Missions Paul

The reason why you can do this life is because of Jesus.

Before we move forward into chapter 3 let us pause and look back on our journey so far.

In chapter 1 the Pastor told us that Jesus is the heir of all things; through whom also he made the universe; He is the radiance of God’s glory; He is the exact representation of his being; He sustains all things by his powerful word; He provided purification for sins’ and He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Therefore, because of these facts, the Pastor teaches the people of God:

• You know this so don’t move from this position and don’t change the message handed to you, v1-4.
• You can face whatever comes against you for you are better, greater, more superior than your accusers because of His achievement and His gracious gift to you, v5-9.
• You are more than enough. You are not what the devil says you are. You are who Jesus has made you in Him, v10-13.
• You are helped by Jesus because of His incarnation, His atonement on the cross and His breaking of the power of the devil, v14-18.

Hebrews is about seeing Jesus. It helps those who are cast down, who have been discouraged, the lonely, the battered and bruised to see their high priest. Seeing Jesus is to see how He suffered but won. Seeing Jesus is to see how His victory is our victory. Seeing Jesus is to live in Him not at the mercy of this world. When we want to give up He is there making sure we don’t. He is able to be, do, say whatever is needed at the right moment in our lives.

That’s the message and that’s why we read Hebrews 2.

What is in front of you? What are you hoping for? Are you stepping into something new? Jesus is able to help you!

Are you anxious today? Are you afraid of your tomorrow? Place your life in the hands of the One who is able. The One who established the world and everything in it is the One who is here now with you by His Spirit.

Jesus is able to help you.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2 v 14-18)

Jesus is able to help you:-

• Because He knows what it is to be like you, v17

Priests were chosen from amongst the people in order that they may be merciful and faithful for they knew the problems of life. This is the theme of the entire letter, the incarnation in order to become the high priest which made the perfect atonement, something that the previous efforts of the OT sacrificial system failed to do. But Jesus became that high priest after walking this life as you are doing now.

• Because He atoned for our sins, v17

All the problems of humanity were placed on Him as the perfect sacrifice. The result is our sin is forgiven, our guilt is removed and our freedom is given.

• Because He frees those afraid of death, v15

Watch any follower of Jesus approaching death and you see them looking forward to the open door set before them. They are following a well-worn path firstly of Jesus and then all His followers. There is no fear.

• Because He has broken the power of the devil, v14

Though the devil continues to exist for now, Jesus has broken not only the power of death but the ‘power of him’ who holds the power of the devil. I remember a prophetic word I gave my church in the year 2001 when we would go through a traumatic season never known before and certainly never expected that it would be like walking past a snarling dog however that we should keep walking because the dog was chained up. That is the image I have today of the breaking of the power of the devil.

• Because He knows the suffering of temptation/testing, v14

It is difficult to distinguish between temptation or testing and probable means the same thing. He knows our weaknesses and He is able to help us through the most difficult of times.

When people (or you!) say you are not what you should be then remind yourself of this promise. When the voices of doubt say you need to perform and prove yourself in order to be accepted by God then it is a complete lie. Do not listen to that lie. It is a falsehood. Ignore it.

Jesus is able to help you.

You are complete in Him; you are alive in Him; you are free and not afraid; you are a child of God and belong to Him; you are without blame within His love; you have peace with God and the peace of God in your mind; you have the powerful strengthening enabling to be and do whatever needs to happen; you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you; you are chosen by God for this moment; you have everything you need for this life because you have Him; you are cleansed, forgiven and set aside for a holy life; you are saved by the grace of God. That’s who you are! It’s all because of Him. He’s got you and He will get you there for Jesus is able to help you!

Guilt can be good because it can bring you back to the path that you drifted from. Shame on the other hand says that you are useless and not worthy anymore to get back to that path. Maybe someone reading this devotion knows the feeling of being unworthy, you are not enough and the heart of the matter is the fact that you are a bad person.

Here is the truth: Jesus is not ashamed of you.

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. ¹¹ Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.¹² He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” ¹³ And again, “I will put my trust in him.”And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” (Hebrews 2 v 10-13)

The Pastor uses again Old Testament Scriptures to prove Jesus is not ashamed of us.

These are the 3 important truths that will help to convince you today.

