Bible League: Living His Word So they went home to their own country a different way.— Matthew 2:12 ERV After the birth of Jesus, some wise men from the east left their country in order to find Him. When they got to Jerusalem they asked a number of people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east” (Matthew 2:1-2). Why did they try to find Him? Why did they come so far? Their plan was to worship Him and bring Him gifts. After all, that’s what you do for a king, especially the king whose birth was announced in the heavens, especially the king born to be the Messiah. King Herod got word that the wise men were in town and what they were after. So, he called a meeting of all the leading Jews and asked them where the Messiah would be born. They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea” (Matthew 2:5). Herod then met with the wise men and told them where they could find the child. He said, “When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too” (Matthew 2:8). Why did he do this? He wanted to subvert the plan of the wise men. He wanted to use their plan to further his own plan. Not everyone wants to worship King Jesus. Herod wanted to use the wise men to find the child so he could kill him. After the wise men left Herod, the star went before them. They followed it all the way to Bethlehem. It stopped over the house where Joseph, Mary, and the baby were staying. The wise men came before the child, and they “bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened the boxes of gifts they had brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). They planned on returning the way they had come, “But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod” (Matthew 2:12). That’s when they went home to their own country “a different way.” Just as Satan inspired Herod long ago to use the wise men in a plan to kill King Jesus, so he inspires modern people in plans to undermine Jesus’ Kingdom. God has taught us how to recognize those plans. (And we don’t need to use the stars to do it.) We must be students of the Word, passing all doctrine and practice under the lamp of God’s Word. Like the wise men, God will show us a better way home. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading2 Chronicles 4, 5, 6 2 Chronicles 4 -- Temple Furnishings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Chronicles 5 -- Ark Brought into the Temple; God's Glory NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Chronicles 6 -- Solomon's Prayer of Temple Dedication NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 12:20-50 John 12 -- Jesus Anointed at Bethany; Enters Jerusalem; Sought by Greeks; Foretells His Death NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.Insight Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill? Its light at night can be seen for miles. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, or (6) ignoring the needs of others. Challenge Be a beacon of truth—don't shut your light off from the rest of the world. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 51:3 He will make her wilderness like Eden.Methinks, I see in vision a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like to the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye, all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, strewn with ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, having lost their way in the pitiless waste. What an appalling sight! How horrible! a sea of sand without a bound, and without an oasis, a cheerless graveyard for a race forlorn! But behold and wonder! Upon a sudden, upspringing from the scorching sand I see a plant of renown; and as it grows it buds, the bud expands--it is a rose, and at its side a lily bows its modest head; and, miracle of miracles! as the fragrance of those flowers is diffused the wilderness is transformed into a fruitful field, and all around it blossoms exceedingly, the glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Call it not Sahara, call it Paradise. Speak not of it any longer as the valley of deathshade, for where the skeletons lay bleaching in the sun, behold a resurrection is proclaimed, and up spring the dead, a mighty army, full of life immortal. Jesus is that plant of renown, and his presence makes all things new. Nor is the wonder less in each individual's salvation. Yonder I behold you, dear reader, cast out, an infant, unswathed, unwashed, defiled with your own blood, left to be food for beasts of prey. But lo, a jewel has been thrown into your bosom by a divine hand, and for its sake you have been pitied and tended by divine providence, you are washed and cleansed from your defilement, you are adopted into heaven's family, the fair seal of love is upon your forehead, and the ring of faithfulness is on your hand--you are now a prince unto God, though once an orphan, cast away. O prize exceedingly the matchless power and grace which changes deserts into gardens, and makes the barren heart to sing for joy. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 1:23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. Hebrews 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. John 20:19,20,26-28 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." • And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. • After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." • Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." • Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
    |