Burunche’s Blog

Luke 2:41 “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

49And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.”

After detailed accounts about Jesus’ birth, we hear practically nothing about his growing up. Although there were many fables generated about the child Jesus, the early church discarded them in favor of this single story about Jesus in the temple with the religious teachers. Why? First, Luke makes it clear that Jesus’ family faithfully followed the commandments of Moses. This was an observant family who took time to regularly celebrate – Passover and travel to Jerusalem from Nazareth walking over rocky roads. Jesus was twelve years old and in his final year of preparation to take his place in Jewish society as a man. Once Jesus became bar mitzvah, a “son of the commandment,” he had the right to fully take part in all Jewish religious ceremonies, including the minyan or daily prayer meeting.

Luke always did his homework and got his information as accurately as possible. Joseph and Mary obviously trusted Jesus and didn’t realize he had stayed behind until they had gone a day’s journey. And when they returned to Jerusalem, it took three days to find Jesus. It’s likely that Jesus’ parents assumed he was hanging out with one or another set of the relatives, perhaps at Elizabeth and Zechariah’s place with his cousin John. The last thing anyone expected was that Jesus would be sitting on the temple steps where the rabbis sat with their students, taking part in heavy religious dialogue. 

Did the boy Jesus know that he was special? The question Jesus asked his parents suggests that somehow yes, Jesus knew that he had been set apart and that he had to be about his heavenly Father’s business, even as a twelve year – old.

Don’t underestimate the faith of a child! I began reading the Bible through every year when I was nine years old. When I was eleven years old, I read a biography of Dr. Ida Scudder, the lady missionary doctor who founded the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. That night, God called me in a dream and told me He wanted me to be a missionary. When I informed my parents, I doubt that they took me seriously. When I had a salvation experience at the age of fifteen, my family didn’t know what to think. But that calling was real. That salvation experience was real. It’s sad that there was no such program as AWANA available; I would have loved it. (A Workman And Not Ashamed – a Christian discipleship program for kids.)

In the 6^th chapter of Deuteronomy, God orders us,” ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.“ For a child to know what is true, right, just, good, lovely, and of good report, you must spend time with them and model devotion to God’s Word.  Today, ask yourself, “What are my priorities?” Teach your children! Pray for your children! And give your children your most precious gift – your time.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, today we feel overwhelmed by all our responsibilities. Our kids are growing up so fast and there are so many things that are pulling us apart. Lord, bring us together in You. Let us all find our rest and our peace in You. In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 2: 40 “And the Child grew and became strong ^[k]in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” Matthew 7: 1-5 “Judge^[a] not, that you be not judged. ² For with what ^[b]judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

An ordinary life in a small Galilean town with a father who was a tekton. When we visited Israel in 2016, we learned that that term could apply to stone masons as well as to carpenters and it was quite probable that Joseph might have worked in both wood and stone. Even in Jesus’ day, there weren’t very many trees in Israel apart from olive trees, while there was lots of stone. And meanwhile, the Romans were building Sepphoris, a new large and beautiful city about four miles from Nazareth. At that time, Nazareth was a very small village, so it’s likely that both Joseph and Jesus worked on construction in Sepphoris. And those experiences undoubtedly helped shape some of the stories that Jesus later told.

Jesus spoke a lot about rocks – about a wise man who built his house on a rock while a foolish man built his house on sand. (Did somebody build a house in a stream bed that only flooded once a year?) Jesus teased Peter about his original name, Simon, which refers to a small stone, and re – named him Peter, which refers to a large rock on which a building could be built.  Jesus’ experiences in working in wood led him to compare someone who was very critical to a man trying to remove a tiny splinter from his friend’s eye while he himself was blinded by a beam that had struck his own eye. This story might have referred to a real incident with which Jesus’ audience would be familiar. You can practically see some guy in the back of the crowd elbowing his friend and saying, “Hah! I knew sooner or later that crazy incident would catch up with Joel! Bet he’ll watch where he’s going in the future!”

