[Discoveries] 12-17-08 The journey to Bethlehem -- Matthew 2:1-2

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

/*For those struggling financially ...*/
/*The first time the rent or mortgage is due -- and you have no idea how 
you're going to pay it -- can be a time of real panic. I don't wish that 
situation on anyone. Obviously, we all do our best to make sure we don't 
get in that situation. But it happens. Sometimes the best laid plans go 
awry, and we find ourselves with our backs up against the wall. Let me 
encourage you. I've been there many times. God has never abandoned us. 
Something happened. Something changed; something came through at the 
last moment. My God will supply all your needs according to His riches 
in glory in Christ Jesus.*/

/*After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King 
Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the One 
who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have 
come to worship Him." -- Matthew 2:1-2*/

Why is it that some can recognize the presence of Christ, while others 
miss it entirely?

All my life I have been fascinated by the "Wise Men," the Magi. Who were 
they? How far did they travel? And how did they know? How did they know 
that this was no ordinary king? How did they know that the star 
signified more than just a new regime, but rather a king who needed to 
be worshiped?

There was a star. Surely other people saw it. Yet no one else followed 
the star so far as we know. Why?

These kings or astrologers or whatever they were arrived at city that 
was clueless. The greatest events of history were happening in nearby 
Bethlehem, but nobody seemed to know anything about it. It took someone 
from the outside to point it out.

I don't know the answers to most of these questions. I'm not sure God 
provides answers to them.

But I do know that the One who was born under the star still wants to be 
found. He wants to be found by every part of us, including the parts 
that forgot to look. He wants to be found not only by the religious part 
of us, but also by the scared part, the tempted part, the angry part, 
the apathetic part, the hopeful part. Let's take the journey to 
Bethlehem. Let's find the One who came to put us back together.

Be encouraged!
Dwight

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