Matthew 2

Something I found interesting in reading Matthew chapter 2 today.  We read the story over and over again, and I love how I get hit with something new.  ;)  It talks about how an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt because of Herod. Something I never thought of is tied to the exodus.  God's people were enslaved in Egypt years before.  We know the story of Moses and the Exodus of God's chosen people.  Isn't it interesting, that God would send Joseph and his family there to keep Jesus safe?  Wondering why????  HMMMM?????  Studying to do I would say!!!

Matthew Chapter 1

Today I was reading through the genealogy of Christ.  I know.  Sometimes we skip that part (guilty).  But I've got to say today it really hit me.  In the genealogy of Christ, it mentions only 4 women:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary.  When we think of some of them, we think...really?????  God used them???  He put them in the lineage of Jesus????!!!  REALLY????!!!!  Tamar slept with her father-in-law???? Rahab was a prostitute?????  Ruth was a Moabite?  Mary was pregnant before she was married???  Hold on now!!!!!  How is God gonna use THESE women???  Well...let me ask you this...Does God use YOU? Does He have a purpose for YOUR life?  Are YOU perfect?

Some may think that we cannot be used because we are not perfect.  God does not want to use someone who is perfect.  He wants to use someone who has messed up, and who has since given everything they have to God because they know they can do nothing without Him....You see....God doesn't call the qualified....He qualifies the called.

Moving Forward

I thank God  for the opportunity to move forward with my life.  He loves me still, in spite of the messes that I make.  Even though I lose focus, he loves me anyway and keeps his hand outstretched.  I am blessed.  I've gone through some spiritual attacks from the enemy.  I lost my focus about what was important (God) and placed all my attention on myself.  I stopped going to church for a little while, and had bitterness in my heart. And even though I was rebellious, He loved me anyway.  I started changing, instead of being myself, I was turning into something I was not....someone I did not like.  But I am once again, back at the Masters table...instead of hiding myself and my sin, I am open, because He knows them anyway.  But it is also very freeing to stand before God.....for even though I know I am not worthy, and I should be chastised (and very might well be) I know because I came forth and repented and turned away from sin, that I am forgiven.  The chains of sin no longer weigh down on me and my Father has allowed me once again to let Him be God.  I am moving forward....and not looking back.  I will not dwell on my past, because it is over, but will move forward to see what my Heavenly Father will bring. An excellent sermon last Sunday night, helped me to realize some of the sins that I was committing without fully understanding I was doing it.  I may have been hurt at one time, but it gives me no right to hold bitterness.  If anyone had a right to hold bitterness in their heart, it was Jesus, but you did not see him complain, or withhold love because he had been hurt.  He moved forward, which is what I need to do.  When we live in the past, God can not use us in the present, but when we live in the present, God can use us in the future.  I am so thankful that although I am nothing, not deserving of anything from God, that he will love me anyway.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert"  Isaiah 43:18-19

Do you have room for Jesus?

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn".

We hear this all the time, that the one who came to save the world didn't even have a place to lay his head. We had no place for Jesus. Well, now, do we have a place for Jesus? Jesus wants our lives, but do we have a place in our life and our hearts for our Savior who came to die for us.

Do you want there to be room for Jesus? Then make room for him!!!! It's easier said than done. I have come to realize that I, as a person, that I have so much room for other things in my life and heart, that I just give a sliver of it all to Jesus. JESUS WANTS IT ALL. To me, it shows me I need to prioritize my life, and give up the things that take all of my heart and life. I wonder as well, DO YOU HAVE ROOM FOR JESUS?

The Christmas Story: Herod's plight to kill Jesus

"Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

'A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more'" (Matthew 2:16-18)

In my quiet time this morning, my mind was focused on Herod. Who was Herod, and why did he want Jesus dead? So, a bit of studying brought me to this:

There are many Herod's in the Bible. The one who attempted to kill Jesus was Herod the Great

Herod the Great was appointed governor of Galilee by the Romans. This is because the Herods were "nice" to the Roman Empire. The Romans liked Herod because of fighting skills to take care of opposition, and also because he kept order among the Jews. He was later appointed King of Judea. Because Herod was Idumean and not of Jewish descent, the Jews were skeptical of him. They also probably had ill feelings because, as a friend of Rome, he supported Hellenism, a political system the Jews absolutely hated!

When Herod became ill, there was a increase of struggles regarding the succession of rule. There were a few who had a claim to the throne, but Herod's younger son tricked him into him being the initial choice for king. Later, however, he changed his mind and made another son, Archelaus king.

