Jesus Within Your Crowd

Ask God what He can do with you in the midst of the crowd, and ask Him for the faith to do it.

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Mark 3:7–8, ” Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that He was doing, they came to Him. “

Background

My eldest son wants to take his first road trip this weekend. He and a buddy want to ride down to the beach Friday afternoon and come back Saturday night. This week will be his last week of work at his first summer job before he begins taking classes next week at the local community college, earning college credits while he also completes the final two years of high school. He also just reached the legal age and requisite driving experience such that his drivers license no longer has any restrictions, and so he can now drive after 9pm. And so, a trip to the beach with a friend certainly sounded like an awesome way to celebrate and enjoy this particular juncture in life. Now I’m sure many of you could not help but immediately think of some red flags concerning this proposed adventure. The day and a half does present a certain amount of possible danger, and relinquishing my oversight for those few, but many, hours would require a high degree of trust. It’s summer in North Carolina, and thousands of people will be at the beach. Great crowds will be there, made up of individuals and couples and families, each with their own agendas. Almost all will be seeking relaxation and innocent fun, but some will be intent on the unseemly, the illegal, or worse.

Application

Jesus had to manage crowds. As people heard about all that He was doing, they came and they came. Some walked for days, many brought their diseased or maimed or broken bodies by foot for a hundred miles or more. But they all came to Him. I’m going to let my son go to the beach, in spite of the unknown and the possible. And I’m hoping he has to manage the crowds, because I hope He intends to tell some folks all that Jesus is doing. I hope that he has some experiences that reveal to him the hand of God. I hope that as he heads to the sea, and as you walk through that store or across that office building, that God shows up and draws many unto Himself, because each of you let Him.

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God what He can do with you in the midst of the crowd, and ask Him for the faith to do it.

Author — Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org

Salvation — Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words