July 7, 2024 Devo

July 7th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
Jesus and the Official’s Son (John 4:43-54)
When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there. – John 4:45 (NLT)
“Special Place or Special God?”

I’m preaching at two campmeetings this summer. One is in Northeast Ohio (July 21-28), and the other is in Southern Illinois (Aug 5-11). It’s interesting to me how we often see greater moves of God at such events, along with revivals, conventions, and retreats than we do at our home churches. There’s a greater excitement. There’s a higher level of active participation. There’s a greater response. But I don’t think it’s because those grounds or places are more “sacred.” I think God shows up more emphatically because we EXPECT Him to.
When Jesus came back to Galilee, He was coming from Jerusalem, where He had attended the Passover Festival. We don’t know what He did there, other than drive out the animal sellers and money changers who were extorting people in the Temple. We do know that the scriptures say that He performed many “signs,” which we take to mean miracles. There were a number of people from Galilee who had seen what He did in Jerusalem, so they were excited when He came back and “welcomed Him.” They recognized that, though Jerusalem held a special place in their hearts, the miracles were a result of WHO was there, not WHERE they were. The difference was Jesus.
Grab that thought. God doesn’t show up because we’re at our favorite campgrounds. God doesn’t release His Power because we’ve got a bigger band, a bigger choir, or a bigger audience than we normally have. God responds to the FAITH and PRAYERS of His People. It wasn’t Jerusalem that made Jesus special. It was Jesus that made Jerusalem special. And as they were about to see, Jesus could make Galilee special, too!
Come EXPECTANTLY to church today. Come with your hearts open, your adrenaline pumping, and your praises rising. No, it’s not campmeeting. No, it’s not revival week. No, it’s not at that huge conference with all the bells and whistles and world-class singers and speakers. It’s just Sunday at church. But if we come with expectation, faith, and prayer, Jesus will be among us, and GREAT THINGS can happen. We don’t need to be at a special place. We just need the presence of a special person. And His name is Jesus! That’s God’s Word for you today.