When Christmas cards arrive, many have the Magi (the three wise men) joining Joseph and Mary and a handful of adoring shepherds at the manger in Bethlehem. However, Matthew tells us they came after the birth of Jesus.  When they came to Herod asking where the child might be who was destined to be King of the Jews, Herod was disturbed. He determined through the Jewish chief priests and teachers of the law that Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, but did not know when. Herod asked the Magi for the exact time they had seen his star and asked them to return to him after they had found the child so that he might go to Jesus and worship him. His intent, of course, was to murder the child to remove any threat to his throne. After the Magi visited Jesus and his family in Bethlehem, they were warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod but to return home a different way. 

Once Herod discerned the Magi were not coming back, he was furious and ordered every male child under the age of two to be killed in the vicinity of Bethlehem.  Because of that order, we know that Jesus must have been between one and two years old when the Magi arrived.  Joseph was warned in a dream to leave Bethlehem and go to Egypt before Herod gave his order.

Many assume that three Magi came because Matthew records their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There may, of course, have been a different number, but Matthew was careful to record the gifts because they each had prophetic significance. According to Rick Renner, the Greek word for gold in this text, reveals that it was the purest, most refined gold, meant only for the greatest of kings.  The Magi understood that this child was no ordinary king, like Herod, subject to greater powers, but was indeed to be King of Kings.  Most commentators believe that these men came from the region of Babylon and had carefully studied the prophecies of Daniel who had spent his life in exile there.

Frankincense was an expensive and rare commodity imported and used primarily in the temple.  It was burned there to create a pleasing aroma to God.  It was associated mostly with the priesthood and the High Priest who only could enter the presence of God on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifices for Israel in the Holy of Holies. Jesus was destined to be not only the High Priest of God’s people but also the perfect and eternal sacrifice for our sins.  The third gift highlighted that part of his destiny.

Myrrh was also a precious commodity used for many things, but especially to anoint the dead and prepare them for burial.  Matthew wrote, “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs” (Mt. 19:38-40).  Myrrh pointed to this element of God’s redemption for all who would believe.

The Magi brought gifts that pointed to the destiny of this child born in a manger.  King of Kings, High Priest, and Lamb of God who would be offered up for our sins.  Of course, the gifts funded the escape to Egypt where the family would live for several years before returning to Israel, but the greater meanings of the gifts should not escape us on this Christmas morning,

God is not accidental but intentional in all that he does.  He reveals truth to those who seek it, even if they are not yet in a covenant with him. He brings things to pass that he ordained even from before the foundations of this world were formed.  And, certainly, this season is a season for gifts. The gifts of the Magi were given, not only to remind us of who Jesus would be, but because he was God’s greatest gift to us.  Let’s celebrate that truth today as we enjoy food and family and the love of God who has been given to us.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.               (Isa. 9:6-8).

If you haven’t noticed, the world is becoming a very dangerous place once again.  Terrorism, assassinations, antisemitism, violence, rage, and hate speech are rampant and highlighted on the news 24/7.  In a season that is supposed to promote peace on earth,  that is not what most of us are feeling.  And yet, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn. 14:27).

If we want to live with a sense of peace while the world explodes around us, there are some decisions we need to make.  This peace does not come automatically, but comes through obedience to the wisdom of Jesus. 

First of all, Jesus directed us to eliminate fear and worry by focusing on the Kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of men.  “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt. 7:31-34).

An old story tells of a man leaving an ancient city and as he walks out, he encounters

Death.  He asked Death what he was up to and Death replied, “I’m going to this city to collect lives and take them to the afterlife. The man said, “What a terrible thing!” Death shrugged and replied, “It’s what I do.”  Days later, the man was returning and encountered Death again as Death was leaving the city. The man had already heard reports of hundreds and hundreds of people who had died since he left.  He scolded Death for all the destruction he had visited on the city and the grief and loss he had produced.  Death replied, “Oh, I only came for a few, Fear and Worry got the rest.”

Fear and worry are our enemies.  They rob us of peace, health, sleep, joy and fruitfulness.  They damage our relationships. Every doctor or research scientist will tell you that stress is our number one enemy. It impacts our physical health, our spiritual health, and our emotional health. Stress comes from worry and fear.  And yet the most repeated command is scripture is, “Do not be afraid!”  That Is a mindset we discipline ourselves to maintain.

Here are a few verses that can help us lay aside our worry and fear. 

Matthew 7:31-34 (quoted above).  Choose to focus daily on the kingdom, the power, the faithfulness of God, and his promises for provision and protection. Do not look at what you don’t have but what you do have.  Don’t fixate on the prayer yet to be answered,  but on all the prayers to which God has already said yes.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).  Make a choice to think about good things, pure things, praiseworthy things, etc. rather than thinking about the unholy, criminal, violent, perverse things of the world. 