1. Jesus took your shame. Psalm 22:22 “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” When Jesus hung from the cross and said the words, ‘My God my God why have you forsaken me’ he was quoting this same Psalm. One quotation and everyone knew the whole. In the mind of Jesus was not only verse 1 but the whole Psalm. This verse 22 is in the final section of the Psalm when the Psalmist/the sufferer is thanking God for rescuing him. Jesus is working his way through the Psalm as he takes our punishment, as he hangs in shame for our shame and the Pastor knows this. The Pastor uses this verse amazingly to show the people/you that you are a brother and sister of the Son. He has made you worthy to be called such and He is declaring that even now over you. The cross removes your shame so meditate once more on the power of it and rise from your feelings of unworthiness.
2. Jesus sees you as His child. Isaiah 8:17-18. “I will put my trust in him.”And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” Isaiah is speaking of his own children but the Pastor rightly uses Isaiah as a sign and symbol of the Messiah and the children being the people/you. God has given you to His Son!
3. Jesus is making you holy. “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family” v11. The Pastor is saying to the people that in the same family is the one being made holy (them/you) and the one who is making them holy, the Son/Jesus. So we shake of these feelings of unworthiness no matter even if we have evidence from the enemy of our soul to prove them and we acknowledge again that we are a work in progress, amen!
4. Jesus has finished what you could never have achieved. “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered” v10. Not that Jesus became perfect but our pioneer of salvation completed, fulfilled and finished God’s purpose for our lives. So we don’t simply try harder, improve our lives, be better, a try and fail scenario throughout the year.
5. Jesus has given you a future. “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory” v10. So not only are we children and brothers/sisters we are also sons/daughters of the Son, Jesus. But He has given you a destiny. There is His glory in front of you. No matter what is behind you or how you feel in the present, His glory is ahead of you.

Those 5 truths are reason enough for you not to feel unworthy any more.

Jesus is not ashamed of you!

Take a look at your superior today. How do they display their position?

If someone is better and greater, what does that actually look like?

And what about you? Do you feel strong today? Do you feel greater than the situation you face?

Throughout this letter the Pastor will pause and give a warning to the people and we have just seen the first one in 2 v 1-4. It is like a parenthesis, a therefore thought from what had been mentioned.

So in effect we come back into the journey of the letter and can pick up from the end of chapter 1.

“To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (1 v 13-14)

“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶ But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? ⁷ You made them for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honour ⁸ and put everything under their feet. In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. ⁹ But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”  (Hebrews 2 v 5-9)

The Pastor quotes from Psalm 8:4-6 and draws out truths that the Psalmist could not possible have known.

Truth 1: In the ‘world to come’ we have authority over even the angelic world.

Truth 2: If this is not yet a reality then it can be through our relationship with the Son, Jesus.

The ‘world to come’ is not some future state way beyond our present life. It is now. It is the world of the escape, of salvation, the era that Christ began.

The Psalmist recognises that it was God’s original intention that:

• We would be on His mind and in His care.
• For a little while we would be lower than the angels.
• That we would then be crowned with glory and honour.
• And that everything would be under our feet as we ruled.

This is not the experience of this world nor of the Pastor’s generation either. We don’t have this favour, this privilege and we are not reigning nor that powerful.

But we do see Jesus. And so did the Pastor!

The ‘son of man’ used for mankind by the Psalmist was taken by the Pastor and applied to the Messiah as Jesus used that title for himself, the Son of Man.

The Son came down, for a little while, incarnated from a position superior to everything, below the angelic order and to our level.

He ‘tasted death for everyone’ and was then crowned with ‘glory and honour’ so that we can now step into this world of salvation.

He came to show us what we were created for.

He came to show us our favour, our privilege, our reign and our power.

So am I better, greater, superior to the enemies that face me and the mountains before me?

Very much so but it is not my achievement or ambitious grab, it is His achievement and His gracious gift.

As I follow Jesus and walk His path then I experience the ‘glory and honour’ found in Him.

Whatever you are facing today and no matter how difficult your path of suffering may be and you may be facing the pressure of trials and many temptations. But it boils down to this. Everything is paused waiting for this one thing. This is all that matters:-

But we see Jesus.

Throughout this letter the Pastor will pause from the main subjects to bring a warning to the people. This is the first time in the letter.

“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, ³ how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. ⁴ God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2 v 1-4)

Therefore is ‘there for’ what was spoken previously. Christ is better, greater, superior and supreme therefore don’t drift, don’t slowly move away from the position God has placed you.

The Pastor introduces us to what will be mentioned again later regarding the contrast between the Law and Moses and the new covenant/salvation and the Lord.

