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Thursday, January 8, 2009
God of the Unexpected
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea. He was born
during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born,
some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. The wise men
asked people, "Where is the new baby that is the king of the
Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw the star
rise in the sky in the east. We came to worship him."
-- Matthew 2:1-2 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
God does the unexpected! There was no way anyone would suspect -- much
less expect -- that Easterners would come to worship a Jewish King,
especially a baby one. No normal person would have expected a King to
be born in Bethlehem, a little obscure town of insignificance. No
faithful Israelite would have ever believed astrologers would be led to
the true God through their false, stargazing-worship. (Remember that
astrology was steadfastly condemned under Mosaic Law as one of the acts
of divination -- magically foretelling the future! Deut. 18:9-15) But
then, God doesn't have to do things the way normal Israelites,
Gentiles, or modern people do them. Aren't we glad God is full of
surprises! Aren't we glad he sent Jesus as his greatest Surprise!
TODAY'S PRAYER:
O Sovereign and Almighty Lord, please forgive me for trying to tame you
and make you predictable. You have always been full of surprises.
Please "surprise" me in my lifetime by bringing your salvation to every
nation, language, tribe, and people in our world. In the name of Jesus
I pray. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0108-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+2:1-2&sr=1&t=erv
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