I've had an epiphany!

The preacher on Sunday posed a question during his sermon: Did the wise men plan to bow down and worship Jesus?  Actually the answer is in scripture, because they told Herod that they had come in search of the new-born King so that they could worship him (Matt 2:2), but that got me thinking. 

Their worship was intentional, and they weren't even Jews!  They had heard of the King of the Jews and had come in a deliberate plan with gifts to worship Him.

I've heard it said that the wise men may have been from the place where Daniel (as in the lions den) had resided.  His legacy to the Babylonians may have been to tell them all he knew of the prophecies of a coming saviour.  If that is the case, these men may have been scouring the skies for some time, waiting to see how it all would unfold.

Whether that is true or not, these men came looking for Jesus; they came with gifts, and planning to worship him.

Sometimes I've met people who would call themselves 'Christians', and yet on Sunday, their hearts are not prepared for worship.  They are not intentional.  They haven't been seeking or studying to find out who God is in them - and they haven't concluded that he is the Son of God, enough to travel just down the road to church, let alone any further! 😉

They bought their treasures to Jesus.  The bible says (Matthew 6:21)
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

We can see from these wise men. that they totally bought into the truth, and because of that they gave their gifts; not cheap gifts, but expensive ones.  It is easy to see where a person's heart is; just look at what they invest their finances and time in.

The other thing that struck me for the first time when I was reading the passage in Matthew this weekend is, that after the wise men had seen Jesus, they left 'another way'.  They didn't go back over old ground.  I think this is symbolic of what happens when we have a true encounter with Christ; we can't help but leave in a different way!  We are changed.

So I guess what I am trying to say is this; as we go into this new year, let us diligently search the scriptures and pray for greater revelation of who God is.  That encounter should change us; we should be different, and we will be intentional in our worship of the creator.  We will, like the Psalmist, say 'Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker." (Ps 95:6)


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