“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” “Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Luke 9:51; 13:33-35
“He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.” John 4:3-4
“Look… to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
At His parting from heaven’s glory, Jesus was Jerusalem bound. At His birth in a manger in Bethlehem, Jesus was Jerusalem bound. When His parents moved Him to Egypt, then Nazareth, Jesus was Jerusalem bound. And throughout His earthly ministry, from village to village, town to town, temple to temple with no place to lay His head, Jesus was Jerusalem bound. Each morning, each decision, each step, each encounter, Jesus was Jerusalem bound. He knew why He’d come to earth and every second here was ministry with sound purpose on His way to Jerusalem. (Matthew 2:13-14; 8:20; Luke 2:34-35; John 1:9-14)
The Lord also has a purpose for each of us, to His glorious ends. We have not His omniscience, but we can have Him as priority each day and trust His guidance. We can seek His face and favor as we determine to keep divine appointments and honor Him along these days and miles He alone knows. (Psalm 32:8; Proverbs 3:5-6)
How sound is our journey, how aligned with Christ’s ways and eternal fruit-bearing? Are we purposeful or playful? Keeping focused on the Lord’s ultimate ends affords grace in suffering, and hope in rejoicing for the glory ahead. (1 Peter 4:7-14)
“Once in royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.
He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all,
and His shelter was a stable,
and His cradle was a stall:
with the poor, and meek, and lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.
All through childhood and His ministry,
He would honor and obey,
to the cross He died there for us,
pierced and wrapped in grave He lay;
then He rose before dawn’s light
victory won o’er death, sin, and night.*
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
through His own redeeming love;
for that Child so dear and gentle
is our Lord in heav’n above,
and He leads His children on
to the place where He is gone.” ~Cecil Frances Alexander (1848) *PEB (2023)
Lord, keep me faithful and divinely aligned step by step en route to You, for the praise of Your glory.
As the rain and snow 