October 21: Luke 4:24-27
 
Key Verse: Luke 4:24
‘Truly I tell you,’ he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his home town.
 
Devotion:
We don’t know what was going through Jesus’ head during this visit to the synagogue, but as we read through the words we can imagine how He must have felt having to face these people in the temple who were supposed to be the people tasked with giving out the Word of God! Here they were being quite insular in their dealings and not spreading the word to the people who needed it most!
 
Wait, haven’t we heard this before? Yes, and we continue to hear it in our so called caring modern world.  We even see it in our modern churches and gatherings of people who proclaim themselves to be God’s people! God wants the truth to be touching every person’s heart. He wants us all to come to know the truth in our minds and to know it in our hearts.
 
It is no good just knowing the words unless we act on those words and live by them. Christ continued to show people how important it was to live by God’s Word and not just to say you know it or teach it! Living by His word means reaching out to the people who need it most – and most often those are the people who are poor and forgotten.
 
When Elijah was sent to go and make a difference, it was not to the most influential people, not to the people in charge of churches or temples, but to a widow who had been forgotten about by the people. God wants all of us to know His love, joy and peace... not just the people who can afford things, or afford to go to church or have cars to get there... God wants all of us to have the chance at getting to know Him personally no matter what our circumstances!
 
Points to Ponder:
Are you always able to go to church meetings where Christ is preached?
 
Will you help someone who you know is missing out today?