a 365 day trip through Matthew with a key thought, prayer, focus verse and contextual verses for each day
 |
|
 |
|
While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to the son. And Joseph named him Jesus. (NCV)
Matthew 1:20-25
One time Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. Joseph said, “Listen to the dream I had. We were in the field tying bundles of wheat together. My bundle stood up, and your bundles of wheat gathered around it and bowed down to it.” His brothers said, “Do you really think you will be king over us? Do you truly think you will rule over us?” His brothers hated him even more because of his dreams and what he had said. (NCV)
Genesis 37:5-8
”‘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.” (NIV)
Acts 2:17 |
|
January 11
The Blessings of Worship - Matthew 2:11-12
They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Full Text
Key Thought
While Herod tried using his knowledge of Jesus' birth to kill him, the Magi used this knowledge to find him and worship him. Their worship involved giving of themselves, their time, their treasure, and their honor. Like them, when we truly come to Jesus to worship him, willing to offer our time, our treasure, our honor, and ourselves, then God reveals his will to us and uses us to bless the work of Christ.
Today's Prayer
Loving God, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I love you and thank you for sending Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and my Savior. Please receive my heartfelt worship and praise for his worthiness and glory, and use me to advance his cause in the world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses with Jesus
(key verses in bold)
1 Jesus was born in the town of
Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born,
some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the
baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and
have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as well as all the people in
Jerusalem. 4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of
the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. 5 They answered,
“In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the
Scriptures: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are important
among the tribes of Judah. A ruler will come from you who will be like a
shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”see
Micah 5:2
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them
the exact time they first saw the star. 8 He sent the wise men to Bethlehem,
saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so
I can worship him too.” 9 After the wise men heard the king, they left.
The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above
the place where the child was. 10 When the wise men saw the star, they were
filled with joy.
Top of Page 11 They came to the house where the child was and saw him with
his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their
gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But God
warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to
their own country by a different way.
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod
is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I
tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and
his mother. 15 And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to
bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son
out of Egypt.” 16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was
furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the
surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with
the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the
prophet Jeremiah came true: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah of painful
crying and deep sadness: Rachel crying for her children. She refused to be
comforted, because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while
he was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother
and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the
child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22 But he
heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So
Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the
area of Galilee, 23 to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what God
had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a
Nazarene.”
(NCV) The New Century Version, (Dallas, Texas:
Word Publishing) 1987, 1988, 1991.
Used by permission.
|
