Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ³³  In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

 ³⁴  “Let us alone!  What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”

 ³⁵  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!”  And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

 ³⁶  And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message?  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”

 ³⁷  And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.”  Luke 4:31-37  (Emphasis added.)

It is noteworthy that the miracle of Jesus did not elicit a primary reaction such as:  “What a nice thing Jesus did for this man!” nor even “What an amazing miracle!”.  The primary reaction is:  “What is this message?“

We also read earlier in this Scripture that “they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.”

So, what was Jesus’ message?  The full answer may be all of Jesus’ teachings.  The medium answer may be the Beattitudes or Sermon on the Mount that we will read a few chapters later.  The short answer may be what we read in Matthew 4:17:  “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  A one word answer may be the “Gospel” as we read a few days ago in Luke 4:18.

So, what is our message?  What primary reaction does our profession or career or job (or even life) elicit?  

Do people primarily respond:  “What good service he gives!” or “He is really skillful at his job!” or “He is really nice!” ??? 

Or, do people primarily respond:  “There is something different about him.  What is his message?  He is a Christian, but I have not seen a Christian like him.  He has his share of difficulties, but he has such a great attitude.  He is so nice to others.  He likes to read the Bible and talk and write about God.  He talks about Reformed doctrine or Calvinism.  I remember something about tulip.  He is kind of salty, but he makes me thirsty.  I am going to keep my eye on him and find out more about his message.” ???

Yes, we should give good service.  Yes, we should be really skillful at our job.  Yes, we should be really nice.  Yes, it is good that people say such nice things about us.  But, our profession, our career, our job, and our whole life should elicit a primary focus in people on our message.  What is our message?    

Our message should be about God and His qualities and His works.  Our message should be good news of salvation which is the Gospel. 

We don’t need to be a preacher to give a message.  We can just tell others what God has done for us and what we heard about God.  We can point to where we are being fed and welcome them to join us. 

In conclusion, even as I write this, I feel tempted to focus on myself and feel ashamed that I should do so much more.  But then, I turn to God and focus on Him and trust Him and His promise to work within me to deliver that message:  “both to will and to work for His good pleasure”.  Philippians 2:13.