Thursday
PRaP 12/21/06
 
“Magi”
 
Four days until Christmas and I have purposely been staying away from Christmasy things because we get bombarded with it this time of year.  I want to give you a different view today.
 
Matthew 2:1-2
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him."
 
Now these Magi traveled a long distance from the East and that is basically all we know from reading the Biblical text.  These men could have traveled from several different places East of Bethlehem and they could have traveled by boat also so the timing here is also speculative at best.  Here is what the Holy Spirit has shared with me through some other teachers.  First of all the faith of these Magi must have been great to say the least.  We figure that these Magi must have traveled for months to get to their destination.  Remember that they don’t have the family car to jump in nor do they have Southwest Airlines to move them about.  Let’s say it took 9 months for their travel.  So thinking in this way on the same day the Lord showed Mary He also told these three Magi and they had the faith to believe and began their journey.  Obviously their information was to follow the star and they would find the salvation of the world.  Out of their belief in what the world was they stopped in the palace to see the New Born King and yet they didn’t find Him.  Can you imagine how baffled they were when they got to the palace and the ruling king had no clue what they were talking about.
 
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
 
What an awesome sight that must have been.  Please don’t forget the reason for the season.  God loves us so much we cannot comprehend the depth, the width, nor the height of His perfect love.  Pour your life out to Him that He may have ALL of you instead of just the bits and pieces of your life.  He doesn’t give us His table scraps and even if He did they would be greater then anything the world can give.
 
PRaP Matthew 2
 
Key Verse:
Matthew 2:23
and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth . So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Matthew 2:22-23 (in Context) Matthew 2 (Whole Chapter)
 
PEACE and AGAPE LOVE, Pastor, Dad, DJ Dude
 
From The Desk Of:
Pastor Stephen Eldridge
christian_connection_ministry_me@yahoo.com
c2C    http://www.c2cministry.org
 
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Got Jesus?
Matthew 7:7-8                 
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."