The Gramazin Blog
One article every day from Charles Wagner's two commentaries on the New Testament.
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17
Jun
Jesus Drives Out Demon in Synagogue
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Monday June 17, 2024
Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:32-37
Father, free me from my rebellious heart. Free me from my propensity to sin without effort. I do not want to be a slave to my sinful desires. I want to conquer them and defeat them. I do not want to sin against You. Please free me from my rebellious heart. Amen.
Jesus and His disciples, which now include Andrew, Peter, Philip, James, and John , went to nearby Capernaum. As He did in Nazareth, Jesus went into the synagogue. However, these passages tell us that Jesus wasn't invited to read from a scroll as He was in His hometown. Instead, He began preaching. This suggests that when Jesus walked into the synagogue, He was already esteemed within the community for His authority and command of the scriptures. Normal protocols, such as giving someone a turn at reading from the scrolls, may have been skipped. Jesus was immediately invited to preach. The people were amazed as Jesus opened their eyes to truths in the Old Testament they had ......READ MORE.
16
Jun
Jesus Calls First Disciples
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Sunday June 16, 2024
Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11
Father, please prepare my heart to be ready at any moment to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who You appoint to cross my path. Those people might hear the gospel for the first time in their lives. Please make me a fishermen of men and women, doing what I can to share the gospel with as many people as possible, some of whom You may bring into the Kingdom of God through the message I share. Father, there will be times in ministry when further efforts seem futile. Nothing is working. Help me to move forward because a great harvest may only be another hour or day away. Father, the fear of You is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. Help me to always keep in the forefront of my mind that I was a sinful man, who could not be in Your holy presence, before I was saved by Jesus Christ. Father, I want my service to You to be my full-time career. That may mean I literally become a pastor or missionary. That m......READ MORE.
15
Jun
Trouble for Jesus in Nazareth
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Saturday June 15, 2024
Luke 4:16-30, John 4:44
Father, I want to play the role You want me to play in life: on the stage or in the audience; at the podium or in a seat; as a leader or as a follower. Please equip me for that role and help me to thrive in it. Father, please help me to be humble before You and my brothers and sisters in Christ. If You equip a brother or sister with amazing gifts, and You call them to an incredible ministry, help me to celebrate the mission You have given them. Please take away that part of my heart that wants others to fail if I cannot succeed like they do. Amen.
Father, the text tells us that Jesus returned to Nazareth. However, all is not well. It was one thing for the people to praise Jesus for His incredible teaching. It was quite something else to believe that the young boy they used to know was the Son of God and the Messiah. Jesus knew that the people who lived in the lands of His childhood did not believe in Him.READ MORE.
14
Jun
Preaching the Good News and Repentance
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Friday June 14, 2024
Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15
Father, please help me to repent. I don’t want to disobey Your commands anymore. I want my thoughts, words, and actions to please You. Please help me to encourage others to repent, to turn away from their sinful lifestyles. If I fail to communicate that message, many may go to their grave clinging on to their rebellion even as they claim to be believers. Amen.
Father, in the section entitled “John the Baptist Declares Jesus the Messiah”, I concluded that when Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism, He became equipped to preach repentance. The gospels do not record Jesus preaching about repentance prior to His being filled with the Holy Spirit. As we enter into this passage, the gospels have yet to record that Jesus has preached repentance to a large crowd. He has gone into the wilderness, turned water into wine, cleared the temple courts, talked with Nicodemus, interacted with the Sa......READ MORE.
13
Jun
Jesus Moves to Capernaum
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Thursday June 13, 2024
Matthew 4:13-16, Luke 4:31
Father, please give me a heart for those who live in darkness. Help me to be a light that leads them to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, use me as a missionary within the community that I live. Help me to see a need for ministry that no one is filling and lead me to meet that need. Father, so many believers are reluctant to preach and teach repentance. I don’t want to be one of them. Please help me to set an example of repentance by how I live my life. Please also give me the courage to lovingly challenge my brothers and sisters in Christ to live lives of repentance and surrender. Father, help me to repent and to surrender my life to You. I want to live in obedience to Your ways, not because I have to, but because I want to in appreciation for what You have done for me. Amen.
Father, the text in this passage tells us that Jesus left Nazareth, packing whatever belongings He considered essential,READ MORE.