So many times we worry that what we are doing is not good enough or that our work is not significant. But if we are doing what God has called us to do, there is no such thing as an insignificant job. No matter what we are doing, we are surrounded by people who need encouragement, people who depend on our fulfilling our tasks gracefully and enthusiastically. One of the things I appreciate about my husband is that he goes out of his way to complement cleaners in public restrooms. And if Bob gets good service from a waiter or waitress, he complements them in front of their manager. And he’s right! If not for those who clean, our work places and public places would be filthy. And waiting tables well is really a gift. Today, think about someone who is doing a small job well and then thank that person. You will make their day!

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that Jesus left us an example of faithfulness in his work. Thank you that there is no legitimate work that you have not blessed. Today, help us to be faithful and to fulfill your perfect will for our lives. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.

Matthew 2:19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”

21So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Shortly after ordering the slaughter of all the baby boys two years old and under in Bethlehem, Herod died. By this time, Joseph and Mary were in Egypt. And now for the last time that we know about, Joseph has another angelic visitation in a dream. Herod is dead, and it is safe to return to Israel. But Herod’s son Archelaus was little better than his father, so the angel warns Joseph to stay away from Judea and instead to go to Galilee. In those days, Galilee was a backwater, and Nazareth was considered a “trashy” town. Ghanaians would say that Nazarenes were “ignorant people from the bush.” But there were big advantages to such a location.

Nobody in his right mind would consider that any kind of a king could come from Galilee or particularly from Nazareth. In John 1:46, when Philip is trying to convince Nathaniel to come meet Jesus, Nathaniel scathingly remarks “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip replies, “Come and see.” Later on, when Nicodemus was defending Jesus to his fellow Pharisees, they mocked him and told him, “Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Actually, these religious snobs were quite wrong! Micah, Elijah, Jonah, and possibly Nahum and Hosea were all from Galilee. This general disdain for Galilee and its inhabitants served to protect Jesus as He was growing up and maturing. And the experiences that Jesus had during those years would later become the raw material for the parables He told so vividly.

Perhaps today God has placed you in an obscure location. Don’t feel alone! Many of us work in small out of the way places; yet, each one of us has the opportunity to serve faithfully wherever we are. All of us are familiar with the stories of those who began in small places and who fell from great heights once they reached fame and fortune. Proverbs 30: 7 – 9 says “Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): ⁸ Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; ⁹ Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.” 

PRAYER: Father God, today some of us are ashamed. We feel that we are not progressing or keeping up with others who began before us and are now wildly successful. But Father, you have called each of us to a specific task in a specific place. Help us to realize that if we are faithful to your calling, that is Your measure of success. Thank you that you continue to love us and care for us, that you will never leave us or forsake us, and that you are calling us to a bright future. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 2:12 – 14 “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

The Flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1-7) 13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” 14So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”  

The Wise Men had come and gone, avoiding Herod after God warned them in a dream. Mary and Joseph were probably still stunned by that amazing visit! But there wasn’t much time to bask in the glow left behind by the glittering cavalcade from the East, for danger was threatening. An angel appeared in a dream and warned Joseph to get out of the country quickly before Herod could kill the baby Jesus. By this point, Joseph had already lived with the miraculous so much that one more angelic visitation probably seemed normal. And Herod had a terrible reputation! By the time Herod was pursuing the Baby Jesus, he had already murdered numerous members of his own family, including his favorite wife. Herod was spiraling deeper and deeper into paranoia and madness. When the angel warned Joseph to pack up his family and leave the country, Joseph didn’t need any urging! Even though moving to Egypt meant leaving everything that was familiar, it was far better to move than to die! So, the little family plunged into the unknown just ahead of Herod’s soldiers.

