Hometown: Nowheresville
Opening Prayer
Thank the Lord for the opportunity to know Jesus better, not just as a baby, but as Savior and Lord.
Read Matthew 2:19-23
[19] After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt [20] and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” [21] So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. [22] But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, [23] and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Where does Joseph take Jesus to grow up?After a period of time spent in Egypt, Joseph receives an angelic revelation telling him that it is safe to bring Jesus back to Israel (19,20). At first he intends to settle in the central region of Judea, but he receives a further revelation informing him that Judea’s ruler, Archelaus, poses a danger. So instead he takes his family all the way back to his own hometown of Nazareth in Galilee, where it is safer (21-23). Nazareth is a small village in the hills many miles from Jerusalem. The prophets said the Messiah would be despised (23; cf. Psa. 22:6; Isa. 49:7; 53:3), and in fact Jesus is looked down on and discredited because he comes from such a Nowheresville as Nazareth (cf. John 1:46; 7:41,52). Many of us, too, think that we don’t matter or can’t make a difference for Christ because of our background. Maybe it’s because we came from a small town, just like he did. Or because we didn’t receive much education. Or we aren’t good-looking or we lack a magnetic personality. Yet isn’t it wonderful how God has a way of raising up for his use those whom others overlook?
Apply
What aspects of your background or makeup do you tend to look at as disqualifying you from God’s service?
Closing prayer
Lord, I thank You that You use the humble and that Your power shines even greater in our weaknesses.
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