A Safe Place
Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary
was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Jesus was born. He became our only hope. Acts 4:12 says neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. We must have Jesus to get to heaven. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
We all have troubles and trials, in them we must trust in Jesus–He is our safe place. Daniel chapter 3 tells us about wicked King Nebuchadnezzar. He had an image of gold built that was 90 feet tall and 9 feet thick. He commanded all people to worship the image. We must stop right here and remember that our GOD IS NOT AN IMAGE. This was an unmovable, uncaring image. God cared enough to go the extra mile for us and sent his son–our safe place.
The king said I have set this up and you will worship it. This worship will take you to the pits of hell. Our God will take us to heaven–our safe place–when we worship him. The king was a cruel one. Everyone was to bow. There were those of the land of Israel, the three Hebrew children, that refused to bow down. They remained true to their God. They took God at his word that he would protect them. Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord, not ourselves, and he (God) will direct our path. They had hope in God not in the image set before them.
When the king found out they refused to bow he was raging mad and demanded that the soldiers fire up the furnace seven times hotter and throw the young men into it. It was so hot that it killed the men who threw them in. We serve a God who cares and takes care of his children. These Hebrews found a safe place. If we serve the living God, we too can have that. The king looked inside the furnace and saw four men, not three, and said the fourth looked like the Son of God. The three inside that furnace certainly had a safe place with the Lord inside. When we serve the living God we find that same safe place. When the king had them removed from the furnace not a hair was singed and their clothes didn't smell of smoke. They stayed with Jesus–their hope.
It's time to get excited about salvation and tell the world, for it will pass away. We take more care of the tabernacle we're in than the man or woman inside it. We need to remember the safe place is in the blood of Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus came to save his people from their sins. In the arms of Him we are in a safe place. Let's get in the Bible and walk around in it. We'll be in a safe place.