Sometimes transitions are easy. And sometimes transitions are really rough! When I was fifteen years old, my family had to move from the farm they had farmed for 19 years to another farm. My dad made all the arrangements for friends from the church to come help us move from the huge farmhouse we had occupied to a far smaller one. But Dad just neglected to inform my mother or the three of us kids! When we went to school that morning, we had no idea that we would be in a different house by nightfall! Someone else packed up all of our books, toys, clothes, etc. When we got off the school bus, my grandfather picked us up and took us to our new house. It was months before we found some of our things, and when a tornado hit the garage where much of our stuff was stored two years later, we lost everything in that building. And the “new” house was not new at all! The house to which we moved consisted of two old houses that had been put together, neither of which was worth saving! (One morning, a large truck went by on the road outside and the noise caused all the plaster to fall from my bedroom ceiling onto me while I was still in bed!) My mother struggled for weeks to find her pots and pans, the dishes, etc.

We like to talk about God doing “new things” in our lives, but sometimes like Mary and Joseph, we can find ourselves running for shelter. But no matter what happens, the one thing we CAN count on in the midst of upheaval is the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

PRAYER Father God, today we are scared! The things we counted on have disappeared and we find ourselves facing new challenges. But Lord, you have promised that you will be with us and that you will never leave us. Help us to find the new paths you want us to take. And help us to remember that just as you protected Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus, you will also protect us. In your mighty and precious Name. Amen.

Matthew 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Finally, after months or maybe even years of traveling, the wise men find the king they have been searching. We can have all kinds of arguments about who the wise men were or why they were searching the stars. But let’s please remember that God has an infinite variety of ways to reach people. If God used stars to cause these men to travel to find the baby Jesus, why not? The question is not who these men were but why were they willing to travel so far and to suffer so much to reach this baby? No matter where they came from, the magi were men of faith who were hungry for a real experience with God. And they were so committed to finding God that they were willing to leave their comfortable homes and take incredible risks to travel to an obscure country.

Today you may be facing the unknown. Perhaps you’ve been downsized – you were the one with the most seniority and therefore the most expensive. Now you must find new work, and your worries are multiplying. Perhaps you have a job but you must relocate across the country and you are struggling with the problems of housing, schools, etc. Perhaps your health has taken a sudden downturn. Thirteen years ago, we sat in a doctor’s office numbly trying to absorb the news that my husband had prostate cancer and he needed treatment for it quickly. Being a health worker in such a situation is no help because you know all the horrible things that can go wrong.

No matter what you are going through, be encouraged! The same God who guided the wise men for thousands of miles through dangerous conditions wants to lead you into new paths. This is the same God who guided the Children of Israel through deserts for forty years. You may not know what lies ahead, but God is already there waiting for you. Trust Him!

PRAYER: Father God, today we are confused. We thought we had everything worked out and now our plans are meaningless. We are at our wits’ end and don’t know which way to go. But you are the God who guides and who provides. Please help us to trust you and to follow your leading. We thank you that you will give us peace as to what to do. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 2: 3  “You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north.”

Moses and the Israelites had been wandering in the desert close to Mount Sinai for years. But now God wanted them to change direction and take a new path. You can imagine the reaction when Moses came back to his people after this conversation with God. “Moses! God said what???  Look, it’s been bad enough that we’ve been wandering around this mountain, but at least we know where we are going and we know where the water holes are. We’ve finally gotten used to being out here. Now you want to take us someplace we’ve never been, just because GOD TOLD YOU???? ARE YOU CRAZY???

Forget that this was Moses, whose face would shine so brightly after he spoke with God that he had to put a veil over his face. Forget that this was Moses, who had brought the Ten Commandments down from the mountain. Forget that “…the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”  (Exodus 33:11) All these people could think of was that they were going to go off someplace new and they were afraid of the unfamiliar.

We are at the beginning of a new year, and it’s time for new beginnings. While we still have time, we need to take stock of ourselves and look at our prejudices, our opinions, our beliefs. What is worthwhile keeping and what needs to be gotten rid of? Life is too short to refuse to forgive and to hate. Unforgiveness doesn’t hurt the people who have hurt you; it only eats holes in your heart.

