Two Talents

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. {Mark 6:1-6 NASB}

In a mere six verses several things jump off the page here. Firstly, it was Jesus’ hometown. Usually when someone returns to their hometown bearing some manner of fame they are greeted warmly. It’s a source of pride for the hometown that one of their own has obtained some sort of notoriety. That was not the case here. Read the rest of this entry »

Dinah is a Bible.org blogger and has an insightful post about so-called “respectable sins” we Christians commit. In fact, her thoughts came from reading a book called “Respectable Sins” by Jerry Bridges. I encourage you to check it out. It will only take a couple of minutes to read but will hopefully cause you to consider the points made for much longer.