Nazareth: a small village nestled into one of the hills of lower Galilee overlooking the triangular Plain of Esdraelon. It is not once mentioned in the Old Testament. It provided only the bare essentials. To get additional provisions one needed to travel to a neighboring town, maybe Sepphoris, about four miles away through rugged back roads.
But it did have religious leaders who would have dutifully taught their residents the faithfulness of God, the history of their people, and the promises of God for His people.
Nazareth did not have a great reputation. People did not expect much from Nazareth. One of Jesus own disciples sneered, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46)
Many of us come from such small towns. Many of those small towns have no reputation at all. They provide only the bear essentials. If one wants or needs more, one will need to go to a neighboring, larger town.
But those small villages often do have faithful pastors and teachers who devotedly share the mighty acts of God in ages past, the history of God's people, and the promises of God for the future. They tell about this One who came from Nazareth as the Savior of the world, and as your Savior!
You may have come from a little town that isn't well known and has no famous people from it. May our Lord bless your message as you share the Savior who came from a little village named, Nazareth.
THE PRAYER: O Lord, we ask Your blessings upon the small villages of the world. In particular, we pray Your blessings as they share the One who came from the little village of Nazareth, and as they carry the message of His love to all the world. Amen.
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