Daily Treasure

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We are all going to suffer temptation in our lives. There is no way out of it. Christ, our Lord and Savior also went through many trials and temptations in His short life in this world. He suffered and made it through, and by His grace and mercy He will help us to overcome temptation as well. During His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus used God’s word to fight the wiles of the Devil. He provided that same word to us. The scripture refers to God’s word as a sword. What is the purpose of a sword? Isn’t it used as a weapon to fight with? That is why we need to spend time in God’s word daily. We may not think that we get much out of reading and that we don’t have time to do it everyday, but it is necessary. That is the weapon with which God has provided for us to fight. We can not be slack in studying God’s word for fear that the enemy will gain the upper hand and we would be consumed in the temptation we may be facing. God has promised that He will make a way for us to escape the temptation and He has given us His Holy Word to be able to fight. Now it’s up to us to use what He has provided. Just as Jesus was able to overcome, we too, can be over comers to the temptations that Satan places in our path.

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Cathy Crawford as she plans her return to France in January.

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Our Scripture today indicates that Jesus continued to grow in every way. Since we don’t read any more about Joseph after Luke 3, Jesus may have had a lot of responsibility with His earthly family. He would always care about them, but He had His priorities in order. By the age of thirty, he had learned much about life and the Scriptures and had spent many hours alone with His heavenly Father. He was ready to begin His earthly ministry.

John the Baptist, His earthly cousin, had begun to pave the way for Him. One day He happened by the Jordan River, saw Cousin John and asked him to baptize Him. John felt so unworthy to do this, but Jesus insisted. What a beautiful sight as we see Jesus coming up out of the water and . . . “the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3: 16b-17). Jesus had traveled a bumpy road to manhood. His baptism pleased His Heavenly Father and accomplished a Heavenly purpose.

As you travel down the road of life, your goal should be to please God as well. You may encounter adversities in various forms but keep your eyes on Jesus and He will help you attain that goal.

PRAY TOGETHER: Students in our Bible institutes both overseas and stateside would appreciate prayer.

“And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).

Now that we have determined Jesus did not just stay in the manger until he was age twelve, let’s look at the first recorded event of Jesus’ youth. It was the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus and His earthly family attended. After the first day of their journey home, Mary probably did a head count and discovered someone was missing. That someone was Jesus. With the throng of people returning home from the Passover, something could have happened to Him. He was only twelve. He could have wandered off with some other boys. Anything was possible. You can imagine how frantic Joseph and Mary felt. Their precious Son was missing.

They searched for Him three days in desperation. Finally, they thought, “Let’s go to the Temple.” There He was, speaking with the scribes, Pharisees and priests who were all amazed by His maturity and wisdom. However, Jesus’ parents were not. I envision a mother somewhere between relief and anger as she reprimanded Jesus. Joseph certainly had words with his son. How could He have worried them sick? He was going to have some explaining to do. Jesus reminds His mother, as we find in our Scripture today, He “must be about His Father’s business.” Mary may not have understood but she kept His words in her heart. She realized she would have to allow Him to step into manhood and do God’s will. It’s hard to let go when you feel your child is being called away from you to do the will of God. It doesn’t matter if you are ready or not to free them, you have to love both them and God enough to permit this to happen.

Parents, if you have a child who feels called into full-time Christian service, be prepared to do as Mary and let him or her go. May we all redeem our remaining time “being about the Father’s business.”

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for new employee Shelley Howell in International Missions’ finance department.

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus was fully man, yet fully God. Jesus, in the flesh, experienced all the woes of adolescence. However, the only thing that set Jesus apart from other children was He was not born with a sin nature.

My children are grown, but I well remember those adolescent years. They were years of growing, learning, and making mistakes. For Jesus, it was just a time of growing and learning because He was the sinless Son of God.

I love the way Mona Dukes, “Road Trip” Bible study writer in our magazine, Together With God, expresses the following: “Born to be the spotless sacrifice for us, His sin-free life was a necessity. He was like us, so He could know our plight, but He was pure so He could save us from it.”

Jesus understands, by experience, what we are facing. Whatever we face in this life, it is wonderful to know that the sinless Son of God can honestly say, “been there, done that.” He was able to overcome and through Him we can overcome as well.

PRAY TOGETHER:Pray for Diane Conn, bookkeeper at WNAC, as she closes out the books for the year.

“And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23).

After a period of time had passed, God revealed to Joseph it was safe to return home. If you’ve ever been far from home for any length of time, you would rejoice at that kind of news. I’m sure Joseph and Mary were excited. However, it was not like booking a flight and being home in a matter of hours. They had a long walk ahead of them. It may have taken about four months to travel but they were headed home. It was far from easy, but knowing they were going home had to give them the determination to reach their destination. They had to be so relieved once their long journey was over. God had more in store for this family, especially for Jesus, so the journey really had not ended. It was the beginning of more they would have to face.

You may feel the road you are traveling seems difficult and endless, but take consolation. You are on your way Home!

PRAY TOGETHER: There are many orphans as a result of the Iraqi conflict. Pray for these children.

“. . . Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt” (Matthew 2:13b-14).

Sometimes, as we journey down the road of life, we may be asked to make detours that may not be convenient for us. Joseph and Mary had already traveled a long way to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. While they were there Jesus was born. It would have been easier on them if they could have traveled back to their home at Nazareth, but God appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to flee with his family immediately to Egypt so Herod would not be able to destroy Jesus. Though this was going to be far from convenient, Joseph never questioned God. He was willing to trust God as he and his little family headed for Egypt.

Though we do not find much recorded about Jesus’ very early childhood, we do know enough about His earthly father. Joseph loved the Lord and took his responsibility of not only raising Jesus but his other children seriously. He raised them in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). All parents should raise their children in this manner.

It is not easy to imagine Jesus between the ages of birth to twelve years old, but He was fully human as well as fully God. He experienced every stage of life while in earthly form. Think about your own children and all you encountered with them; diapers, scraped knees, and everything that made them happy or sad. Jesus had a normal early childhood with loving Godly parents.

It did not matter where God would lead Joseph. His faith and service to God did not change. May we purpose in our hearts to be like Joseph and bloom wherever God plants us.

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for faculty and students at our Free Will Baptist colleges as they end another semester.

“I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people” (Psalm 35:18).

Remember there will be many in church services today who are seasonal worshippers. Pray for them as you praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

PRAY TOGETHER:  Pray that God will raise up an army of intercessors for lost souls.