FBC Daily Devotional – May 31, 2021

Memorial Day, Freedom, and Citizenship in Heaven

Well, a good Monday to you, Memorial Day, and it's a day for us to reflect on those who have given their lives to purchase our freedom and protect us as citizens of this great land. What a cost our freedom, what a cost our freedoms come.

This, by the way, should remind us of our true citizenship in heaven, and the cost of that citizenship for us, the freedom that we have as believers in Christ, at what cost did we obtain that freedom?

At the cost of the very life of our Savior, the lifeblood of our Savior. So there's a lot for us to think about on Memorial Day, even beyond that which the culture reflects upon. Well, speaking of Jesus and his coming into this earth, into this world, we read today in Luke chapter 2, the birth account, the birth narrative of Jesus as recorded by Luke.

The Providence Behind Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

And you know, this passage just reminds us of the oftentimes amazing work of providence. It's just, it is profound many times. When, you know, many times we don't, I would say probably most of the time, we don't stop to think about how God providentially orders things in our lives.

We just go through life day after day and don't really think about the Lord's providential working in our lives. But when we read what we read today, we can look back on this account and look at what happened at the birth of Jesus, and we can see divine providence in action.

So think about how amazing this providence is, all right? We know from the prophecy of Micah that Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. But Joseph and Mary, they live in Nazareth. That's their hometown and you know, they have no reason to leave their hometown.

In fact, that's a great hardship to leave their town and to make a journey of that nature. You know, it's not, as we think of it, it isn't all that far to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But it would be a, you know, more than a day's journey, and of course Mary is, you know, several months pregnant now, due to give birth any day.

So this certainly was not a trip that they would just make on a whim, and they wouldn't make it and say, well, you know, let's go back and visit the hometown of our ancient relatives, you know, Bethlehem.

Well, no, they're not gonna do that. So they had to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. How in the world is that gonna happen? And why should they go?

Well,.

Step onto the scene, the the announcement of the Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, saying that everybody has to be registered in a census. So you got this decree of the Roman Emperor. Does he have a clue? Does he have a clue what he's doing, that he's setting up the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and ensuring that Jesus, the Messiah, is born in Bethlehem and not in Nazareth?

Absolutely not. But the Lord does. God knows. And He arranged this. He arranged this. And then as you continue in our reading, we see further providential work as Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the temple to be named and circumcised, and excuse me, and just at the right time that they show up in the temple.

This man Simeon comes to the temple as well. He comes to the temple complex and he just so happens to run into Joseph and Mary as they're coming to perform this this rite on Jesus. And actually it's not the eight-day circumcision, right?

It's the 30 days of purification sacrifice that Mary needed to offer, and they need to offer for their newborn son. But nevertheless, at just that time, a month after the birth, Joseph and Mary show up in the temple, just so happened to show up at the same time Simeon does.

And then Simeon offers this incredible messianic proclamation. And it is so astonishing that verse 33 says, this proclamation, that Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.

They were astonished at this. They were astonished of this. And we're going to see in a couple days in our reading as our passage is going to pick up in verse 36, the coming of Anna. And here again, just a providential timing that Anna shows up when Jesus is there, and she too makes a pronouncement regarding the birth of Messiah, that he has finally come, the one for whom we've waited so long.

Trusting God’s Providential Care

So yes, the work of divine providence, most of the time, we're not even tuned into it. But sometimes, that providential work is a marvel. It is just a marvel. To behold. Let's thank the Lord for the way he providentially arranges circumstances for his own glory and for our own good.

So Father, we do thank you today. We thank you that in your providence you direct our steps. And we think on this Memorial Day of those who in your providence ended up giving their lives for the sake of our country to purchase our freedoms and to sustain and protect our freedoms.

Because of their work and your providential arrangement of life in this fallen world, your people in this land have unprecedented freedoms and we enjoy them so greatly. And Father, we also thank you today for the day-to-day providential work where you provide, you provide what is good for us, what is best for your glory.

May we trust you for that and we pray it in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Well, have a good rest of your Monday, your Memorial Day, and I hope the Lord will bless you in it. Have a good day.