Key Thought

Sometimes those most difficult people for us to reach with the grace of Jesus can be found in our own families. Fortunately we are not alone in that challenge. The early Christians found themselves in difficult family situations and so there are some very clear things taught about how to handle these kinds of situations. Most comforting of all, however, is the realization that Jesus spent much of his ministry being misunderstood by his own family, many of whom would not believe in him until after his death and resurrection. Let's not be discouraged; instead, let's go to the Lord and ask him to lead us and show us how to minister, serve, and respect those around us so that we can reach them with God's grace.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

Then Jesus went home. But again many people gathered there. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. Jesus' family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people said that Jesus was crazy. And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem said, "Beelzebul (the devil) is living inside him (Jesus)! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people." So Jesus called them together and talked to them using some stories. Jesus said, "Satan will not force his own demons out of people. A kingdom that fights against itself cannot continue. And a family that is divided cannot succeed. And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, then he cannot continue. That would be the end of Satan. If a person wants to enter a strong man's house and steal his things, first the person must tie the strong man. Then the person can steal the things from the strong man's house. I tell you the truth. All sins that people do can be forgiven. And all the bad things people say against God can be forgiven. But any person that says bad things against (refuses to accept) the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He will always be guilty of that sin." Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that Jesus had an evil spirit (devil) inside him.

— Mark 3:20-30 (ERV)

Comments on "Our Crazy Brother":

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