With reference to Deuteronomy 33:2 and Moses’ praise declaration that when God came with the Law on Mt. Sinai He did accompanied by ‘myriads of holy ones’ (angels) the Pastor reminds us of the importance of the Law and the consequences of disobeying it.

Therefore, the Pastor is saying if we drifted from the Law then that was serious but how much more if we drifted from the message of salvation which has come to rescue us from the position of being unable to keep the Law.

This message was brought by the Lord (Jesus).

It was given by the first apostles through their writing.

God validated this message through ‘signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit’ that these Spirit-filled believers have experienced.

Basically the Pastor is saying, ‘you know, you know, you know!’

You know the story of Jesus and salvation.

You know and have heard the story written by the original apostles.

You know God has confirmed this salvation message by the active power of the Holy Spirit.

(The trinity right here!)

This salvation is real and can be tested so don’t drift from it.

Don’t dilute this message.

Don’t substitute this gospel with some other gospel.

If you do, where can you go?

If you do, how can you escape?

The word ‘escape’ is there because the rejection of God’s Word is still and will remain real.

A gospel which is not offering an escape is no gospel at all.

The real gospel saves from death and punishment which still need escaping from.

There is no escape if you drift or dilute what was originally brought by the Lord, given by the apostles, confirmed by God through the power of the Holy Spirit and (I add) passed down through the ages (whithout editing) to us in 2024.

The opening chapter is wondrous but why is it so important for us today?

What we know about the rest of this letter is that there are several warnings. The Pastor is concerned that these Christians may either drift from their commitment to Christ or abandon their faith altogether. Here are some examples: 2:1-4 “We must pay more careful attention …”    4:12-13 “Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”    6:4-8 ” It is impossible … if they fall away … they are crucifying the Son of God all over again”    10:26-31 “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”    12:25-29 “If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?” 

The Pastor wrote these things not because their faith wasn’t real but because their suffering and persecution was very real.

For far less reasons people have abandoned their church communities and walked also from God. If their prayers are not answered the way they wanted they have given up. But this persecution was real and painful and there was more to come. It begged the question, was becoming a Christian a mistake? Had they done the right thing? If they hadn’t made their commitment to Christ then they would not be facing this suffering.

2024 is here. And for many around the world they are facing similar problems to the first century believers. Difficult days are here and ahead. Whether in Europe, the Middle East or northern Africa, Christians are struggling for their faith or trying to survive under evil regimes.

2024 is here. And I also think of friends who are battling cancer and other illnesses where miracles are needed. Friends needing breakthroughs. Each one have circumstances that may raise doubts like, ‘was it worth it?’

Hebrews 1 shouts many declarations with a response to that question, “YES it still is!”

The Pastor uses 5 statements that reveal the position and the power of the Son.

He is the heir of all things; through whom also he made the universe; He is the radiance of God’s glory; He is the exact representation of his being; He sustains all things by his powerful word.

The Pastor then uses 2 statements that reveal how the Son left his position to come to earth to walk where we are walking, in suffering and difficulty. The Pastor writes, ’He provided purification for sins’ and yet that humiliation of doing so is then followed by exaltation, ‘He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven’.

For those today who are humiliated in their body of suffering or in their situation that has become a mountain over them here is the pattern of the Son that the Pastor lays out. Because He went this way so will you and YOU will be exalted!

That’s the message.

Oh and one more thing, whether or not you are seeing many examples of angelic worship today (it still exists and if you are not aware then you are certainly seeing false worship), the message is also this: do not allow anyone or anything to distract you from the position and the power of the Son.

The Son is better, greater, superior and He is supreme than whatever you are hearing or seeing.

That is why we read Hebrews 1.

And now let’s move into the next chapter …

Not only the prophets but the angels too!

We have just celebrated Christmas and within that story are 5 appearances of angels. They play a big part not only in the birth story but throughout the Bible where approximately 300 times angels appear or are mentioned.

The Pastor was instructing the people to stand against any teaching that undermines the person of Christ as slightly less than God. We need the message today for the temptation is not to deny Christ but to dethrone Him. The Pastor points to the title ‘the Son’ demonstrating that there is no one more superior than Him especially not the angels, “⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs”.

