Tissot's - Visit of the Magi
Matthew 2:1-15
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
God loves a Cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
We have reached - for many - the busy time. But listening to public television - some people have begun to panic. Others have realized the Most Wonderful Time of the year is a bunch of overwhelming details and the family is older and going different directions.
What we are fighting here is the Tradition of Mankind. Because what God hopes for us is not paper cuts from gift wrapping.
Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Tenderness and devotion,
Comfort and delight,
Perseverance and tolerance,
Affection and graciousness,
Generosity and rightness,
Fidelity and dependability,
Kindness and carefulness,
Dignity and balance.
This is the Tradition Father God has for your willingness to celebrate God's Invitation to His Kingdom and Home for the giving of His Son, Jesus, and your invitation to His Heart.
We live in an era of convenience. We can order online - when people from Europe visit Texas - particularly Italians - they rush to our stores to buy Christmas Garlands and Wreaths and Trim. Europeans say American Christmas shopping for Christmas is unheard of. Magnificent. Decorations in Europe are used for decades and generations. (Making European Decorations Amazing.) In fact, for most of us, we have boxes and boxes of Christmas. The goal is to delight our loved ones and welcome God. This gets to be difficult when the kids have the flu (pray for us, one of our favorite people was here at our house and now has the flu!!!) This gets to be difficult when you get the news the grown kids are going to be out of town. This gets to be difficult when the kids all go to college and you work full time.
Man's tradition. The Joy of Celebrating vs. "How did we get all this stuff??? How many days is it going to take?" "Did you wrap that, or do I have to?" Oh, My Favorite - sons say, "Mom, given the bogie is at 12 O'clock, could you wrap my ten presents - I didn't have time to get gift bags. Do the Girlfriend Gift best you have. Thanks. I don't wrap well."
(Note to self - 24 extra gift bags - that is all.)
Well...
Forest Hill Church Charlotte, NC
We could speak about the Christmas Tradition I've thought about, since thinking about camels and long roads - when gift wrapping. The Magi would certainly appreciate the adventure - CHRISTMAS CAMPING!!! (C'mon honey, it's like the Festival of Booths and you can't pack the Christmas Tree...) Or Christmas Cruises. We can't discount the Magi traveled by ship...
We have watched our son go off to Michigan for Law School. He is doing well. And he has found something his God given talents have provided. On the last full day in Michigan, Edward and I decided it was time to go get coffee. For 4 or 5 hours, we silently wept at our son going across Continent. God was surely parting with Jesus to see Him off on His earthly journey. We let our children grow up. We want them to find a path in life all their own. We don't let them see you both crying at the coffee shop staring at beautiful Michigan State University. Talking about the gift of letting your child grow up and even clearing up your voice to answer the phone - - - why you aren't unpacking.
The gift of being gracious to grown children. Here is a real hint. When you are invited to auctions from public schools, private schools, Churches and Volunteer Organizations - what is auctioned off first is - is - is - "The Vacations." And sometimes the other 'treasures' do not get a bid. Hence Camping. People do a lot of routine. They want the new experiences for a really good reason. If prompted to see something new - new thoughts and conversations have time to happen. Memories are made.
People are actually accumulating less of the collections their parents collected. They don't have the time for treasures when they are busy. Going with the flow - helps us to keep up and make Christmas Meaningful. Explain the need and go to Church. Read the Scriptures. Have Adventure. Even if it's camping in the backyard for a night. The kids aren't hoping to dress up, say thank you and eat food. They want something different. Teenagers require sandblasting and things like Hibachi Grill Dinners out, get them thinking this isn't dull. Fly fishing might work for 1.15 hours. Marshmallows and fire pits. Home movies and videos. We have ready access to public tennis courts. One of our neighbors decorates the Garage - puts out the huge TV and the Garage Door is up. Is this new? Yes and no. Festival of Booths.
We have the reason to think about new. We have new weather patterns.
We've seen fire and
We've seen rain.
We've seen sunny days that we thought would never end.
Houston has seen flooding three times in two years. We had two Great Lakes worth of water for Hurricane Harvey. We have some major camping being done in campers already. In the driveway while the house is cleared up. Christmas ornaments - hard to get to or gone. And for these of the diligent to repair - we know - they have the joy and gladness of help and of survival. The Gift of Life itself. Certainly Christmas.
We saw the Historic Drought of 2011 and 3 County fires. We know fire. We know miracles happened to save many, many homes from the One Mission of 2011. 30 local Churches prayed and fasted in January. 800 people gathered to pray. The firefighters said it must have been miracles shifting the winds to leave so many houses merely scorched. It was absolutely terrifying. Unable to take relief materials to the shelters because the shelters were moved constantly to avoid the fires.
We read these Scriptures together each day. I've learned reading the statistics for years, we have the most readers in Texas. Then California. California has a lot of Believers and a lot of unusual legislation is repealed and not voted in. California is Struggling Mightily. The Highway fire video is unimaginable.
One thing we can say, being from Houston and being part of feeding the Katrina Refugees for a year, the Churches of the Houston area did this - and living through the 2011 3 County Fires were the largest fires in the USA for 2011. 2015-16 Texas had one of the worst Red Tides of 15 world wide occurrences.
We can count on sunny days again. We can count on The Texas Navy and The Louisiana Navy. We can count on a year of casseroles for 40,000 Katrina Refugees from Churches.
We can count on the USA for doing the best we can for our children in recovery. We are survivors. 80% of this Nation prays and expects our Good and Loving Father to hear.
We know recovery. Texas believes in the California Recovery. Texas has been praying for the California Recovery since Napa.
The Gift of Christmas is knowing the Reality of Hope, Faith and Love.
The Scriptures are Real.
Mary and Joseph worked hard for the Holy Day, it was work. Even the Wise Men had tricky situations. Jesus and His siblings had 'seasons' and Jesus believed in endurance. Jesus and His Disciples had 'seasons.' When Archangels arrive - we have - trepidation. If Archangels can see things go south and still see Victory - then with Emmanuel - Go forth in Hope, Faith and Love!!!
Abba,
We ask Your Blessings, in Jesus.
In this season of gifts, we give thanks for grace. You have saved us through faith. And this is not our own doing; This is the gift of God.
With Your help, we will be strong and courageous. We will not be frightened of events, nor dismayed. For the Lord our God is with us wherever we will go.
Cover us with Your Blessings, Love and Mercy. Cover our Loved ones. We lift up the trauma of fire in California and ask You to end the fires. We lift up our Churches. Communities. States. To the Nation. And Your gracious Plan to save the world in Jesus Christ. We ask more Heaven on earth for the people praying around the world. In Jesus. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
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