anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 5 January 2021 – Simple Obedience

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Topic: Simple Obedience

Read: Luke 2:39-40 (NKJV)

  1. So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their [own] city, Nazareth.
  2. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

THE MESSAGE:

Verse 39 tells us that the parents of Jesus performed all things according to the law of the Lord; that is, they brought Jesus to the temple and the Priest dedicated Him while they offered all the sacrifices that the law required. The ceremony of bringing Jesus to the temple and dedicating Him to the Lord is required by God in the Old Testament (Leviticus 12:3), and of course, the New Testament realy does not abolish the laws of the Old Testament, but fulfils them. Today, many Christians choose and pick Old Testament scripture to obey at their convenience and comfort. Some refuse to pay tithes branding it an Old Testament law requirement, while some others do not find it necessary to offer their new born babies to the Lord with tangible offerings and sacrifices, yet they are very fast to claim Abraham’s blessings, forgetting that Abraham paid tithe and offered his, son, Isaac to God as a sacrifice.

We learn from our text today, the necessity to humble ourselves and do what is rightfully required of us by God and men. So many of us refuse to queue up: Drivers when there is a little delay; shoppers at the mall/market; customers at banks, etc. We are fast to cut corners to speed up! Some Christians, including some church leaders, are also unwilling to give offerings today. But the parents of Jesus willingly submitted themselves to the law of God and leadership of men. We must learn from this and change from today. If we obey God and our leaders, God will highly exalt us.

PRAYER: Lord have mercy upon me, and incline my heart to obey Your Word.