By LARRY STOVER | Praise Park Ministries Church of the Nazarene 

Have you ever wondered what it might have been like if Jesus had been from Selma, Alabama? He would have healed all the sick people. Can you imagine a community with no need of a hospital or a nursing home? Individuals who had been breaking the Ten Commandments would have been convicted of their wrongdoing and would have started doing things the right way. Well, our imagination could run wild just thinking about the possibilities of living in the hometown of Jesus Christ.

There is a story in the life of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, that paints a sad picture for the community of Nazareth. It reads as follows: When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” They asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home. And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (vv. 53-58, NIV)

The people of Nazareth had it made. The Great Physician was at their disposal.

The most awesome miracle worker to ever walk the earth had come home to change the total landscape of his home town. The possibilities were endless.

The problem was that the people could not believe that this Jesus was the same man they saw growing up as the son of a carpenter. For whatever the reason, they could not muster enough faith to allow the Son of God to unleash his supernatural powers in their community. Jesus left town and they were the losers. Did he stop healing people? No! Did he stop performing miracles? No! They just could not believe.

It seems to me that every Christian has a limit as to what they believe God can do through them. If you are living in defeat and discouragement, it’s not God’s fault. He has not changed.

I’m praying for God’s power to be unleashed in our county. I’m talking about the power used to create the universe. There is nothing that he cannot do. Too many of us have reached the limit of what we believe God can do.

Are we limiting God’s desire to work in our life because of our lack of faith? There are things that we may never experience because we do not possess the faith to believe that God can change the course of our lives.

Imagine what God might do in your life if you removed all the limits to your faith.

What kind of miracles might take place in your life if you had no limits to your faith in what God can do? Life would be “Simply Beautiful.”