Epiphany........ Revealing the Life of Jesus. A devotional for Week 9 February 27

From a cradle to a foreign land. From the foreign land back to Bethlehem. From Bethlehem to Nazareth. In Nazareth, a carpenter shop. "And Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" as Jesus "grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." I became a grandfather this year. My granddaughter is a wondrous joy to behold! (Wanna see a picture?) Each time I get to see her, I marvel again at the awesome design that God has invested in her. Each little finger so masterfully crafted. Those big brown eyes that dance with delight each time her attention is captured by some movement or pretty color. How could such a child, ANY child for that matter, not be held in wonderment of the life that lies ahead? I also am the father of 3 children. They've all grown up and gone away to college, and as I ponder through the vast collection of childhood pictures, I ache for the days when once I was able to hold them tightly and reassure them that every thing was going to be okay. It was much simpler then. They didn't realize how inadequate I am for that task. Reality sometimes has its own special way of being cruel. But there, in Nazareth, a young boy began to watch his father in the carpenter shop. It was there that he surely must have amazed neighbors with his ability to observe and relate in ways that no other child they had ever seen could. And in that community, as he watched life play out around him, that child began to develop into the most powerful character of human history. By the time he was 12, he was able to astound not only his fellow townspeople, but the rabbis and teachers of the Temple in Jerusalem as well. In short, He was awesome. For some 30 years he worked in that carpenter shop. Building, always building. Bringing usefulness to raw material and functionality to simple boards. History shares that the furniture built in such shops would age gracefully and beautifully and literally get stronger as joints hand hewn would eventually almost weld the two pieces of wood together as time passed. Building, ALWAYS building. Even when he left the carpenter shop. His presence changed lives like no other person ever had. Just ask Blind Bartimaeus, or Mary Magdalene, or Czechs, or the Gadarian Lunatic. What HE built never fell apart. He was an expert in making things last. "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid; which is Jesus Christ." He's still the expert. Praise God. Joe Hittle, Ottumwa, Ia, USA Prayer Lord, You are the Master Builder. We humans often build on foundations that are not strong. When we build our lives on the foundation that you have laid, we know that the building will stand forever. We pray for guidance that we may know Your will as we build our lives, based upon the principles found in Your Word. Help us to learn to submit our lives to Your will in all that we do. Amen Suggested Daily Scripture Reading [Psalms 146, 147] [Prov. 9:1-12] [ II Cor 9:6-15] [Mark 10:46-52] Visit 1999 Advent/Christmas Series Return to Epiphany Entry Page You may send e-mail comments or suggestions toYvonne Edwards. Edited: Feb. 5, 7:45 a.m. Page designed by: Cecil Wallace The background borrowed from Woodshop 101 Copyright © 1999 NazNet All rights reserved. International copyright secured.