometimes. Therefore, much grace and patience is needed to endure with people that know you the best! For it is true that in this world the unrighteous seem to have more honor than the righteous, but even so we who are saved need to stand for Christ and not faint.
( Gen 41:41-43) “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt... A nd he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.” When Joseph was introduced to us in chp.37, he was a young inexperienced 17 year old boy, and yet 13 years later God raised him up to rule the nation of Egypt. So, what made him different ? The Answer : “ Time,” and his faith in God ! You see time is a wonderful teacher; 1) Time strengthens endurance . Endurance and faith can only be strengthened over time. Like exercise, we start out not able to do much but over time we find that we can do more. You see, God allows us to go through the ups and downs of life, to help us gain not only spiritual maturity, but also spiritual abilities. Spiritual endurance therefore enables us to handle life’s trials better. 2) Time strengthens patience . Although Joseph, ...
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