LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS--MAGI & KING HEROD

Before starting this lesson, it's necessary to clarify information regarding the presentation of Jesus. Jesus's circumcision and naming occurred on the 8th day. Jesus's presentation at the temple and Mary's purification happened 41 days after his birth in accordance with the Laws of Moses. When the wise men came they found Jesus in a house in Nazareth at some point within his first two years of life.
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It was my initial intent to address the wise men and King Herod, chief priests, and lawmakers (Matthew 2:1-14) in two separate lessons. However, what these two groups teach us is so closely intertwined they really can't be separated.The wise men were seeking Jesus with there hearts. The note in THE COMPANION BIBLE for Matthew 2:6 gives us our first insight into today's lesson: "This incident shows that intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures without experimental delight in them is useless.....The scribes had no desire toward the person of this 'Governor' whereas the wise men were truly wise, in that they sought the person of Him of Whom the Scriptures spoke and were soon found at His feet. HEAD KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT HEART LOVE MAY BE USED AGAINST CHRIST (my emphasis as this is point 1 of today's lesson). When we are seeking this person Jesus of Him of Whom the Scriptures spoke whether it be the first time or several, it is with our heart that we must seek. According to Charles Spurgeon "true friendship...means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit". POINT 1: It is at the feet of Jesus we will find our answers if we come with a sincere heart.
In this event we see the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the reason Jesus came to earth. The who is the Holy Spirit that guided the wise men to Jesus just as the Holy Spirit guides us to Jesus. The what is the desire in which we seek Him; is it with our head or with our heart? The why is the reason we seek Him; are we seeking Jesus to crucify him or are we seeking Jesus as our Savior? The where is where we will find the answer to our quest; we will find the answer to this quest at the feet of Him of Whom the Scriptures spoke. The when is when the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart to seek out this One called Jesus, Savior, Immanuel, Prince of Peace. The how is the manner in which we seek this Babe; is it to crucify or is it to "love with all your heart, your soul, and your mind" Him who offers you abundant life? POINT 2:It is at the feet of Jesus we will find our answers if we come with a a sincere heart.
The wise men came to the feet of Christ for no other reason than to bestow gifts on Him. It is important we bring gifts of thanksgiving, of praise, and of rejoicing to Him of Whom the Scriptures spoke on a regular basis. All to often we come to Him with our petitions and we forget our gifts. For  the same reason we enjoy hearing thanks from our parents, children, friends, superiors; our Savior enjoys it. POINT 3: Bring our gifts of thanksgiving, of praise, and of rejoicing to the Him of Whom the Scriptures spoke.

GOD'S GIFTS

No, I haven't discontinued my series Lessons of Christmas. The remaining lessons concern groups associated with after Jesus' birth. Therefore, today I'd like to focus on blessings or, as I like to call them, God's gifts.
In a few days, the majority of us will be be opening presents given by friends and loved ones. All to often we miss the most important gifts of all; the ones given to us by God. His most precious gift is Jesus. "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16, NIV. However, God gives gifts to us every day. Some people call them blessings. Personally, the word "gift" seems to be more applicable this time of year. Those totally unexpected, unexpected, unexplained events which happens that benefits you. Money, healing, a car moving just in the nick of time; any one of many occurrences that occur in our daily life.
Many times we attempt to explain them away or they go by completely unnoticed because we are not in the habit of looking for them. Unfortunately, all too often we are like children. On Christmas morn the children are excited to open their presents. They gleefully, thankfully receive them. They are overjoyed. And then, time passes. We go into their room or their play area and there the once treasured gift lays on the floor, dirty, broken, sullied, forgotten. Or we may be the child who absolutely must know how a toy works so he takes it apart and there it lays strewn all over the floor, unable to be put back together again. The healing we prayed for over and over, the answer to the long asked why He finally answered, the relationship He healed, the marriage He healed, the job He guided opened the doors to, and the list goes on. Which one are you?
From this moment forward, when we receive a "gift" from our Heavenly Father let's not fling it aside, tear it apart, or allow it to gather dirt in the recesses of our life but thank Him for it, tell others what He gave us. It is these experiences that comprise our "story", our testimony of how Jesus or God interacts with us in our life. It is one of the many reasons we know Jesus is our Savior.
This Christmas if you haven't accepted God's most precious gift, Jesus, I pray this Christmas you will  accept him as your Savior. Marry Christmas!! Happy Birthday, Jesus!! See you next week with another Lesson of Christmas--The Magi.