When Jesus was born, and the Wisemen came to inquire about the Lord, Herod became jealous.

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.' When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him;" (Matthew 2:1-3)

"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him" (Matthew 2:13)

Herod was troubled because of jealousy. Right here, Herod is jealous because the Wisemen said there was a child born, KING OF THE JEWS. Herod wanted the throne for himself and HIS sons, not some other person. So, he tried to wipe him out. He had every male child two years old and under killed in Bethlehem. What an awful thing!!!!!!!! To kill so many children, because of jealousy.

What really caught me this morning was the fact that Jesus came for people like Herod. He came for people like us: Unrepentant sinners who disobey God because we want to be our own gods. We are Herod. We killed him.....He died for our sins.....Our plight to kill Jesus sent him to the cross...but he didn't stay there...He died, but he didn't stay dead!!! Herod's plight to kill Jesus, as well as our own, were against someone who knew he would have to die for our sin. What an amazing thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Christmas Story: Dreams

When I was reading the Christmas story this morning, a theme popped out to me: Dreams. There seems to be a lot of dreams in this story.

"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:19-20)

"Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way."(Matthew 2:11-12)

"Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain their until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." (Matthew 2:13-13)

"But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." (Matthew 2:19-20)

"But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'"(Matthew 2:22-23).

Why were there so many dreams in this story? Well, lets look at why they were given:

Given to Joseph so he would not divorce Mary-Matthew 1:19-20

Given to the Shepherds so they would not tell Herod where Jesus was-Matthew 2:11-12

Given to Joseph to flee to Egypt to save Jesus' life from Herod-Matthew 2:13-13

Given to Joseph to leave Egypt to go to Israel after Herod died-Matthew 2:19-20

Given to Joseph to not go to Israel, but dwell in Nazareth to fulfill prophecies-Matthew 2:22-23

Have you ever had a dream from God? Have you ever had a vision? Satan knows that these dreams and visions are dangerous to him, because we are focused on them. When one has a dream or a vision, we need to obey them, just like Joseph and the wise men did in the Christmas story. It's easy to say we have a dream, but takes incredible faith and trust to actually live them out.

Are you living your dream and vision from God?????

Treasured in Mary's Heart

"And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

"And his mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.' And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:48-51)

When Jesus was foretold to Mary, she was told that she would conceive a son, and be named Jesus, which means "God saves". At this point, I am not sure whether or not Mary understood what her son was going to do. Did she understand that he was to die for her and everyone else's sin? At this time, I'm not sure. There is evidence that points that she did not understand the magnitude of his mission here on earth.

During the time of Jesus' life, the Roman Empire was in control. The Roman Empire spread the idea of Hellenism (which was actually started with the Greeks). The Jews hated Hellenism, because it spread ideas about other gods and goddesses instead of the One True God.

Let me correct that, there were some Jews who liked Hellenism, for it was Hellenism that allowed new building projects to take place in Israel. This was because the Roman army had already conquered everyone, so they sent them to build up the cities....In the Jewish society, there were many different political systems, which I will talk about another time. But these different systems fought each other for "selling out" their God.

The Jews believed that when the Messiah came, he would come as a "Conquering King". The different political systems believed that if the Messiah would just come and make their political system the way of life, and kick out the Romans, that everything would be good. However, this is not what Jesus came to earth for. I wonder if this is not the reason why all the different political groups hated Jesus....they thought they knew better than God.

We know however, that Jesus did not come to earth for an "external" problem. Jesus came for an "internal" problem....a problem of the heart....a problem of sin. I do not believe that Mary understood fully that Jesus would die on a cross. She may have been one who believed that the problem was an external one....But as Jesus was born and grew up, she treasured the instances and thought about them. She thought about how they matched up with what God had told her through the angel. She "weighed" what was going on, and treasured them in her heart.

What are some of the things that Mary treasured in her heart?

-What the shepherds told her and Joseph about Jesus

"And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'" (Luke 2: 9-14).

-What Jesus told her when they found him at the temple

"After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.' And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:46-49)

-When Jesus said, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?", this was a proclamation of being the Son of God.

I take a swift turn to ask, Why do you treasure in your heart? Do you store up and ponder about Jesus? Do we treasure the gift of salvation that Jesus gave us freely? Or do we, instead of storing up treasures in the heart, store up physical treasures that mean nothing? As this Christmas season nears, I want to store up treasures from my study on the Christmas story. I want to store up treasures of the intimate moments with God...I want to store up treasures that will never leave...