And what does God want to do with our situations? Perhaps we are comfortable with our jobs, but are we fulfilling God’s perfect will for our lives? God has a way of disturbing things. We love to quote verses about God doing new things, but we fail to realize that for the new to come in, the old must go. As you start this year, ask God to help you quit “circling a mountain” and give Him permission to take you in a new direction.

PRAYER: Father God, today we give you permission to change our hearts and our lives. Help us to cling to your Hand so that when you begin to shake up our situation, we will realize you are taking us in new directions and we will be willing to follow hard after you. In the Mighty and Precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water,

and the dry land into flowing springs.”

I first accepted Jesus as my Savior at the age of 15. Unfortunately, I lost my faith while in college and was more or less away from the Lord – although not away from church – for ten years. I regained my faith and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit simultaneously on April 15, 1978. Shortly after that re-dedication, I began having nightmares in which I was in a fiery barren landscape surrounded by rocks. I was being hunted by an evil being and had no place to hide. I quickly learned to call on Jesus in my dreams, and when I did so, suddenly the landscape changed. The fire disappeared, as did the evil Being who was hunting me. And I was left with a quiet starlit night with a refreshing wind blowing and no trace of the sulfurous gases that had previously choked me. Had someone else narrated such a dream to me, I might not have believed it, but the experience was completely real.

Perhaps today you feel as I did in my nightmares. You feel trapped with nowhere to go. Evil is pursuing you and you see no way out of your situation. Call on Jesus! He is our Savior. He is Immanuel, “God with us.” “But I don’t know Jesus,” you say. “I have spent my whole life trying to be the Captain of my soul, master of my own fate.” O.K., fine. And how is that working for you? Life has a way of inevitably bringing us to the end of ourselves. We can try to be our own gods, but we will always fail eventually. “But I have always scorned Jesus,” someone else might say. But here’s the thing about Jesus: you might scorn Him, but He died for your sins.

Tired of that desert with the scorching dry winds? Tired of trying to be your own providence? Come to Jesus, who never turns away, no matter how ugly and wretched we are and who never throws our sins back into our faces. He’s waiting for you. So, which will it be, scorched rocks and sulfurous air, or clean flowing streams and delight? Your choice.

PRAYER Jesus, I have spent a large part of my life trying to ignore you and running away from you. Today, I am tired of running. Please heal my situation. Please send your streams of living water into my situation and into my soul. I give you my heart, Lord. Amen.

Isaiah 43:18 “Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old. 19 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

One of the biggest mistakes any of us can ever make is assuming that God will act in the same way every time. That assumption tells more about us than it does about God. God is the Creator of the Universe; he is doing new things all the time. Every moment of every day there are new leaves appearing on trees, new insects, new baby animals, new baby humans. And although one baby human might look like another, if you check finger prints or retinal prints, each one is unique. Even when God sends snow, no two snow flakes are exactly alike.

When you’ve been struggling with the same problems for a long time, it’s natural to assume that nothing is ever going to change. Unfortunately, dragging that mind set into a new year is a lot like dragging a sack of garbage around behind you; not only will it not help, but the garbage just gets stinkier and stinkier! God wants you to dump the garbage. As long as you are dragging a garbage bag with both hands, you can’t open your hands to receive anything new from God.

“Making a way in the wilderness” is not simple. The land of Israel is full of hills and rocks; in the Israeli wilderness, there are a few well – beaten paths because the landscape is so rugged. But God assures us that He can make a way in the wilderness, that “He can make a way where there seems to be no way.” Throughout the Israeli desert, there are dry stream beds. Only at certain times of the year will these streams run bank to bank with water. But God assures us that he can send His healing water – His grace, His love, His joy into places that have never even seen such things. God can send grace, love, joy, and peace into every corner of our lives, if we will only let Him. Today, drop the garbage! Give the garbage to God and allow Him to make new paths for you and give you overflowing grace and mercy.

