Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Threats And Gifts

Matthew 2:7-12

The second chapter of Matthew chapter two began by introducing the magi into the storyline. As they journey toward the Messiah, they seek help from Herod, who would rather eliminate any opposition to his power.

Threats And Gifts

The visit of the magi gave Herod the information he needed. He now knew where the Messiah was to be born, confirmed by the chief priests and scribes. Now, he decides to interrogate the magi further, to determine just when the star appeared. The purpose of this question was to find the age of Jesus, to narrow down his search. He was clever and crafty, but he sought Christ with wrong motives. His ingenuity was impressive, using the resources at his disposal, both the magi and the religious leaders, to discover the exact timing of the birth of Jesus.

From here, his deceit only gets worse. Herod sent them to Bethlehem. His goal was to use the magi to even further narrow his search for the child. His purpose was to find and kill the baby King, not worship Him! According to Jewish history, Herod had Aristobulus, the high priest, drowned by his companions while bathing. His political aspirations knew no bounds, using even religion to gain his own desires.

The magi continued on, probably suspecting the true nature of Herod. This would be confirmed to them by God later. For now, they continued to follow the star. In verse 9, Matthew states that it “stood over the place where the Child was.” For a star or planet to stand over any place or person, it must be in the zenith and have an altitude of ninety degrees. Even then, the distance is so great that it would be difficult to see it point to one specific location, even if it were a bright conjunction of planets. God can, and has, used naturally occurring events to make himself known, but this is probably a completely supernatural event, for the sole purpose of special revelation. Guided by such a star, the magi found Bethlehem by night and rejoiced.

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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:85-88

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The first half of this eleventh stanza was pretty bleak and full of despair. But as it comes to an end, the psalmist seems to turn a corner. Take a look at the latter half of this passage in Psalm 119:85-88:

Psalm 119:85-88

The psalmist seems to be very depressed. In the first half of the stanza, he wrote of his persecutors and enemies with a bleakness that isn’t matched elsewhere in Psalm 119. And this second half still carries some of those low notes. His enemies have dug pitfalls for him, in order to trap him. He is being persecuted without cause, to the point where he feels like he has nowhere left to run, perhaps even to the point of death.

Those are difficult statements to read, or to hear. But these are probably not foreign thoughts to our own thinking either. In our case, especially in western culture, persecution may not come from specific people, although that is becoming more and more likely, I believe. Our culture has become, and is continuing to become, increasingly intolerant of Christianity. You can see this in the blatant attacks from those who oppose Christianity against those who stand upon their convictions and the principles of our faith.

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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:81-84

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The eleventh stanza of Psalm 119 is perhaps the most bleak portion of the entire chapter. You can see what I mean in Psalm 119:81-84:

Psalm 119:81-84

At this point in Psalm 119, we are almost to the halfway point, and it seems as if the psalmist is in his darkest moments. And yet, the end of this dark and hopeless stanza gives us a glimpse of hope yet to come, which we will look at more closely next week.

This passage, in verse 84, is the first verse that does not contain one of the terms used for God’s Word throughout Psalm 119. I think that is significant. Very often, in our darkest moments, we can easily lose sight of what God may be doing, feeling bleak despair and hopelessness. That may be where the psalmist finds himself as well, losing sight of the promises of God due to the dark circumstances facing him at this moment.

These four verses contain a lot of information about those who are persecuting the author, and causing his distress and suffering. These enemies of this man of God seem to be completely occupying his thoughts. I know this is true for me, and I suspect it is for you as well. When things are going wrong, they consume our minds, they are all we can think about, and we worry ourselves to the point of exhaustion in the process.

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Finding A Quiet Place

Withdrawing To A Quiet Place For Prayer

Do you have a place where you can get away from everything for a few moments to be alone for the purpose of prayer? If not, you need to find a spot.

Finding A Quiet Place

Several times through the Gospels, we read of Jesus heading out to a solitary spot for the purpose of prayer. This was a very regular occurrence for Jesus, and it should be for us as well.

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place… – Luke 4:42a

I have found such a spot not too far from my home. It’s far enough that I can’t just go there any time I want, because it’s about an hour away, but it is near Springfield, where I find myself frequently for ministry errands, hospital calls, and personal stuff. So every now and then I stop by and sit for a while.

