Lessons from the Gospels 1– It Takes Planning
Every year, I spend some time reading through the four gospels again, leading up to what we (in Church of God 7th Day) call the Lord’s Supper and others may call the New Testament Passover. Every time I reread them, I learn something new, have something reinforced, and gain a deeper appreciation for God’s plan of salvation and Jesus’ role in that plan.
Join me on this nearly 3-month journey of review and rediscovery by reading through the Gospels. As I write the blogs it might be looking forward for you as I review my reading from the week before. Or, you can catch up to me by doubling up on daily reading. I will be reading just one chapter per day, and began on Tuesday, January 23rd, so, it’ll be pretty easy to catch up.
You are no more a random selection than was the timing and location of Jesus’ birth.
Reading for January 23-26 = Matthew 1-4. (Note: In future weeks, we consider the reading week to be from Saturday through Friday, since I blog on Friday or Saturday.)
Matthew 1 &2
There is so much packed into the first two chapters of Matthew that I could spend a couple of blogs talking about them. First there is the genealogy, which shows that the lineage of Jesus, on Joseph’s side, includes Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba – three women with unusual stories and extraordinary lives. That they are openly listed is a testament to God’s willingness to use the most unusual and even broken circumstances, or people, for His purposes.
But what I want to note for us today are the four prophecies about the Messiah’s birth that are fulfilled in in just these first two chapters telling His earthly story.
Matthew 1:23 recalls the prophecy Isaiah 7:14, telling of His birth to a virgin.
Matthew 2:6 recalls the prophecy of Micah 2:5, which pegs Bethlehem as His birthplace.
Matthew 2:15 recalls the prophecy of Hosea 11:1, foretelling that He would come out of Egypt and back to Israel at some point.
Matthew 2:18 which is the foreshadowing of the massacre of the innocents by Herod, found in Jeremiah 31:15.
The connection of all these details seems incredible in two ways: (1) That God gave these words to the prophets of the Old Testament so that they would know so many specifics of the birth of Jesus (2) That Matthew knew the scripture well enough that he could be inspired to connect them to the occurrences.
That is, it seems incredible from a human standpoint. Not at all incredible when you think about the fact that Jesus is the one who inspired the writing of the Old Testament, which told of His coming, which He and the Father had planned out before time began. [See John 17:5 and Revelation 13:8]
Maybe thousands of years (or, who knows, millions) went into planning every detail from the creation of the world to the fulfillment of the prophesied birth of His only Son and every aspect of His ministry on this earth. We will also see that His death was similarly detailed out for us.
Our God is a planner. He didn’t “wing it” with the birth of Jesus or the plan of salvation. The factors that needed to be controlled were perfectly orchestrated.
However, it is important to consider that, although always perfectly aligned with God’s will and plan, Jesus made His own choices in living His life. Every decision adhered perfectly to the law of God too. But the Father did not regulate has Jesus wore or ate or said each day.
When we take the time to align ourselves with God’s law and will by daily prayer and study, regular fasting and meditation, we too can find ourselves walking according to God’s purpose for us.
God didn’t “wing it” when He called you, sweet sister. I chose the time and place. He specifically selected you from the billions in the world today. Maybe the only one in your family or neighborhood or at your place of employment.
You are no more a random selection than was the timing and location of Jesus’ birth.
How comforting to know that you and I appeared in God’s planner as a link in the chain between creation and God’s Kingdom on earth. We don’t know for sure where we are on the timeline, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that you and I are here to do our part to advance the Kingdom cause and schedule.
I encourage each of us to take the time daily to stay connected to God and His Word so that you and I can fulfill His will, whether that is a big splash or a cup of cold water in the scheme of the Kingdom plan.
Are you a planner? Do you carefully select a new planner each year and get pretty stickers and colored pens to stay organized and mark important tasks or occurrences? Well, God is a planner. He has a very detailed and well thought out plan. We are His pretty stickers and colored pens, marking the important steps along the way. So, please be sure to schedule daily time for God and His word in your planner.
God has a plan and purpose for you. Do not doubt that, sweet sister. It is our job to stay connected to Him so we can stay aligned with His will.
I welcome your comments and questions. Write me in the comments section here or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org.