Grace For The Journey

  This past Sunday our Praise Choir ministered to us with the Christmas musical, “There Is A Bethlehem – A Journey Of Faith.”  They did a marvelous job of leading us to worship Jesus!  This was what we gathered to do because He is worthy of wonder, celebration, awe, adoration, and ultimately, everything.

Why should worship be such a big part of Christmas?  Christmas is all about Jesus Christ and the salvation He brings. The only correct response to Jesus is worship.  This is also true about living in the new year.

One of the most familiar Christmas stories helps us to understand this.  The wise men, the magi, who come from the east, are looking to worship Jesus.  These men had studied the Old Testament, and they were aware that God was going to send the “King of the Jews,” the Messiah.  At the same time, they were studying the stars and saw something there that convinced them the King of the Jews had been born.

It’s impossible to know exactly what the wise men saw or how they knew the star was pointing to Jesus.

What we do know is

That God graciously worked

Through their study

To lead them to Jesus.

The star in the sky led them to the Star Who come forth from Jacob, the scepter risen from Israel (Numbers 24:17).  So, they left their homes in Babylon or Persia and began the long journey to see Jesus.  We don’t know exactly how many miles it was, but from Baghdad to Bethlehem is 547 miles of extremely inhospitable desert terrain.  Even if it wasn’t that far, why would anyone do that?  Why would you put your life on hold, and walk or ride a camel for months, knowing with each passing mile that the return trip would be just as long?  Why would you leave your wife and children, your friends and family, your home, for most likely a year or even two?

For the wise men, that kind of trip was worth it.  They knew they needed to find Jesus.

It is only in coming to Jesus

To worship Him,

Falling before Him,

Giving Him our everything,

That we find everything

We have been looking for,

That we find life.

This is why we call them wise men today.  Wise men, women, and children come from wherever they are, no matter what the journey might look like, to worship the King of Kings.

As we look at living in the coming New Year, in light of God’s indescribable gift, may each one of us offer ourselves in worship, as a “living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:2).  May we search the Scripture daily to know Christ more so He can live through us more fully.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”