Obedience

Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.   Every time I start reading in the New Testament I am reminded of how much of the Bible is Old Testament. The Old Testament is huge, and it is densely populated with God's truth. However, all of the Old Testament culminates in Matthew 1 in the person of Jesus Christ. The very first words of Matthew are "the book of the generation of Jesus Christ." This last genealogy of the Bible illustrates that all the genealogies of the Bible culminate in one person, the Lord Jesus. If you scan Matthew 1-3 you find a repetition of the idea that God is fulfilling prophecy through His Son, the Lord Jesus. For instance, in Matthew 2:15 it says, "That it might be fulfilled...." In verse 17 it says, "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet...." Again in Matthew 2:23, "That it might be fulfilled..." Matthew's point is that the birth of Jesus Christ was according to God's plan. Now of all the prophecies mentioned in the first part of Matthew the one that strikes me the most is the one recited by the chief priest and scribes when King Herod demanded of them where Christ should be born. Their answer to Herod was, "For thus it is written by the prophet." These Bible scholars knew prophecy, understood in some measure God's promises, but totally missed God's Son. Why? Because an understanding of prophecy is worthless without a willingness to obey in the present. Can I tell you something? You know everything you need to know in order to do what God wants you to do today. You don't have to know the future to know what is right today because so much of what God wants today is just obedience to the basic principles of His Word. Can God show us things more specific than that? Of course! But it begins, not with a fascination of the future, but with a willingness to obey God right now. The key is not to know the future, but to know God because God knows the future. Nothing is more important than obeying God right now so that you can be where you should be tomorrow. Prayer Requests: -Day Camp Week, June 16-20   Enjoy more devotionals, sermon audio, and articles on our website!