For 27 years the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. had a mistake on an exhibit notation. It took a fifth grader from Michigan to finally notice it and bring it to the museum's attention in order to correct it. For years, everyone assumed the exhibit was correct; after all, surely the curators and historians at the museum knew what was right. In a more dramatic fashion, that was the scene in Israel when Christ came along. People assumed that what the "experts"--the religious leaders of the day--taught was correct. Only this hadn't been going on for a couple decades but for hundreds of years! Jesus completely turned upside down the faulty traditions and thinking of the day. In Luke 6, He begins by setting the leaders straight about the sabbath (vv1-11). He then begins to shift the focus of His ministry to 12 men (vv12-16) out of the hundreds, even thousands, who followed Him.Even this approach to leadership development was different. Next, He presents to the crowds a radically different message than what they had heard from their "experts." Blessed are the poor, hungry, persecuted, etc. Love your enemies. Stop your hypocrisy. (vv17-49). Even today, what we believe and practice in our lives often contradict the so-called "experts." But that is o.k.! Jesus was right then and He is right now. Our focus should be on bearing good fruit in our lives (v43) by putting into practice the things we learn from Christ (v49).
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.
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