Daily devotion – Saturday 12th June 2021
Mat 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
It’s still the first day of our tour in Israel and so far we have been to Caesarea and Mount Carmel and the Valley of Jezreel. After our visit to Mount Carmel, we board the bus onto Nazareth. The small town where Jesus grew up and worked with his father in carpentry.
Nazareth is a very hilly town, where you would definitely not want to ride a bike. There are no flat areas. It’s what we call in Australia, “Billy Goat” country.
As part of the tour, you visit in Nazareth a replica village that resembles everything as in the time of Christ. A small synagogue, a carpenter’s shop with all the replica tools and so much more.
The lesson I always gain from the visit to Nazareth is how it’s still this out of the way little town. Our Lord was not born in a palace although He is the King of kings, but a stable, which in reality was a cave. He did not grow up with wealth or elite schooling or working opportunities. He grew up in a small country village as a carpenter and learnt the trade.
But in all of this, He was still the Son of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
How much do we strive for the opulence of the world and sometimes drive our children in that same hedonistic direction? The old saying “all that glitters is not gold” is so true. We in Australia now work longer hours than most countries in the world, including Japan! Our families and our marriages are suffering greatly because of it.
We are chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow which we know the end result of that pursuit.
Helen purchased a little bock of wood with the following saying to place in my study just this week. It has the following words inscribed on it, “It does not matter how slowly you go, the important thing is not to stop.”
Today, are you looking to leave your Nazareth for the grass on the other side of the fence?
God has a plan for you, as He did for His Son Jesus, a major part His short 33 years on earth was to work and grow up in Nazareth.
God is moulding you and building you right at this moment, but it is not a hurried work. God is never in a hurry! Never make a decision in a hurry, if you do it will most likely be the wrong one!
Enjoy the Nazareth the Lord has you growing in at the moment. When it’s time to move, God will move you!
By the way, Jesus always carried the title of Jesus of Nazareth with joy!