sent Me to proclaim release to the captives , and recovery of sight to the blind , to set free those who are downtrodden , to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord ." And He closed the book , and gave it back to the attendant , and sat down ; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him . And He began to say to them , " Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing ." And all were speaking well of Him , and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips ; and they were saying , " Is this not Joseph ' s son ?" ... And He said , " Truly I say to you , no prophet is welcome in his home town " ( vv . 16-22 , 24 ). The people of Nazareth missed Christmas because of over-familiarity . They knew Jesus as Joseph ' s son , and they didn ' t view that as anything special . After Jesus finished speaking in the synagogue , the people " rose up and cast Him out of the city and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built , in order to throw Him down the cliff . But passing through their midst , He went His way " ( vv . 29-30 ). Over-familiarity is a deadly thing . I come across so many people who say they go to a church but are not Christians . Fear grips my heart when I hear that . Over-familiarity strangles conviction . When you ' ve heard something so many times without doing anything about it , such familiarity can breed contempt . i . e ., do you think about the creed when you say it ? Or do you say it because that is what the others do ??? Mark 6:6 gives us Christ ' s own analysis of the people of Nazareth : " He wondered at their unbelief ." Matthew 13:58 adds , " He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief ." Over-familiarity with Christmas truth can breed a stony heart . You had better respond while your heart is soft , or your heart will become hard and you won ' t have the opportunity to respond ( Proverbs 29:1 ). Conclusion – ‘ Oh thank God !!!!! She ’ s finishing pulling our Christmas apart ’. Many people simply refuse to believe in Jesus Christ . The apostle John said , " He was in the world , and the world was made through Him , and the world did not know Him . He came to His own , and those who were His own did not receive Him . But as many as received Him , to them He gave the right to become children of God , even to those who believe in His name " ( John 1:10-12 ). If you ' ve been missing the reality of Christmas in your life , know that if you receive the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in His name , Christmas will become real to you . It can happen today ; and it ' s between you and God ( 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 ; Romans 10:8-11 ).
Happy CHRISTmas Everyone . 😊
Lesley-ann +
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