But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. (Luke 9:11)
It is hard to imagine the reality of each day in Jesus' life. But one thing was certain: it was hard for Him to escape the crowd.
Like fans around a great celebrity, people crushed in to see Jesus all the time. This is why He would often pull away to a lonely place to spend time with just His Father, and a few disciples. But often, even there, the people would find Him.
You would think that Jesus would weary of this. The amazing thing is that Jesus never turned people away. Look at His response to people (which should be our response).
Evaluate your life ... do you
If you will, you will bear great fruit, like Jesus. You will be letting the Christ within you do as He desires through you, just as He did physically while on earth.
And many lives will be changed for God's glory!
Father, thank You for welcoming me and leading me into the kingdom! Give me grace to see that this is my one job—that nothing else matters too greatly. Help me to welcome people into my life, meet their needs to show them the love of God and also bodly, constantly, incessantly proclaim the gospel that they may find eternal life.
It could not be worse. God is gracious in His offering of forgiveness through Jesus Christ to all who believe. Those who come to know God and obey Him will experience the best in this life and the life to come.
But what of all those who ignore God? Who will not trust Him? Who never follow and obey the one true God? The Bible leaves no ambiguity about this, and its clarity should sober us.
My son, who is planting a church in a Northern Colorado city, intentionally took me for a walk through a sculpture garden recently that is located in a prominent spot in his large city. It was beautiful, convenient, and filled with people.
To my amazement, at every 30 yards or so, there was a stone statue. The whole garden was a prayer garden, and each statue was named. The farther we walked, the more I realized it was a garden designed to help you pray to ancestral spirits. This religion is called animism and is no different from the false religions we read of in the Scripture. Paul encountered this in Athens.