[Anglican Devotional 17 January 2024] Topic: Something Good Out Of Nazareth
TOPIC: Something Good Out Of Nazareth
READ: John 1: 43-51 (NKJV)
- The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
- Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
- Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
- Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
- Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
- Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
- Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
- And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
THE MESSAGE:
It is very often said that God specialises in bringing beauty out of ashes. This is very true! One of the reasons why many of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah was because of His connection with the city of Nazareth; a place despised and looked down upon. It was the divine arrangement to orchestrate the exaltation and popularisation of the despised city that the parents of Jesus were led to move to live in Nazareth. God showed His power by bringing a Messiah out of Nazareth! Mary, in the Magnificat, said, “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate” (Luke 1: 52).
Today, if you are feeling downcast, despised or worthless, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he might lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5: 6). It is in Christ that every lost self-worth and self-confidence can be restored and lost identity regained. People around you may have written you off as “nothing”, as inconsequential, but a complete surrender and dependence on Jesus Christ can turn all that around. In Christ, there is grace that can turn situations around for your good and to God’s glory.
PRAYER: Lord, may I receive Your power to turn every humiliating situation in my life around. Amen.
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