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Flight To Egypt

Matthew 2:13-18

While the Christmas season may be over for 2019, I still am enamored by the nativity accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, Magi from the East came to visit him, bearing gifts. From there, Joseph took Jesus and Mary and headed to Egypt.

Flight To Egypt

King Herod was interested in finding the baby Jesus, not because he wanted to worship him, as he implied to the Magi, but because he viewed him as a threat to his throne. So he arranged for the Magi to return to him, relating the details of their discovery of Jesus, so he could eliminate him. However, God had other plans, and as we look at this section of Matthew 2, we can see that his plans were in place from the very beginning.

God sends an angel to Joseph in a dream, telling him to flee to Egypt, in verse 13. This was a command to depart right away, and verse 14 indicates that it probably took place on that same night that the Magi arrived. This was according to God’s plan all along, and Matthew indicates this clearly by one of a long list of prophecies that surrounded the birth of the Savior. In this case, the Old Testament passage quoted is from Hosea 11:1:

When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

A trip to Egypt would not have been a difficult thing to do. Traveling one hundred miles directly from Bethlehem would put Joseph well past the border, and two hundred miles would put him at the Nile River. In Egypt, there the family would find friends, probably relatives, because there were an estimated one million Jews in the Nile valley at that point in history. Early tradition states that this small family came to the cities of On or Heliopolis. And of course, the trip was easily financed, with the gifts that the Magi had recently delivered to them.

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Coffee Break – 01.21.2019

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1853, Dr. Russell L. Hawes patented the envelope folding machine. In 1855, gun designer John Browning, sometimes referred to as the “father of modern firearms,” is born. And in 1970, the Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American.

Coffee Break

Today Is Squirrel Appreciation Day!
Yep. You read that right. Go hug a squirrel. Or maybe not…

Five Reasons Your Coffee Sucks – And just for the record… Mine does not.

5 Ways You’re Destroying Your Clothes – I have long ago decided that there is no reason I can’t be one of the best dressed people in any room. But if I am going to be buying quality clothing, there needs to also be some aspect of maintaining and repairing those items as needed. Here are some things you can do to make your clothing last longer.

Our Minds Can Be Hijacked… – I have become more and more of an advocate for putting down the phone. This article is a year old, but what it heralds remains eerily true, and perhaps even more so than when it was written. It’s a long read, but well worth it.

Why Photos Of The Eiffel Tower At Night Are Illegal – Did you even know about this? I didn’t. And it’s very interesting information.

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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:93-96

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

Very often, we read Scripture with a very generalized view. By that, I mean that we don’t live as if God’s Word is really living and active in our lives. In this passage from Psalm 119, the psalmist shows just how important Scripture is in his own life. Take a look at the first half in Psalm 119:93-96:

Psalm 119:93-96

I fall into that camp all too often myself. I read through a passage of Scripture and fail to see the relevance to my own life. Sometimes, it’s because I am rushing through the reading, so I can get on with other aspects of my day. Other times, my mind is too distracted by something else. And still other times, I simply fail to trust that God’s Word will give me the strength I need to make it through the day.

Throughout Psalm 119, the writer has not done any of those things. He has had some low points in his life, where his enemies are attacking him, and where he almost seems to wish that his life were over, despairing to the utmost. But never, not once, does he give up on God’s Word as a source of the strength and power that sustains him through all of his trails and the events of his life.

In this stanza, the psalmist seems to have turned a corner, and the worst is behind him. From here, the tone of Psalm 119 will be much more uplifting. And here, in this passage, the writer tells us why. He gives us three things that God has given to him – and to us – through his Word.

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One Word 365 – 2019 Edition

Finding One Word To Live By For 2019

For several years now, I have chosen one word by which I strive to live by for the year. I have never had much luck with resolutions at the beginning of a new year, and have much greater success by choosing a single word to make the focus of my personal growth for the next twelve months. I feel that I am able to become more of who I want to be, and more of who Gods wants me to be in this way.

One Word 365 - 2019 Edition

Over the past few years, I have chosen several words that have had a similar base to them. Last year, I chose to live “unhurried.” And the year before that, I chose to live in the “present.” Both of those stemmed from the feeling that God wanted me to live much more focused that I have been, and to set aside some things that, while being good things, were consuming much of my time and energy. This year’s word is along a similar vein.

I won’t go into details about all the words I have chosen to live by over the years (If you want to read through some of my other choices, and my reasons for them, here is a brief list). However, I will share with you that I believe that God is leading me to choose words words with similar concepts for a reason. I think he is continuing to grow me in these areas, and helping me to become more of the person he desires me to be.

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Read Through The Bible in 2019

Because It Matters What You Read

I can think of nothing higher on my priority list each day than to spend time in God’s Word. It’s that important. It really is.

Bible on Bench

I have tried over the years to find a Bible Reading Plan that makes a significant difference in my life, attempting and eliminating various options over the years. A few years ago, I found one that works for me quite well, and 2019 marks my seventh year of using it on a daily basis. I’ll describe it below, along with the impact it has had in my life.

Before I get to that, though, I want to reinforce what you probably already know to be true: that a daily Bible reading discipline is a necessity for the Christian life. It is difficult, if not downright impossible, to grow without spending significant time reading and studying the Word of God.

I won’t go into all the details of that in this article. I have written extensively on this over the years. Briefly, I’ll list several of the articles here: