Today Our Daily Bread Matthew 2 , John 1:14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
Matthew 2
The Visit of the Wise Men
1Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2"Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him."
3Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. "Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?" he asked them.
5"In Bethlehem," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote:
6`O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' " 7Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"
9After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt
13After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother," the angel said. "Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child." 14That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15and they stayed there until Herod's death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "I called my Son out of Egypt."
16Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier. 17Herod's brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah:
18 "A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah-- weeping and mourning unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted--for they are dead."
The Return to Nazareth
19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him, 20"Get up and take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead." 21So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22But when he learned that the new ruler was Herod's son Archelaus, he was afraid. Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee. 23So they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah: "He will be called a Nazarene."

~Lena’s Journalin’~
The Saving ONE was born into a natural world of natural parents in a township only 6 miles from where God’s temple of the day was located. The town He was birthed in means - “House of Bread” inside of another location which means - “He shall be praised”.
Every Word that is spoken by God or written by men inspired By God, has a meaning beyond our natural and initial thoughts of it. There are no coincidences, no mistakes at all. Jesus was born when He was to whom He was, at the location He was, to say something to the world for ages to come.
The interpretation of the message can be given by the spiritual tutelage of the Holy Spirit, The One God sent, the One Jesus left here to tell us all things. He should be our tutor, our instructor. As we read and study God’s word, we can see further and deeper into it than the actual face value, if we desire. We can see as much as we desire to see. As we study, as we ask of the Lord, He is faithful to show and reveal Himself through His word.
I’d like to share a simple understanding of this that I had one day years ago as I read this passage. That small bit of understanding from God’s spirit inside of me, has taken me further and further into God’s word and its study.
It was actually around Christmastime. We’d gone to a couples Christmas party at a home of a couple from church. It was set up like a romantic dinner for 2, at each small table there was a basket of bread. This bread was so good, it was the main part of the meal for me. It almost melted in my mouth. I love bread anyway, but this was something else. I found out who had baked it and complimented them immensely on its delicacy.
It so happened that Lance & I had packed our stuff and our vehicle was ready to go on our annual trip to the Midwest to be with his parents for Christmas. We were going home to get our children loaded up and leave very early or late or however you’d say it at the time of clean up from the dinner party the hosts, knowing how much I liked the bread and that we were going to be on the road for 24 hrs, offered for us to take some loaves along for the ride. I whole-heartedly accepted.
While on the long drive Lance and I would switch off who was driving. He usually started as I slept, then when he got sleepy I’d take over. It was just before the sun was going to peek its way on the horizon and he’d asked me to take the wheel, so I did. It was a nice quite time (which is not very frequent with 6 kids in the car), I was listening to praise music and thanking the Lord for everything I could think of at the moment, just enjoying Him. I started to get a little sleepy and hungry and remembered the bread form about 12 hours before! Ahhh, I thought, num, num, I “drooled” as I felt for the bag of bread. It was so soft and amazing and right now I had it to myself! I reached for it in the bag, which had been sealed tight and I felt it, pulled on it to tear a piece off and felt it crumble instead of tear. I brought a piece to my mouth and it was hard…..??? Huh? Is this the same bread? Man, what a disappointment! As soon as that thought came into my head I heard the Holy Spirit inside of me say- Fresh Bread is better. THAT is what Day old bread is like.
All the rest of the trip I meditated on that and during our stay I’d go to scriptures on bread, manna from heaven, Jesus being the Bread of life, man not living by bread alone etc. The Lord used this to speak to me about my devotional life and how as a Christian I had been trying to live on bread I’d had from Sunday to Wednesday to Sunday. He said there was something much better, just like the bread we’d had at the table for 2. He showed me how He’d asked the Israelites to gather the manna everyday first thing in the morning and how if they horded it to last another day, they’d find it was not only stale, but full of maggots. They were to gather enough to feed their own household each day, and there was only one day they could gather twice as much, because God wanted to feed them and have them rest.
Jesus came to bring us fresh bread, and actually He is the fresh bread we seek everyday. The house of bread that He’d like to be born in is me. This way, He’d be praised. Where He resides, there He is glorified. He’d like each house (person) to receive Him and His daily provisions for them. He’d like to be born and grow up in each heart. Amen.
Ya know what else? This is God’s call, His plan, His plot for the earth, that the whole earth would be filled with His glory, that each heart would receive Him, that each person would spend time each day getting to know Him better. This is actually how He set it up for our whole world to be saved, and to win the victory over his enemies.
Well, guess what? The enemy hates every thought of that and will do anything and everything to make sure that that cannot happen. Will bring more and more reasons and excuses for us to not bake or eat daily bread or give God praise. There are so many other choices before us. The only way for any person to combat that is to be completely aware of his plight against us and against God. See how Herod tried to kill even baby Jesus? If the enemy can take a person when they first accept the Lord and lie to them and steal their attentions back on the things of the world, he’s gained ground (remember humans are made of “dust”)
We have to decide, to accept Him, them be nourished by His words – daily., becoming one who uses God’s words as textbook study for the operations of life and do His words as though they are given to us for a very serious mission. Think of the daily bread as instructions on how to do the work, OJT for life and for kingdom expansion in me and with my influence on others.
Notice how true worshipers give (of their life’s resources) where enemies just want to take (Herod) the life out.
I think it is cool how when the Lord told them to leave Bethlehem, His place to take Jesus was out into the place that symbolizes sin and slavery and bondage. The people in slavery, sin and bondage, need bread, need Jesus.

John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.