Wednesday... They didn't miss him at first.

Luke 2:43 (NLT), "After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first."

Wednesday... They didn't miss him at first.

Now at the age of twelve, Jesus and his family went from their home in Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They all went on a trip. It wasn't the norm, it was a celebration. Luke 2:43 (NLT) says, "After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first."

It seems that they assumed that he was among the other travelers but when he didn't show up they started looking for him among their relatives and their friends.

We can have so many distractions in our lives and we can assume that Jesus is with us but somehow we have left him behind until. And an until can be so important in our lives because it causes us to stop and look for where Jesus is.

I don't know what you are going through but I do know that Jesus is where he is suppose to be but it is us that can get off track.

Now we have had some news come our way this week that was a great surprise. We were coming back from a special time in California but we then got a call that reminded us that we needed God. Our life was changing and we needed to find where God was and what he was doing.

The last part of verse 43 says, "they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first." And that can be so true of us and our lives.

We can take charge of our life without any regard for where Jesus is until something happens to show us that Jesus has other plans and we need to stop and find out where he is and what his priority is. Now spending time in his Word is a great way to find what is important to him. But a call, a letter, a surprise can get our attention that God is moving our life in a different direction and we need to search for him and what his priority is for our life. We need to get where he is and what his plans are in focus.

Verses 45-47 says, "When they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers."

Verses 49-50 (MSG) says. "He said, 'Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I had to be here, dealinging with the things of my Father?' But they had no idea what he was talking about."

We really do think we know but an until can happen that gets our focus back upon what God's purpose is in our lives. We too can be amazed at his understanding and his answers. We just need to stop and get focused again.

Yes, we are in the process of making changes in our life. God is definitely taking us in a different direction and it is amazing. Thanks Jesus for the human example for dealing with the things of our Father, and thanks God for getting our attention. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

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