It’s that time - Christmas is approaching!   There will be lights and decorations displayed.  There will be shopping and meals planned.  There will also be sadness for those who are no longer with us - maybe the first Christmas without them.  Christmas time has always been a time for great joy and anticipation, but also some sadness.  It’s a time we focus on the Christmas story - the birth of Christ.  Hopefully, it’s just not a story to us, but a reality.  A reality of the past that impacts our present and gives us hope for the future and beyond the grave.  The account of the wise men in Matthew, chapter two, shows that these men understood the importance and significance of the birth of Christ.  The star that led them to Christ did not distract them from worshipping Him.  I think so often we become distracted from truly worshipping Christ.  We know the story.  We celebrate Christmas, but do we truly celebrate the Christ of Christmas?  Do we give Him the best of our time, talent and resources or do we tend to give Him our leftovers?  Our call to Christ, is a call to Worship - He is deserving of our best!  He is always faithful to meet our needs, at just our point of need.  I think we might just miss an important element of the story of the wise men.  The gifts of Gold, frankincense and myrrh were not only prophetic and symbolic in nature but also met Mary and Joseph’s need at just their point of need (even unforeseen by them at the time).  Matthew tells us that the angel appeared to Joseph and told him they would have to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt.  Mary and Jospeh would have had very modest resources at best. You see, God provided them the financial resources through these gifts of the wise men to accomplish the mission!

“You are worthy, O Lord to receive glory and honor and power!”

In His Service,

Pastor Rodney