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December 29, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Star Bright, by Phil Ware
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 TNIV).
In the blink of an eye, or the twinkling of a star, everything can
change. Just ask the stargazers from the distant east. There it was,
hung in the heavens for anyone interested to see -- a celestial event
signaling the birth of someone great. These stargazers we call the Magi
traveled west across the Fertile Crescent for days covering hundreds of
miles, and quite possibly arriving first at possibly Herodium --
Herod's fortress -- towering 2,500 feet above the horizon and 7.5 miles
southeast of Bethlehem. Their confusion was understandable. This marvel
of Herod's building enterprise was a lavish fortress for the ruthless
King Herod whose tyrannical rule controlled the Jews. But when no king
was there, they traveled to Jerusalem and found King Herod there. They
asked him:
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his
star when it rose and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2).
The star changed everything for the Magi. The child changed everything
for Joseph and Mary. The Magi's visit changed everything for Herod.
And, if we listen with our hearts, the Magi's visit (Matthew 2:1-12)
can change everything for us.
In many ways, we've lost our sense of wonder at this strange and
mysterious story. After all, the Magi didn't visit baby Jesus at the
manger, but at a house (Matthew 2:5). They probably came from the land
we call Iran to honor the birth of the King of the Jews. Meanwhile, the
Jewish religious leaders determined from their own prophets where the
Messiah was to be born: the tiny and insignificant city of Bethlehem (Matthew
2:4-6). Rather than going to search for this Child to welcome Him as
Messiah and King, they sent the Magi to find Him. When they tricked
Herod and went home a different way, Herod sent soldiers to eliminate
this Child as a threat to his control (Matthew 2:16-18).
To make matters even more interesting, these traveling stargazers were
experts in a practice now called astrology, a form of witchcraft
forbidden and punished by death under the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy
18:10-15; also see Revelation 22:12-17). Yet these foreigners used
their false religion to find their way to God's true Savior. When they
found the Child Jesus, they bowed down and worshiped Him, giving Him
expensive gifts they had brought from their homeland (Matthew 2:11).
This story is full of convicting irony, yet full of God's glorious
mystery and grace. Our Heavenly Father longs for us to celebrate His
mystery as we worship Him in "reverence and awe" (Hebrews 12:28-29). He
speaks to us and gives us His "great and precious promises" (2 Peter
1:4) in Scripture, and if we listen with our hearts, it will lead us to
His salvation through our faith in Jesus, the Messiah (2 Timothy 2:15).
Everything can change!
This holy and awesome God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9)
without knowing of His great love (John 3:16-17). So He is not without
a voice among those who do not know Him from Scripture (Acts 14:17).
Instead, He made all of us to "seek him and perhaps reach out for him
and find him, though he is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27).
This Messiah God sent, this very Son He gave to reveal His heart to us
(John 1:14-18), promised that if we would seek Him we would find Him (Luke
11:9).
While Christmas, with all it's bows and wrapping paper may be past, if
we look, we can still find the stars -- stars on top of trees, stars in
the homogenized "holiday" displays in town squares, and stars in the
heavens above us. And if we choose to look upon these stars with
wonder, they will lead us back to Bethlehem, to a child who the
religious plotted to kill and seekers from the East journeyed to find.
And in the mystery, confusion, and wonder of it all, we too can bow
down and worship Jesus and celebrate the sacrificial love of God. We
can bring Him our gifts and find fresh joy in Him, for God made sure
that He is within reach of all of us who honestly look up and see the
stars, wonder, and are willing to share the journey to find Him.
Yes, in the blink of an eye, or a twinkling of a star, everything can
change!
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I'd love to hear your response to these ideas on my blog:
http://www.thephilfiles.com/2008/12/29/stars-in-our-eyes/
---------
(c) 2008 Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org>. All rights reserved.
RELATED LINKS:
* Hidden Treasures in the Sand
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200102/20010208_sand.html
* What Really Matters?
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200512/20051224_matters.html
* Star of Wonder
http://www.heartlight.org/feature/feature_971224_star.html
* Southern Hills Church of Christ
http://www.southernhillschurch.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200812/20081229_starbright.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
EVERY MAN'S BATTLE: WINNING THE WAR ON SEXUAL TEMPTATION ONE VICTORY AT A TIME, by Stephen Arterburn, et. al.
In this compassionate brother-to-brother guide, the authors tackle
sexual temptation head-on, offering a practical battle plan for
men--married or single--who desire to live by God's standard.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?260
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
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ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!
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