Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Why Follow Jesus?

“When Herod realised that he had been outwitted.” Matthew 2v16

Here is a great reason to follow Jesus – the powers of this world could not touch Jesus unless God allowed them to do so.

Just like in some countries today, King Herod was determined to stamp Jesus out as soon as he could because he saw Jesus as a threat to his own authority. His plan was to kill the toddler Jesus. Step in God! God gives a dream to the magi to tell them to go back home by another route so they cannot report to Herod where Jesus was. And God gives a dream to Joseph to get his family moving to Egypt out of harm’s way. God sees the threat and God sorts it.

It was the same when Jesus came to his death – he voluntarily went to his death saying, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels?” (Matthew 26v53) 12 legions is 72000 angels to fight what may have been a few hundred soldiers. From a human point of view Jesus was heavily outgunned, from a heavenly point of view the opposite was true.

Here is the good news – when we come alongside Jesus, we come under the same protection he has. God protects us by his means (e.g. dreams above), and so we do not need to use the means of the world. And God’s means heavily outweigh the greatest might of humanity.

So stay in God’s protection today by keeping close to Jesus. May you “find refuge in the shadow of God’s wings” (Psalm 36v7)

With love and blessing,

Roland