saving – Fearless Living

There are several attributes of God we see in this portion of our story as God guides Joseph, Mary and Jesus through a dream after the Wise men depart.

Matthew 2:13-16 ^“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.” ¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” God had provided the means for their escape to Egypt with the costly gifts the Wise Men had brought. The providential care of God is all over this scene.

God knew about murderous Herod’s plans as He is omniscient and guided Joseph an his family to safety in Egypt. Matthew 2:16 “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.” We do not know why God did not stop this killing of innocent lives. Placing Jesus in Egypt was the right thing as prophecy had foretold God would call His son out of Egypt, verse 15.

After the passage of some time and their living in Egypt, Matthew 2:19-22 occurred “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” ²¹And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But 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.” This placed Jesus and his family in Galilee and the town of Nazareth where he safely grew up until he started his ministry to the world.

Here we saw God and His sovereign power and wisdom protecting the young family and guiding them to safety. The attribute that comes to mind in all of this is Savior. God protected our savior and saved him from the wicked king Herod. He was Jesus’ Savior as Jesus is our Savior. God reached down and protected them just as He reached down through Jesus to rescue us from the penalty of our sins. They had no power to save themselves and neither do we. We were dead in our sins until God sent Jesus to save us by dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus is our SAVIOR. In this story we see how God saved Jesus and in turn saved us! Our savior is powerful and gives us, through faith in Him, the power to resist sin through His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are saved for eternity! Praise God. I particularly love Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” and Romans 5:8 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Both verses show our utter helplessness in the face of sin and God’s amazing grace and mercy towards us.

The question for today is, Do you know Jesus as your SAVIOR? He won’t come to you and save you unless you ask. You need to humble yourself before Him and repent of your sins THEN He will save you just as He promises. Claim 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Know that this is true and that God is faithful every day in every way. Cling to His faithfulness, Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Thank you Jesus for coming as our Savior and Thank you God for sending Him. We are blessed!!

Linda

November 17, 2022

Psalm 107:16-22 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
    and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
¹⁸They loathed all food
    and drew near the gates of death.
¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.
²¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²²Let them sacrifice thank offerings
    and tell of his works with songs of joy.

When you read this portion of the psalm you see the Israelites suffered from illnesses cause by eating disorders and from their own afflictions caused by sin. I was pondering this and the first thing that came to mind was addictions we have today for drugs and alcohol. The eating disorders and the wasting away reminded me of anorexia and bulimia. That these disease and afflictions would be in our present day but addressed in this ancient text shows the depth and applicability of God’s Word. What the psalmist is saying is that God can and does address these problems. If the sufferer cries out to Him, he will be heard. God can and does save people out of addiction each and every day. God can rescue them from the grave so to speak as He breaths life and hope into the individual through faith in Christ. Verse 20 says that God sent out His Word. Jesus is the Word and faith in Jesus will heal and save both physically and spiritually. Those who have been rescued out of these conditions along with their loved ones live lives fill with praise for God’s powerful healing in their lives. Why does God do this? He heals and rescues because He loves us. His love is unfailing unlike human love His is eternal and always full. His is a faithful love that is unconditional and unending. Praise God!

A truth to claim with thanksgiving: I can find grace and mercy in a time of need. This truth is so wonderful. You can claim it with hope in your heart day and night. God is accessible and we can come to him any time or any place. He promises in Deuteronomy 31:6 to never leave us. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” We can have courage for living each day and assurance of His presence with us. Knowing we can come to God in prayer, what can we be assured we will find there in His presence? First of all we can find peace and relief from fear. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” We are also assured in Hebrews 14:6 of grace and mercy. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” God would not have told us that He has peace, grace and mercy unless He means it! God does not lie. God is truth. You can count upon Him to always be with you, give you peace, grace and mercy exactly when you need it most. Come into His presence today and ask Him for these things. He is faithful and will answer just as He promises.

Are you facing difficulties right now in your life? Do you suffer from an addiction or are you stressed out from the pressures of life? Call upon Him. Come into His presence today and feel His love and support. He has what you need in abundance.

Linda