Matthew 2:22–23

Jesus did not leave us alone. From the least to the greatest of believers, Holy Spirit guides and directs our lives. It is spiritually discerned…it may not make sense to our flesh.

Our part is to learn to trust Him and listen!

Jesus is our Redeemer; "through the eternal Spirit [He] offered himself without blemish to God." By offering Himself as a sinless sacrifice for us, He "purif[ied] our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14). Now, through faith in Christ, we, too, have the privilege of presenting ourselves to God for His divine purpose.

As followers of Christ, we can cling to the promise of God completing His work in our lives too (Philippians 1:6). David Guzik notes, "Joshua needed to take strength and courage in the LORD and was small enough to be big in God." This humble "smallness" is not a reduction in our value; rather, it's a realization of the power that comes as we depend on God (John 15:4-5). First5 

“You are the light of the world,” Jesus reminded us. And yet, we read it as a command rather than an affirmation.
Here's the deal. Jesus never said, "Create the light. Contrive the light. Design the light. Engineer the light. He never even said, ‘Be good at light shining.’"
He said simply, "Let." Meaning "allow."
Meaning, get out of the way. The light is already there.
Inside of us.
Now.

SabbathMoments 

The supreme force in salvation is God’s grace. Not our works, not our talents, not our feelings, not our strength.

Faith is not born at the negotiating table where we barter our gifts in exchange for God’s goodness. Faith is not an award given to the most learned. It’s not a prize given to the most disciplined. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Mac Lucado

Matthew 2:22–23

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” The New King James Version

When Herod died, his kingdom was parceled out to his three sons: Archelaus, who ruled over Judea where Bethlehem was; Antipas, who became tetrarch of Galilee, Perea, Samaria, and Idumea; and Philip, who was tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis. Like his father, Archelaus was violent and cruel. The Romans tolerated his savagery for ten years and finally deposed him in a.d. 6. after a Jewish delegation took their protest to Rome. Joseph, aware of Herod Archelaus’s reputation and guided by God in a dream, turned north to Galilee. Nazareth was the location of the Roman garrison in northern Galilee. Those who lived there were suspected of compromise with the enemy. The NKJV Study Bible

The family must settle in Galilee. Nazareth was a place held in bad esteem, and Christ was crucified with this accusation, Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever Providence allots the bounds of our habitation, we must expect to share the reproach of Christ; yet we may glory in being called by his name, sure that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Mark 1:24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

Luke 2:39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”Philip said to him, “Come and see.”