The Pastor was quoting Psalm 2:7 and will continue to quote from the prophets to show that the Son is better. Here are 7 important differences:

1. It is the angels that worship Christ the Son (Deut 32:43) “⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? ⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
2. The angels are servants but the Son is served, (Psalm 104:4) “⁷ In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” ⁸ But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.”
3. The angels don’t rule but the Son does. Read v8 again.
4. Some angels are bad but Christ is good. (Psalm 45:6-7) Even the good angels are not tempted but Christ who lived as a man was tempted in every way but did not sin, “⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
5. The angels were created by Christ the Creator. (Psalm 102:25-27) “¹⁰ He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ¹¹ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
6. The angels are never invited to sit near the throne but Christ sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Psalm 110:1) “¹³ To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
7. Angels are ministerial servants to us the co-heirs of the Heir of all things. “¹⁴ Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”

Let these 7 statements lead you to your knees in worship to a better, greater, superior and Supreme God the Son!

Happy New Year!

Hebrews.

We don’t know who wrote this or to whom it is written or when.  But today I am excited to read this slowly for as long as it takes because it clearly is written by a Pastor or someone with a pastoral heart at least. It is written to a specific group of people that this Pastor knows (13: 22). These people were probably Jewish Christians who knew their Old Testament very well because the Pastor quotes plenty of times from those Scriptures. This group of people probably had Gentile Christians among them who were not only equal to them but were also probably leading them. Though this last part isn’t mine or your context the experience of this letter (some would challenge that because it doesn’t start like a letter) is so valuable to us because it is going to empower us to a) stand firm in our faith despite the circumstance we are going through; b) know that following Jesus will never be a mistake; and c) Jesus is superior to everything and calls us to live our lives Christ-centred.

The first 4 verses are in the original one long sentence. It poured out of the Pastor to the people and even before we get to see the name Jesus we have the supreme title, ‘Son’ spoken of and explained. Our eyes are immediately on Him. It is my prayer and commitment this year to keep my focus unwaveringly on Jesus, the Son. I am sure it is yours too.

So let us begin to read. I am actually focusing on the first 3 verses as the 4^th sets us up for the supremacy over the angels.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (Hebrews 1 v 1-4)

The Pastor is not demeaning the prophets, he honours them by quoting them so often. The Old Testament is very important to the Pastor and to the people as the whole Bible is to us today. The prophets/the Bible is the foundation of our life but to be formed by Christ, to be focused on Christ and to follow Christ is what the prophets all looked towards and called for.

So let’s begin by meditating on 7 powerful statements about the Son which have wonderful implications for our lives no matter what we are going through.

1. He is the heir of all things. He inherits it all, everything is His! And we share in that inheritance too, so if the world seems to be walking right over you now remember who you belong to, the heir of not just this world but the universe, past, present and future and one day you will as co-heir inherit that too!
2. Through whom also he (God) made the universe. He created out of the chaos, out of the void, out of the darkness and the nothing-ness. So through the Son, through Christ, He can create out of your chaos too. He has done it before and He can do it again. He can turn your darkness into light!
3. He is the radiance of God’s glory. When we see Christ we see God. The invisible God is now visible, through His Son. And as we are Christ-formed then the world sees the Son in us and therefore sees God!
4. He is the exact representation of his being. The DNA of God is in the Son. When we are born again we carry a supernatural DNA that means we were once dead in sin but now alive to God, unrighteous but now made righteous.
5. He sustains all things by His powerful Word. If He sustains all things. If there is nothing that He cannot sustain then it means He can sustain you in any situation of your life.
6. He provided purification for sins. This is an amazing title, the Purifier of sins. There can be no one greater than that. And as this was being read aloud in the assembly the people would think of the sacrificial system that was rooted in their faith and culture. Their thoughts help our thoughts to realise that this great title was achieved by the greatest humiliation of the cross. Flee from selfish ambition.
7. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. No priest could sit down. They remained standing doing their duty because their work was unfinished. The Son sat down. His work is completed. We work out our salvation now but not for it. He did it. He did it all. We must learn to sit in His authority.

These 7 incredible statements can keep us the whole year. If there was nothing else in Hebrews this is enough. Let’s take at least one of them into our day today. Let it form Christ in us.

I hope these 24 devotions have helped your Advent journey somewhat. Thank you for taking the time to read and engage with them. Wherever you are near or far I pray that you will know the presence of Christ more than ever.