It provides a great place to pray and reflect on what God is doing in my life, and in the lives of my wife and kids. It provides a nice location to seek his presence in my life, which can be busy and full to the point that I can’t really hear the still, small voice of God. It provides an atmosphere that is calm and peaceful, which can help my stress levels to lower, and my hurried nature to slow down and breath deep of the love of God.

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Bethlehem And Magi

Matthew 2:1-6

The second chapter of Matthew is a continuation of the birth narrative of Jesus Christ, and the first few verses focus on the place of his birth, foretold in the Old Testament, and confirmed by the magi.

Bethlehem And Magi - Matthew 2:1-6

While the beginning of Matthew contains several significant details concerning the birth of Jesus, it is not exhaustive. As you read this, you should also read Luke 2, which adds more to the story, details not given by Matthew, and the one recorded incident in Jesus’ life between his birth and his baptism – the visit to Jerusalem at the age of twelve.

But here in Matthew 2, we see that the Kingdom is not yet ready for the King, and the only celebration of his birth, outside of his immediate family, comes from foreign magi, who travel for months to visit and pay him honor. The birth of Jesus was predicted in the Old Testament, but few people in the nation of Israel noticed. As you read this chapter, take note of the phrases “It has been written (or spoken) by the prophet” and “that it might be fulfilled.” These point to the many different passages that predict the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament… passages that most missed when they came to pass.

The second chapter of Matthew begins with the place of Jesus’ birth. This is one of those details that were given long before, in this case from the prophet Micah, in 5:2. Bethlehem was the home of Boaz and Ruth, of Jesse and King David. It is five miles southwest of Jerusalem. Even though the current home of Joseph and Mary was Nazareth, the prophecy clearly stated that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. God coordinated the details of this event by using the Roman Emperor to conduct a census. This caused Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, “to register for the census, each to his own city” (Luke 2:3).

Bethlehem is one of the oldest places in the land of Judea, with a rich and full history. It had been in existence at least 1500 years before the birth of Christ, and was home to many significant events and people, including King David. The tag, “of Judea” was added to distinguish it from another location named Bethlehem found in the territory of Zebulon, according to Joshua 19:15. The name Bethlehem means “house of bread.”

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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:77-80

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The tenth stanza of Psalm 119 contains some interesting insights into the nature of suffering and affliction. We began to see in the first half where such things come from. In this passage, we continue that thought. Take a look at this passage in Psalm 119:77-80:

Psalm 119:77-80

This stanza is the tenth part of Psalm 119, and focuses on the source of our suffering and affliction. The psalmist expresses his desire to learn from such times, and specifically mentions four things that he has come to understand. Two of these we looked at in last week’s passage, the remaining two are our focus for today.

In the first half of the stanza, the psalmist expressed his understanding and his belief that, first of all, God is faithful in all things, even in – especially in – affliction and suffering. Second, he shared the insight that God’s love is unfailing, and it brings comfort during such times. We can rest assured that God is focused on what is best for us, and draw comfort in the fact of his love.

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Seasons Of Dryness, Springs Of Refreshing

Watching God At Work When I Rest In Him

There are seasons of life where I have found that God is more at work doing the little things than he is showing me the big things. Have you ever experienced that?

Seasons Of Dryness, Springs Of Refreshing

A year ago, I would probably have said that I was in a spiritual valley. I don’t know if I could identify anything that was wrong, but it just felt like I was in a dry season of my spiritual life, and I didn’t even know why. But as it turns out, now that I can look back at the last several months, maybe it wasn’t such a dry time after all.

For the past several years, I can honestly say that I have never felt more consistent in my spiritual journey. My spiritual disciplines have been growing steadily. I have been learning more and more about God’s Word, consistently becoming aware of new things as I read. My prayer life has never been more more solid. And yet, I felt dry… drained.

But one of the habits I strive to as consistent as possible is the discipline of journaling. And a week or two ago, I took some time to look over and read some of my entries for the last year or so. And frankly, what I read surprised me. I saw two very consistent themes in those pages. The first was that I have frequently felt overwhelmed and tired, to the point where I needed to take a rest. The second was that when I took the time to rest, the next thing in my journal was God pointing something out to me in his Word.