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Post by cspain03 on Apr 1, 2014 11:48:02 GMT
For me, I are connections in this scripture that go back to discussions from yesterday - I am reminded with every instance that says "so what the prophet said would be fulfilled that ..." that God saving Grace found in His Son Jesus Christ was orchestrated for us long before Christ was ever born. God knew we would have a need and He had it in His plan long before we knew we'd need Hos Son - what a blessing! God is a provider !
Specifically I am touched by this verse :
6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
It says to me that we are not bound by where we come from as to what great things we'll be able to accomplish. Jesus wasn't born in a palace but from birth he was King of kings! We can't allow out circumstance now or where we've come from to limit where we see ourselves going.
I am also encouraged by the fact that from this scripture we can see that God will place people in our lives who will bless us from what's out of no where (the wise men) and will project us from dangers we know not of (the angel speaking to Joseph about Herod) - it won't always be our parents, though often it might, but it could be anyone older than us, which is why we should respect and connect with our elders - they could be the saving grace we need
Lastly, we've all heard this story before, but I encourage you to be mindful of the fact that we need to read The Word for ourselves - no where in this chapter does it say anything about THREE wise men, just wise men and 3 gifts (go back and check). Just something to be mindful of because we always sing and teach and picture three wise men ... We need to know the word for ourselves and we need not look for what others say we should expect/how something should be delivered to us but rather on the gifts God is bringing to us
Love y'all
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Post by rickeyd on Apr 1, 2014 16:12:06 GMT
Hey guys! In today's reading, what stood out to me the most was the significance of prophets and dreams.
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 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.”
22 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,
23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
I want to point out how important dreams and prophets are to the body of christ. We see in this chapter that God used many dreams and prophets to commuincate to His people. It is important that we position and posture ourselves so that we are able to hear from God in such a way that we could be used to communicate a message from God to our brothers and sisters. In Acts chapter 2 verse 17 it says that “‘In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Let's allow God to pour out His spirit on us so that we can be a blessing to someone else. I don't about ya'll but I want God to extend my reach so that I can touch territories and people beyond what I thought I could do. For we know that through Him nothing is impossible. Let's GO HARD OR GO HOME!
Love Ya'll
Rickey Danielle
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Post by R .Parker on Apr 1, 2014 19:39:11 GMT
Yes...!!! Courtney, and Rickey.I totally agree.I have found out that God is a master of strategy.Jesus did not become Messiah, and other people did not make him the Messiah, No and from his own conception, he is the Messiah. He was born the Messiah.
However,this chapter take me back to yesterday discussion.Mary,and Joseph reminds us all again that you will have to have strong faith, obedience when God is speaking to us!!!
God Bless y'all...Love y'all!!!
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Post by natalie on Apr 2, 2014 3:38:23 GMT
For all the ones who have commented before me: AMEN!! Sometimes I read what everyone puts and I think "well they already said what I was going to say". Guess what? That is just conformation! God is good and is speaking to his people if we will just listen. I love how both ladies pointed out verse 6. It absolutely does not matter where we came from, but only where we are going. We are royalty, we are children of the one true king. God is always speaking to his people, whether it be a dream, a prophet, a still small voice, etc. God hasn't changed, his people have. We are so busy many times we don't hear what God is trying to say to us.
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donp
New Member
Posts: 44 
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Post by donp on Apr 2, 2014 14:06:40 GMT
"God is always speaking to his people, whether it be a dream, a prophet, a still small voice, etc. God hasn't changed, his people have. We are so busy many times we don't hear what God is trying to say to us. " This was what I've been thinking about all week. I am at a place where if I don't hear God I'm lost and frustrated. I have to really do better about making sure I give time for God. Life is busy and noise is loud, but I'm really pressing for more uninterrupted quiet time … so I can hear my Lord's more clearly … Just like I'd want intimate and uninterrupted time with @rickey, the Lord is bringing me to a place where He's showing me that without that communion with Him I'm lost .. It gives me an appreciation for such a privilege to be able to talk with my Father and just listen to Him … it's irreplaceable. Thank natalie |
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Post by Quia on Apr 2, 2014 16:14:35 GMT
Hey guys,
Hope everyone has had a good day. I agree with Ron in the fact that we need to be obedient when God speaks to us. This chapter reminds me of that specifically regarding v. 13 and v 16.
13 "...Get up, he said to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him"
16 "When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious , and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi"
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I am reading it seems that Joseph stayed in Egypt for at least two years. This, to me, is a reminder to us to be PATIENT...I know that we have learned that God is an on-time God, but a lot of times that is something that is hard to hear. We don't want to wait, we want what we want when we want it. This portion of the story is a reminder that if we aren't obedient and move before our time, we could put ourselves in jeopardy and cause ourselves to lose/miss/compromise our blessing. Think about if Joseph had decided to take matters into his own hands instead of being obedient to God...he could have thought (after a year or so) that there was no more danger and he could move himself and his family. Had this happened, Jesus could have been killed. In the same way, the devil (like Herod) is out to kill us and if we move before God wants us to move, he may succeed. So just be encouraged and remember to always seek God's face before making a decisions bc if not the consequences could be very serious.
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