Jesus replied, that is why I have come. Mark 1, verse 38.

Welcome to this daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Christ Our Priority was written by Karen Huang and read by Joyce Dinkins.

Mark, Chapter 1, verses 35 through 39.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him,

and when they found him, they exclaimed, everyone is looking for you. Jesus replied,

let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also.

That is why I have come.

So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues, and driving out demons.

Christ, Our Priority, written by Karen Huang.

May we invite you to be the main speaker in our nationwide church leadership conference?

After Jose read the invitation from the renowned organization, he replied,

Please let me pray about it first. Later, when he turned down the offer,

he told a friend, I knew God was calling me to editorial work on a missions project, and the

speaking engagement would take time and energy away from that. I said no, so I can do what God wants me to do.

What God wants me to do, that was Jose's priority and what determined his decision.

Jesus also made God's purpose his priority. The morning after healing many in Copernium who were sick

and demon-possessed, in Mark chapter 1, Jesus went to a solitary place to pray. The disciples came

saying, everyone is looking for you. Some of those seeking him were likely requesting healing. Christ, however,

didn't allow urgency or his sudden popularity to determine what he'd do next. Let us go to the nearby

villages, he said, so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.

Jesus followed his priority, a ministry that covered the rest of Galilee and one that included

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