January 24 and 25

"Through the wise men, God had called the attention of the Jewish nation to the birth of His Son. Their inquiries in Jerusalem, the popular interest excited, and even the jealousy of Herod, which compelled the attention of the priests and rabbis, directed minds to the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and to the great event that had just taken place. Satan was bent on shutting out the divine light from the world, and he used his utmost cunning to destroy the Saviour. But He who never slumbers nor sleeps was watching over His beloved Son. He who had rained manna from heaven for Israel and had fed Elijah in the time of famine provided in a heathen land a refuge for Mary and the child Jesus. And through the gifts of the magi from a heathen country, the Lord supplied the means for the journey into Egypt and the sojourn in a land of strangers."

Desire of Ages, page 64 from the chapter, 'We have seen His star'

God has this ability to surprise us. On a few occasions God takes people out of the way for their safety. Elijah – obviously. Saul, the one converted on the way to Damascus, was removed to Arabia He seems to have lived much of his life as an Apostle escaping disaster by some means or another. Then there is the whole episode of God’s care for His people, us, in removing them from Satan’s attack. You can read of that in Revelation 12.

We face difficulties in life. The possibility is that when we are in difficulty we might fight or we might fly. The possibility is that we might fly – and stay away. It is true that we might escape the problem. We might, on the other hand, miss the experience God might have planned for us.

Can we note that when God provides for an escape from a problem the departure is temporary. A short trip into Saul’s life is good evidence here. We know that Saul went to Arabia. Why?

“Here, in the solitude of the desert, Paul had ample opportunity for quiet study and meditation. He calmly reviewed his past experience and made sure work of repentance. He sought God with all his heart, resting not until he knew for a certainty that his repentance was accepted and his sin pardoned. He longed for the assurance that Jesus would be with him in his coming ministry. He emptied his soul of the prejudices and traditions that had hitherto shaped his life, and received instruction from the Source of truth.”

Acts of the Apostles p.125.

We might think that when times get tough we should 'get going. That may be a safe course. However there is another preferred option. When God takes us into safety the flight is not to escape but to re-equip for action.

Housekeeping details for you

The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here