Monday (Day 23)
VERSES: Matthew 2:6-12
How did God lead you “home” to Him? For some, God uses the encouragement and testimonies of friends and family. For others, God uses the preaching of His Word or the reading of devotional material. Still for others, God uses natural revelation that illuminates the awesome power and divine identity of God. For others, God uses a bit of each of these things, all utilized by the Holy Spirit to draw us to God.
The point is, if we have a relationship with God, it is because He has invited us to have a relationship with Him. If the universe were a game of hide-and-go seek and God did not want to be found, we would never find Him. But God does not want to hide. Instead, God wants a relationship with us and has reached out in His grace, revealing Himself to us and leading us home to Him.
The Magi are just another example of God leading people to Himself. Through the testimony of His people (Daniel), and through the authentication of His Word (the quotation of Micah 5:2 recorded in Matthew 2:6), and through the star in the sky (Matthew 2:9), God wooed the Magi from their eastern home, across a rugged desert, past societal expectations, and above ethnic divisions and into the presence of the King of Kings and the Savior of the World.
And when the Magi arrive in Bethlehem, they bow down and worship Jesus with all that they had, offering symbolic gifts highlighting the identity and ministry that Jesus would reveal over His lifetime.
God has invited you home to Him. Like the Magi, have you responded to that invitation?
You can find the full devotional in pdf here.
You can find more information about our church and Christmas programs by visiting wildwoodchurch.org
Today’s reading was one of the clearest examples I have read of how we find God.
Thie series has been a real encouragement during this Christmas season.