So here is our final devotion and my last blog of 2023.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1 v 1-4)

John’s gospel was written around 80-100 AD but it was the first fourteen verses that were venerated in the Middle Ages by the Roman Catholic Church where they were worn around the neck to ward off evil spirits. They would read it over the sick and newly baptised. Putting aside such veneration I do want to elevate these powerful verses as we approach and walk through Christmas into a new year. Here is the Prologue:

History tells us that in 500BC the Greeks were asking whether in a changing world there was an abiding principle, a reason for it all. Their conclusion was summed up in one word, ‘WORD’ which is the English translation of the actual word, ‘LOGOS’.

This was later developed by the Stoics who talked of the LOGOS as the world-soul and they began to shape their whole lives around the LOGOS.

At the time of Jesus there was an Alexandrian Jew named Philo who had a Hebrew and Greek background and he took hold of the LOGOS idea and developed it.

But what is LOGOS/WORD? Philo believed:-

1. The LOGOS has no distinct personality, it is described as a rudder to shape man’s course or an instrument to fashion the world.
2. The LOGOS is God’s first-born Son (but not as we know it) and implying a pre-existence.
3. The LOGOS bridges the gap between God and the world.

This was the Greek thought regarding the meaning of life, the LOGOS. John knew this Greek thought when he wrote his gospel but he also knew the Jewish thought found in our Old Testament:-

1. The WORD (LOGOS) had creative powers (Genesis 1; Psalm 33)
2. God offers His care through His WORD (LOGOS) (Psalm 147, 148)
3. God’s LOGOS will accomplish its purpose (Isaiah 55, Psalm 147).
4. Judgment is executed by the LOGOS (Hosea 6).
5. The LOGOS is the means of revelation in the prophets.

Further to this the Jews believe that Dabar, Hebrew for WORD, is the Torah, God’s way of communicating with us.

They believe:-

1. The TORAH was created before the foundation of the world.
2. The TORAH lay on God’s bosom.
3. God created through the first-born and the first-born was the TORAH.
4. The words of the TORAH are life for the world.

Sound familiar?!

WORD, LOGOS and the TORAH, Trying to answer the meaning of life.

John is fully aware of the Greek and Jewish position regarding this meaning of life, the reason for it all, why we are here and what our purpose is. This is how he starts his gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

To the Greek, John says, “this rational principle of the universe that you hold to is a personal being and has become human.”

To the Jew, John says “your thought of pre-existent DABAR is kind of correct but there is so much more and He was never created. HE has personal attributes and HE has been here and I have seen HIM. The TORAH is JESUS CHRIST!

Jesus is not only the reason for the season, He is the reason for life.

Jesus is not only the true meaning behind Christmas, He is the true meaning to everything.

From the springboard of this LOGOS and TORAH, John would go on to record Jesus’ statements that he was the bread, the light, the door, the Shepherd, the Resurrection and Life, the Way, Truth and Life and the vine and he does so with 2 simple words, ‘I AM’ that not even Moses used for God they were so holy.

The Jews reject Jesus as WORD. Our world is indifferent to the WORD but still pursue their LOGOS.

But the WORD said it and John records it.

Jesus is the WORD, the LOGOS and the TORAH, the true meaning of life. There is none other.

This is the crux of the matter. This is the central truth of Christmas. This is why the major religions hate Christianity because of who we say the WORD is. Our LOGOS, our TORAH is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is God.

The cults of Christianity may hold the same beliefs yet it is verses like this that they twist to fit their deviances.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses for example have translated the verse:

 “and the Word was with God and the Word was a god.”

They have inserted ‘a god’ signifying Christ’s exalted status but as a creature. This translation helps them argue against the deity of Christ and his equality with the Father. But the ‘a’ is not there to be translated.

But why didn’t John simply write ‘and the Word was the God.’? That would have solved everything, right? NO. If John had used ‘the’ he would have confused the person of the Trinity and supported a heresy at the time (and still exists today) that all of God (the whole Trinity) was Jesus.

John is writing his gospel so “that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:21). This first verse is crucial to John. He gets it right. He has to. Jesus is Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the SON, the TORAH, the LOGOS, the WORD and yet He is also God.

God of God, Light of Light,
Lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
Very God, Begotten not created.

Jesus was there before it all began. He has no beginning. He is outside of time.

Before all time there was the WORD. He is pre-existent before anything was existent.

He enters the beginning. Because of this He will be there at the end.

When the end ends, He will still be there. He has no end.

He has seen it all. He has seen all that you hold dear.

We cannot contain Him to a time and a nation; to a scene; to a manger. We cannot hold onto Him. He is beyond our grasp. We cannot understand all there is to know about Him. He is beyond our capability to think.