This means choosing what you watch on television, listen to on talk radio, and review on social media. This means monitoring your conversations with friends and family. There is a spirit of fear attached to so much of what we hear about on television twenty-four hours a day.  That spirit will attach itself to you if you come into agreement with it. It will get into your heart and head and rob you of the blessings that could be yours in Christ. Most of what we see and hear about does not touch us and we cannot affect it except by prayer. I’m not saying we should be totally oblivious to what is going on in the world, but we should not dwell on it.  Watch the news briefly, ask the Lord how he wants you to pray about what is going on, pray about it, and release it for the day.  Turn your focus to positive things, heavenly things and over time your stress will abate, your health will improve, and you will find joy in life again.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (1 Cor. 10:5-6). Monitoring your thought life and making sure your thoughts are aligned with the teachings and commands of Jesus is the essence of spiritual warfare. When you find yourself entertaining thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God, renounce those thoughts, repent of having come into agreement with them, and command any unclean spirit producing those thoughts to leave you immediately…especially worry and fear.

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col.3:2-3).  We spend way too much time thinking about the world and events in the world.  Our home is in heaven and we need to discipline ourselves to think often about home: the glory, the joy, the abundant life, the promise of eternal life without disease or loss, our reunion with loved ones, the presence of a perfect Father and a perfect Savior.  Paul focused often on heaven and finally said, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christand be found in him” (Phil. 3:7-9).

During this season of Peace on Earth, let me assure you that the peace Jesus spoke of is peace in your heart, not in the world around you.  The same peace that Jesus had while sleeping on a sinking boat on Galilee is available to us.  It comes from fixing our thoughts on things that produce faith and peace and limiting our time with the things that steal our peace.  If married, agree with your spouse to break the old habits of bad news and more bad news.  If you are single, agree with a friend. Turn the channel or turn it off. Focus on the good news of Jesus Christ and not the bad news on Fox. Find value in silent nights where we can hear the Lord rather than nights filled with the discouraging noise of the world around us. In just a week, you will feel the difference.  Blessings in Him.

At our weekly staff meeting this morning, our Lead Pastor took us to a place of personal examination that I think is worth repeating and expanding.  He drew from a passage in 2 Kings 18. Speaking of King Hezekiah, the writer said, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.”

If you are not familiar with the story, in Numbers 21 the people of Israel were once again complaining about their time in the wilderness.  God had recently delivered them from years of harsh slavery in Egypt, but now they remembered it as “the good old days.”  The spoke out against God and Moses and God released a horde of venomous snakes against them.  Many were dying from the snake bites so the people went to Moses and repented of their sin.  God told Moses to craft a bronze pole with a snake on it and those who would look upon the pole would be healed.  As time passed, the Israelites placed the staff in the archives of the temple.  Originally, the bronze pole was a symbol of God’s mercy, but eventually it had become an object of worship – as if the power of healing was in the object itself.  So…Hezekiah destroyed it along with all the other idols he could find in Israel.

God is serious about idols. Exodus 20 declares, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Ex. 20:4-6). 

The scripture reveals that idol worship constitutes hatred toward God and is so serious that the consequences of that idolatry can be passed down in family lines for generations.  The other thing revealed in these passages is that what once was  a blessing that pointed us to the goodness of God, can become an idol that takes the place of God. 

Sometimes a career that was given as a blessing by God, becomes an idol.  We can give it the majority of our time and attention and we draw our significance and security from the job rather than God.  Children can become idols in our lives as we give them and their activities priority over our relationship with God.  We exchange worship in church for soccer fields or volleyball courts.  Of course, we rationalize the idolatry by thinking of it as only a season that will pass.  We will get back to God once the season is over.  How often have we seen single adults place a romantic relationship ahead of their relationship with God because, at the moment, it actually means more to them than God does.  Even in church, we can begin to place our faith in a pastor or in the church itself, rather than God.  There are numerous “good things” that like the bronze snake, can become idols in our lives.

We need to remember, however, that God is a jealous God.  In his love for us, he will try to turn us away from the idol and back to him.  He may discipline us or take away the very thing we have begun to value more than God.  This isn’t an ego trip on God’s part, but he is jealous for our souls.  Idolatry is an open door to the enemy.  It puts our souls in jeopardy.  It devalues God and places material things above him.  Since he loves us, he cannot ignore the idols in our lives.

We know that feeling if we have had children or close friends who began to develop a relationship with someone we knew would lead them down a very dark path.  We pointed out the dangers, pushed back on the relationship, and even disciplined children if they snuck out to be with that person.  We did so out of love, knowing that disaster awaited them if they continued with that person.  We saw it had become an idol because they refused sound counsel, ignored all the red flags, turned a deaf ear to all the warnings of their friends, and ignored even the promptings and conviction of the Spirit. 

We have seen people lose marriages because they would not give up a job they loved but that always kept them away from family.  We have seen people who were once passionate about God, drift away from the church for a sinful relationship.  We have seen others forsake their families and their values in a search of fame and fortune.  The things that began as a blessing, became an idol and destruction followed.

Paul put it this way, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8).  Idols appeal to the flesh.  If we pursue them, destruction is in the pipeline.  If we seek God, however, and keep his as our highest priority, life and blessing will flow our way.

