I firmly believe God is wanting to surprise us this year in good and wonderful ways, but maybe not in the exact ways we are thinking.

Matthew 13:54-57 says about Jesus, “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.”

The people of Nazareth had many ideas of what God was going to do through His Messiah, but they weren’t very accurate. Their misconceptions seemed short-sighted. They didn’t expect Jesus to be God. They didn’t expect Him to be born among them. They didn’t expect Him to live and work among them. And they didn’t expect Him to be the One to save them from their sins. They were offended at Him for not matching up with their misconceptions.

I’m persuaded that God is and wants to be so much more in my life than I am presently acknowledging Him to be. I want to know Him more, know Him better, and see Him with a better understanding of how He is already working in, around and through my life. How about you?

John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

God goes above and beyond our best imagination. He has been with us, is with us, and promises to always be with us, even to the end of this world and beyond. What is keeping me from knowing Him better today? How powerful do I want Him to be in a direct and deep relationship personally with me?

I hope none of us are offended at the thought that God wants to personally surprise us this year, in greater ways than we have preconceived, with how close He really wants to be.

- Pastor Michael Brackett