Jesus did not begin 2,000 years ago in a manger, no crying he makes. He is before anything ever happened.

We can invite Jesus into our existence. But there is a greater invitation than that. An invitation for us to live our lives in His pre-existence.

You might not know why some things have happened or why they haven’t. But He knows.

God has and will always know what, why, when, where, how things are going in your life.

We need to trust in His pre-existence. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

You may have many questions about your future. What does it hold? Will I cope?

Being outside of time He is already in your tomorrow, He is there waiting for you and He is here now with you.

This is enormous comfort. You will never be alone.

You will never have to wait for Him to catch you up. He is not following you.

Wherever you are, He is.

Thank you for journeying with me as I share my devotions each day.

I will begin again in 2024.

God bless you.

Paul.

“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 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.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 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, 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.” (Matthew 2 v 19-23)

It doesn’t matter where you are, God can speak to you – even in Egypt.

Herod is dead. It feels like the whole world is relieved. In his 36 year reign there was hardly a day went by that someone wasn’t sentenced to death. The Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote of what happened at the time and you can easily access this. When Herod died, there was a fight between his sons on who would be king. In an earlier will, Herod had given the title to Antipas, but then changed the will to Archelaus. It was to be settled in Rome before Caesar who in the end compromised by making Antipas Herod over Galilee and answerable only to Rome, whereas Archelaus was not given the title Herod but ‘Ethnarch’ meaning ‘National leader’ over Samaria and Judea. But whilst all that shenanigans was taking place in Rome, there was uprisings in Jerusalem. Three would-be heroes who all claimed the title ‘king of the jews’ formed guerrilla armies and ransacked towns that were pro-Roman. Though they looked for divine intervention none came and they were all killed. Archelaus made his mark by appointing his own High Priest, Joezer, for the Temple. Jerusalem pilgrims from across the world became involved and protested against this decision and 3,000 were killed on one day.

They are returning home. They were both delighted. This is a breakthrough that God has given them. A window of opportunity to go back and start a life there. Can you imagine the conversation they had on the way back? Where shall we live? ‘Let’s live near Jerusalem where the Temple is’, ‘what about Bethlehem?’ ‘I wonder who will replace Herod? Thank God that He got rid of that evil wicked king!’ It was always going to be Judea, they had spent 2-3 years there already and they knew it well. One place they were not prepared to go was their hometown Nazareth. Facing the stigma of their story was not where they believed they should start their lives out of exile.

But as they near Israel they begin to hear of what has been happening. They hear of what we read from Josephus and more. Joseph is told about this new leader called Archelaus who sounded worse than his father.

Why didn’t God reveal the whole situation back in Egypt? In exile he holds back the successor to Herod and the stories of what was taking place. Sometimes it appears that we are not ready to receive all the information.

God sees things that we do not see. He not only sees the things that happen to us but also the things that could have happened to us. Egypt to Bethlehem was a lot shorter route than Egypt to Nazareth. The long way round is often the hardest way. But I am not thinking in terms of miles and distance but with the circumstances of those moments of the journey.

“Having been warned in a dream …” What was that warning? Was it a warning not to go to Jerusalem or Bethlehem? No. Joseph had already paused the journey afraid to go there. He would not need any warning not to go there. Perhaps it was a warning not to go back to Egypt. There are times when the return looks like a place of comfort, safety and an easier life then continuing forward. Perhaps it was a warning to overcome their fears of Nazareth. Mary’s hometown, the place of conception and the place of stigma. The long way round is often the hardest way.

Let’s remind ourselves that the ultimate reason why Jesus came was His death and resurrection.

But how did Jesus get there? Born in a humble village of Bethlehem, becoming an asylum seeker in Egypt and then raised in a town of Nazareth. Nazarenes were despised people and he would be called one of them.

From infancy to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to teens, teens to manhood, thirty years of living in Nazareth. What went on in that time, we do not know.

For thirty years, the vast majority of his life on earth, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, under the direct guidance of God the Father, lived amongst the poorest people and in total obscurity.

That is the long way round.

Your name may not be known. You may not have a place, title or position. You may struggle to make ends meet. You may not have what others want you to have. You may not have that perfect job, that perfect spouse, perfect children, you may feel alone, unwanted and unknown.

You may describe your life as being lived the long and hard way.

But can God trust you to remain in relationship with Him in Nazareth? That is the story of this remarkable family.