March 14 and 15

 

In this visit to Jerusalem, the parents of Jesus wished to bring Him in connection with the great teachers in Israel. While He was obedient in every particular to the word of God, He did not conform to the rabbinical rites and usages. Joseph and Mary hoped that He might be led to reverence the learned rabbis, and give more diligent heed to their requirements. But Jesus in the temple had been taught by God. That which He had received, He began at once to impart.

         Desire of Ages, page 78 from the chapter, 'The Passover visit'

     Let’s take a step back. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, for His safety He was taken to Egypt for a while and then returned to Israel to live in Nazareth. Nazareth had a poor reputation but kept Jesus safe from the influence of the learned Rabbis.

     Notice that Joseph and Mary had not picked up on that, neither had Jesus’s brothers and sisters. To them a link with the established religious authorities was important.

     Notice these few words, “But Jesus in the temple had been taught by God”. At the right time Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem and marvelled at the temple rituals. He came to spiritual life by virtue of His surroundings – and now – we realise because He was being taught directly by God.

     We might come back to this issue but we do note this, “That which He had received, He began at once to impart.” When you learn something put your learning into action immediately. When you learn that it is important to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day please do it. One effect will be that God will be able to teach you directly.

     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