God Knows Where You Are

Pray – (1/2 minute)

Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, . . . the sons of Bethlehem, 123. The men of Netophah, 56. The men of Anathoth, 128. . . .” (Ezra 2:1, 21-23ff)
      Passage: John 1:43-51

        In the list Ezra gave in chapter 2 of the first group of people who went back to Israel after the exile was over, he began by identifying them with the families that they were descended from. In verse 21, he has an abrupt change and begins to identify them by the towns where their families were from. The first of those towns was Bethlehem, which was small and insignificant at the time, but it was the town where God said the Messiah would be born. Netophah was near Bethlehem, but even smaller. Yet, its heritage contained men who were some of King David’s mighty warriors. Anathoth was a small town that just 50 years earlier was under God’s judgement because the men of the town threatened to kill Jeremiah for speaking God’s Word. (Jeremiah 11:22)
      A takeaway from this list is that God knows where you are from, and He knows where you are now. He knows all about the history of your family and the circumstances that have caused you to be where you are today. No place is considered to small to have people who are used in God’s service and no one’s past history of their life or family prevents them from receiving His grace and being used in the present. You are special to God!  

Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)