So, this year, as we ponder New Year’s Resolutions, check your priorities.  To whom are you giving your best time, your resources, your thoughts, and your heart.  Ask the Spirit to show you the truth about these things because we can easily rationalize our idolatry.  If you need to make adjustments, do so.  Many of the things that have subtly become our idols, taking priority over the Lord and his things, are not bad in themselves, but only in the fact they have become more important than God in our lives.  Remember the words of Jesus to the church at Ephesus, “You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Rev. 2:4-5). 

Watch out for idols.  Like snakes, they are sneaky.

Christmas is a major event in the western world.  Some of it is big business. Shopping, eating, trees, lights, inflatable Santas, parties, family gatherings, concert tours, T.V.  specials, football, and so on.  If you asked a hundred people what their favorite part of Christmas is, they might name one of those things we just listed. 

If you asked them the meaning of Christmas they might say “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.”  But they would probably mean good will toward one another.  It’s the season to be kind to others and maybe drop some cash in the Salvation Army kettle.  They would probably know that Christmas was originally a celebration of the birth of Jesus by religious people and they might know about him being born in a stable and three wise men coming from the east.  They might speak of the Christmas story as just that…a story, a myth, or some fiction. It would carry with it nice sentiments and a feeling of family and a season of kindness, but the true message would be lost to them.  And, in the cacophony of Christmas activities, even those of us who follow Jesus might forget the true message as well.

Before Jesus the world was lost.  Judgment was postponed by adherence to the Law of Moses.  Sin was not forgiven, but simply “rolled forward,” as some theologians might put it.  The writer of Hebrews argued that if the blood of bulls and goats had been sufficient to deal with our sin before a righteous God, they would not have had to offer more sacrifices daily without end. Paul simply said, before Jesus, “you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).

Of course, we see that truth more clearly at the cross than at the manger, but the sacrifice of his Son began before the cross.  Isaiah talked about seeing “the Lord high and exalted, seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isa. 6:1). In his gospel, John quoted that passage from Isaiah and said that Isaiah was actually beholding the glory of Jesus (Jn. 12:41). 

So, on the night we celebrate as Christmas, the Son of God stepped down from a throne of glory, surrounded by adoring angels. He submitted to the human process of being born as a biological child to a virgin under suspicion of being unfaithful to her betrothed.  The suspicion in their little village was probably what prompted Joseph to take her with him on an arduous journey to Bethlehem, very late in her pregnancy.  It was probably why they did not return but stayed in Bethlehem until Jesus was nearly two.  As Herod tried to kill this “king of the Jews,” this Son of God became a political refugee fleeing to Egypt for his life.

The King of Glory gave up a throne in heaven to be dependent on two impoverished young Jews whose names we would never have known if they had not parented Jesus.  He was born in a stable, probably a cave where animals were kept out of the weather, in an environment that was anything but sanitary.  Some fresh hay and some clean cloth was probably the best they could do. As far as we know, there were no friends or relatives on the scene.  Perhaps, a midwife was found in the village, but there is no mention of that in the gospels.  To see his beloved Son in poverty, isolation, and danger was part of the sacrifice. The only real witnesses to the event were shepherds who were tending sheep nearby. Some scholars believe they were watching the temple flocks from which daily sacrifices were chosen. Shepherds were at the bottom of the social strata in Israel because they could not keep the mandates of the Law while living in the fields. 

So… Jesus is born to poor, unknown parents on the run, unjustly disgraced in their hometown, and was welcomed into the world by a handful of  ragtag, “unclean” shepherds from the fields around Bethlehem.    Yes, some kings showed up from the East, but only after many months had passed.  The shepherds were initially terrified by angels announcing the birth of Messiah and only later gathered their wits about them to go see what the hosts of heaven had announced.  As far as we know, Mary and Joseph never saw the angels or heard their singing,  but only heard about them from the keepers of sheep.

All this is to say that the Son of God did not come into the world in a warm palace with soft sheets and servants to care for him.  He faced life as many have faced it in the Middle East.  As he grew, he knew the sting of both poverty, insults, and harsh discrimination from the Romans who ruled his land. And here is the thing…both God and Jesus knew what was waiting, including a cross, and yet counted us worth pursuing.  God is love and nothing else could have motivated him to send his son into this world to be abused, accused and misunderstood.  Peace on earth, goodwill towards men was God’s good will expressed in a manger.

He came in search of us.  He made the first moved He provided what we could never provide for our salvation. Christmas reveals the heart and the sacrificial love of God.  In Romans 12, Paul calls on us to be living sacrifices.  Jesus fulfilled that call first. 

In the Old Testament, Job stood before God in his suffering and asked, “Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees” (Job 10:4)?  In other words, how can you really understand what I am going through because you have never had to face the trials and pain of a mortal man. After Jesus was born in a stable, that accusation was silenced. God put on flesh and lived among us.  Not only did he live but he died on our behalf.

Many of us struggle with our sense of worth or value.  We wonder if we matter.  We wonder if even God could love us.   The Christmas story declares an emphatic “Yes” to our doubts.  That is the true message of Christmas.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn. 3:16). This Christmas, don’t marvel at the lights or the concerts or the amazing food.  Go ahead and celebrate because God loves a good party, but marvel at his infinite love for you, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lying in a manger.