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 Genesis 1:5 The evening and the morning were the first day.Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my soul concerns, I must expect at seasons to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my Beloved in the night. Nor am I alone in this, for all the Lord's beloved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and of mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and of delight. It is one of the arrangements of Divine providence that day and night shall not cease either in the spiritual or natural creation till we reach the land of which it is written, "there is no night there." What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and good. What, then, my soul, is it best for thee to do? Learn first to be content with this divine order, and be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good. Study next, to make the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises, and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is beauty both in sunrise and sunset; sing of it, and glorify the Lord. Like the nightingale, pour forth thy notes at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine forth gloriously amid the darkness of grief. Continue thy service under all changes. If in the day thy watchword be labor, at night exchange it for watch. Every hour has its duty, do thou continue in thy calling as the Lord's servant until he shall suddenly appear in his glory. My soul, thine evening of old age and death is drawing near; dread it not, for it is part of the day; and the Lord has said, "I will cover him all the day long." Daily Light on the Daily Path Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,Exodus 34:6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; Ephesians 4:1,2 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, • with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. James 5:7,8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. • You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 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. |
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