Wed., 11/20/19 Devotion (Lk. 4:20)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 4:20, where we read these words:

"Then He [Jesus] closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him."

In this world, the only time the people of God can *collectively* gaze upon Jesus intently is in church on Sunday. In today's text (above), the Lord Jesus Christ is keeping the old Sabbath. The citizens of Nazareth are, too. They have heard the scriptural Word of God read (by Christ); and now The Messi-ah is about to expound Himself (The “Word”), in and through it. As Jesus does so, the congregants are locked-in on Him, the Redeemer of the world.

This is a good pattern for all of us who would be Christ's church today. Let *us* "fix our eyes on Jesus," (as per Heb. 12:2a). Then, upon leaving Sun-day’s Services, let us love and follow our Savior, (rather than seek to throw Him off the cliff, as the Nazarenes had hoped to do—[in v. 29]).

[Puritan quote of the day: "Christ is called grace. He is the grace of God cloth-ed with man's nature.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]