Psalm 121:8 English Standard Version (ESV) The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

The end of yesterday’s blog asked us what keeps us from coming to Christ. It is an all important issue for the lost to find salvation but it is not the only time we come to Christ.

Matthew 6:6 English Standard Version (ESV) But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Revelation 3:20 English Standard Version (ESV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Galatians 4:6 English Standard Version (ESV) And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Given that Jesus knocks at the door to our hearts as lost souls, and we answer and invite Him into our hearts, then this private room we go to pray is where He abides, in our hearts. We perceive with our minds, and all the distractions come to us by sight, sound and touch. This coming and going referred to in Psalm 121:8 is tied directly to Matthew 6:6 in that we live in our heads most of the time and we have access to Him in our hearts.

Wherever we go, Christ is with us. If we go to a football game, He is with us but our focus is on the game. If we go to a restaurant we focus on the menu and what we want to eat, but He is still with us.

Where we go is our choice but do we consider Christ in making those choices?

Where do we take Christ?

Matthew 2:2-3 English Standard Version

² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

We heard the events that followed in that Herod ordered the murder of every male child in Bethlehem and the surrounding region that were two years old and younger. His actions fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy and Herod’s attempt to change history failed.

When reading these passages to we understand why all of Jerusalem would have been troubled? It is written in God’s Word and given its proximity to Herod’s hearing about the birth of Christ, it might be important. We can only suspect what troubled them about the coming Christ. So often in these passages we can only place ourselves in their place and search out our own understanding and ask ourselves what troubles us.

Israel had been waiting 490 years for their salvation. They were conquered by Rome and had Herod appointed tetrarch over them. In order to remain in power Herod had to be ruthless and cruel. Crossing Herod was a dangerous thing to do. The people knew Herod was capable of the very thing he did. That might have troubled them. That might be just cause to be troubled.

What if they feared that Herod might be successful in killing the Christ child? That would mean that their 490 year wait had been in vain. They might miss their opportunity for salvation. If they were to be troubled by man’s effort to defeat God’s plan, they would see salvation as controlled by man, not God.

Let us take those thoughts and transport ourselves back to our present time and examine our own present circumstance? Have we heard of Christ and the salvation He has promised? Do we seek Him but see those in authority over us as being in control of our ability to come to Christ? Who or what is keeping us from coming to Christ today?