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God Is Certain to Ease Our Wonderings Through His Plan, Purpose, Protection

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God Is Certain to Ease Our Wonderings Through His Plan, Purpose, Protection I WONDER AS I WONDER Joseph models unwavering obedience. Matthew 2:13-23 As peculiar as his situation has become, Joseph obeys without complaint…. CentralTruth: God is certain to ease our wonderings through His plan, Do you think you would have done the same? purpose, protection, provision and presence in our lives. … The truth is, we question a lot, don’t we? We cannot see the fullness of God’s plan for our lives “I wonder as I wander out under the sky…” any better than Joseph could see it for his life, but our huge hopefulness as believers is that There was once a little girl who wondered those very words… and our faithfulness will lead to great things too sang them for a traveling troubadour named John Jacob Niles …who thought she must have been an angel What is the plan, the purpose, the provision, the profound things That God might have for us, especially as we contemplate Wondering… has been our focus during advent with our devotional A new year -- 2020! But, I do wonder this morning, what is it that is on your mind? We do get promptings from God, things we should do… -important matters to attend to Now that Christmas is over…. And still, we do wonder And yes, a new year beckons you -where’s all of this going? What is the end game? Is there something profound you are pondering? We especially question when things don’t go our way Some of my thoughts – Keith Williams – what’s he doing? As well as many of the incidentals of life – We wonder about God’s protection – when we are in a car wreck My mind is like a race track! Or when we break our necks! Joseph and Mary had much to wonder about… We wonder about God’s provision – when we lose our job Think about all they had been through— We wonder about health – when cancer comes The visits of the angels to both of them The fact that Mary was a virgin but would conceive Life after Christmas is not necessarily easy-- The embarrassment of it all The journey to Bethlehem Joseph, Mary and Jesus – they had to flee The humiliation of accommodation The overwhelming response –angels, shepherds, wise men The flight of Jesus parallels the escape of the Israelites with Moses The great things that they wondered about what was coming… from Egypt in the OT -in the OT God moves by power And now, in our passage, we find Their very lives were threatened -in the NT God moves by vulnerability An angel appears to Joseph The flight into Egypt and return is a reminder of the story “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into of God's people and the recollection of God's presence with them Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the in the delivery from slavery and bondage young child to destroy him” (v. 13b) At the same time Matthew's unique inclusion of the story of the But then there is the new year -- reference the skit massacre is a reminder that God's promises are always at risk. The last verse of the old carol gives us pause for thought-- "This story that Matthew gives us matters If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing, A star in the sky, or a bird because it tells us the truth: on the wing, Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing, He the sometimes difficult truth of unjust rulers and violence surely could have it, ’cause he was the king. and private grief and personal pain and all the rest. In a sense, the song has it wrong because But also the always hopeful truth that God he doesn’t want ‘any wee thing’ . has not stood back at a distance, but in Jesus what He wants mosts of all is you and me has joined God's own self to our story and is working... That’s why he came. working for good even when we should think otherwise He simply offers you ‘the promise of the ages’, A number of key themes mark this final portion a gift of love and a gift of hope. of Matthew's story of Jesus' birth. He is his own gift to you at Christmas. As throughout the story, the motif of dreams marks the purposive and ever-present hand of God in the story of salvation But wonder as you wander: imagine the heartbreak of Jesus If the gift He offers to you is rejected At each of its three movements-the flight into Egypt, the massacre of the innocent children, If you should somehow walk out of this season unchanged, closed, and the return from Egypt-the narrative reminds us buttoned-up against his claims and his challenge. that all is happening according to and in fulfillment of scriptural promise and the word of the Lord Voice: Quiet your spirits. God is with you. You do not have to finish this year by rushing headlong into a new year. Give yourself some The places cited in this lesson are important. quiet time. Be at peace. God is with you. Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the city of David. His journey to Egypt is like that of Jacob’s family, Plan – “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and who went to Egypt to escape famine. not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope.” Prov 29:11 It is worth noting that God does not stop the massacre. God allows us Purpose – “He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to freedom to do good or evil completion” Phil. 1:6 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be Provision – “If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your comforted, because they are no more” (v. 18). children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give to those who ask him” – Jesus The story calls us to remember that our first allegiance is to God and to the ones that capture God's attention. Promise – “I will be with you always even to the end of the age.” It reminds us that we have a place in the midst of the struggle And what can we give Him between those who destroy and those who work to live. “What can I give Him, poor as I am. If I were a shepherd, I would give We can be an oasis of life for others, a place of safety on the journey, a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. What can I give him, a place set apart in order to welcome those who seek a new home. give Him my heart.” Amen .
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