PRAYER Father God, please help us to leave the garbage of our old lives behind so that we can receive everything new that you have for us. Help us to see that you are making new paths for our feet and that you are going to give us streams in the driest places of our lives. In the Mighty and Precious Name of Jesus, Amen.

Isaiah 43:1-2 “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

We are walking into a new year. For many people, 2019 was brutal! Lots of hurt, lots of loss, and crushing disappointments tormented many people. Some faced continual financial hardships and the frustrations that resulted. And now we are entering a new year, wondering if anything is ever going to improve. Above everything else, we need hope.

When Isaiah was writing the words quoted above, he was writing to believers who were watching their country deteriorate. Good King Hezekiah was in power for much of Isaiah’s ministry; however, later Hezekiah’s wicked son King Manasseh killed Isaiah. Even during the time of Hezekiah, all was not well in Judah. People had begun to take God’s blessings for granted, as though they deserved them; meanwhile, it was only because of God’s love and mercy that He did not reject them. But God always has a remnant and Isaiah was called to encourage those who remained faithful.

Today, allow God to speak these words into your heart! Memorize them. Print these words up and post them on your mirror, on your refrigerator, wherever you might see them during the day. Look at these verses: God commands us not to fear or be afraid. God is our Creator, God formed us in the womb. God knows everything about us. No, God is not promising to carry us around on a silken pillow! We are going to go through floods and fires. But God promises that He WILL be there with us and that we will not be overwhelmed or burned.

PRAYER:  Father God, thank you for your sure promises! Thank you that you are going to be with us, no matter what we have to go through. And thank you that you are going to bring us out of our troubles. We thank you and praise you and bless you, now and forever. Amen.

Matthew 4: 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

Jesus had it made! Baptized by John and acknowledged as the Messiah, singled out for heavenly attention – now to start a successful ministry, right? A few miracles, a few crusades, and Jesus would be ready for the big time….right? Not exactly! Immediately after a scene at the Jordan River that could have come from a Hallmark movie, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Why wouldn’t God let Jesus just charge off into the work He was calling Jesus to do?

It’s interesting that Satan thought he was tempting Jesus while all the time God was using Satan to emphasize to Jesus how His ministry would have to function. And the first test was a highly practical one. Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. Satan’s first challenge to Jesus works on several levels: “IF you are the Son of God” – tempting Jesus to prove to Satan and himself that He really was God made man. Both Satan and Jesus knew that Jesus certainly could change the stones to bread, if he so desired. But had Jesus yielded to that temptation, his ministry would have been controlled by earthly appetites and not by the Word of God. Jesus not only knew who he was but he also knew why he had come and it wasn’t for cheap magic shows. And Jesus, hungry as he was, was willing to trust that at the right time God the Father would give him food. Jesus didn’t need to be his own providence.

Another thing to learn from Jesus: he did not answer Satan on His own; he quoted the Scripture accurately and used the Scripture as his defense. The Bible tells us that we are to trust in God’s word. Psalm 130:5 says “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.” Bible memorization is critically important if we are to be successful in spiritual warfare. Only the word of God can turn away Satan. Psalm 119:11 says “In my heart I store up your words, so that I might not sin against you.” Jesus grew up memorizing scripture and when he needed that knowledge, it was readily available.

Yet another thing to notice is the timing of the temptations. Many times, we may have a wonderful success, only to fail shortly thereafter because we are not being careful enough. This is another reason we need to study the temptations of Jesus. Satan loves to attack us when we feel sure of ourselves and confident that we can’t possibly fail. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” As we go about our work, let us be careful to remember that Satan is waiting to tempt us to prove our power, to be our own providence, to take short cuts, and to become overconfident.

PRAYER: Father, today help us to remember the way Jesus faced temptation and help us to copy him. Thank you that you are always with us to help us, to guide us, to protect us, and to provide for us. Help us to trust you as Jesus did. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.