Marching Through Matthew

Devotion # 5  God's Plans Will Always Prevail Matthew 2:16-18 Herod didn't take defeat too well. When he discovered that he was outsmarted by the wise men, he was very angry, and with the intent of killing Jesus, (unaware that Joseph, Mary and Jesus had fled to Egypt), he issued a brutal order - to kill all the male children who had been born in the preceding 2 years, in keeping with the time he had heard from the wise men of Jesus' birth.  This brutal act was the fulfillment of a prophecy made by Jeremiah many years ago: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, becuse they are no more." Jeremiah 31:15 Have the details of any human being's birth been foretold in such great detail as those of Jesus were? This goes to prove that God the Father had great plans for the redemption of man, and He was working things out meticulously, to bring it to ...

Devotion # 4 Know When To Flee Matthew 2:13-15 "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Since Herod had plans to kill Jesus, God sent an Angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream (this was the 2nd appearance to Joseph in a dream), and told him to take Mary and Jesus and escape to Egypt and stay there until He heard from God. Egypt was out of reach for King Herod. Though Jesus came into the world to die, He had a lot of work to complete before he laid down His life - and at that point His work had not even begun. God need not...

Devotion # 3 God’s Plans Can’t Be Thwarted By Anyone Matthew 2:1-12 Background Jesus is born during the time when the Roman King Herod is ruling in Judea and other neighbouring regions. The ‘Troubling’ News by the Wise Men The story starts with wise men coming from the East to Bethlehem because they had seen a star that indicated the birth of a king and they wanted to meet and worship this king. Before long the news of their arrival in Jerusalem, and their purpose of coming reaches the king's ears, and though this to-be King is only a baby, it disturbs King Herod greatly, perhaps because his position is being threatened. But not only is he troubled, but all Jerusalem is troubled with him as well. Now while the King being troubled is understandable, what's surprising is that all of Jerusalem is troubled with him. The Jews had been waiting for a King to come into the World - one who would rule them and shepherd them. But when the news of His birth is heard,...

Devotion # 2  The Obedient Joseph Matthew 1:18-25 The Dilemma Joseph and Mary were engaged and had not had any physical relationship, but when Joseph heard that Mary was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit, he didn't seem to believe that story, and so decided to quietly break the engagement without making it a public issue.  The Solution But God immediately spoke to Joseph in a dream through an angel, confirming to him that Mary had indeed conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel went further to foretell the gender of the child ( Son ), the name of the child ( Jesus ), as well as the purpose of this child's life ( To save people from their sins ). To prove further that this was of God, the angel even mentioned that this birth would be a fulfilment of a prophecy made by the prophet Isaiah many years ago in the book of  Isaiah 7:14 -   "The virgin will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, 'God with us.'"  ...