1 John 3:7
NLT
Dear children, don’t let
anyone deceive you about this:
When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ
is righteous.
In the Christmas story where we meet
the Wise men there is also the appearance of a politician that played a big
part in Jesus’s birth. Remember the
reason that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem was to register per the dictates
of government. Then we meet Herod. He was not very well liked by the people he
served.
Herod was known for being very angry
and hurting people when he was anger.
People feared Herod and had little respect for him, but this was their
leader. Herod was not happy when his
authority was questions or when he heard that somebody else was coming to have
power.
That is where we find the story of
Jesus. Herod heard that this was the
Messiah, an important child born to be king of the Jews, and this meant that
someone else was trying to knock Herod off the thrown.
We find in Matthew 2 how this man went
about finding out who this baby was. He
first asked the religious leaders around him about the Messiah’s birth. He was told that Bethlehem was the
place. Then he called these Wise men in
to find out when the Messiah might have been born. They talked about the star and how old the
child might be.
Herod was ready to deceive the Wise
men. He told them that he wanted to
worship this newborn king, but that was not what his real motive was. We like the Wise men must be wise and try to
understand what was going on. The Bible
tells us that God warned the Wise men not to go back to Herod after they met
Jesus.
There are people who seek to deceive us
all the time. There are those who want
to make sure that you don’t accomplish anything in life or step on their toes
or take the place that they have. Some
of these people will hurt you physically to keep you from getting in their way. Some of the smart, or those who think they
are smarter than you, will play with your mind or trick you to do what they
want or to get you off the track you are on.
To not be deceived you have to be sharp.
The Wise men missed the deception that
Herod placed on them by staying connected to God. They wouldn’t change their focus. The focus was where the star was leading or
who it was leading them to meet. The
Wise men left their homes in a far eastern country to find out about the
Messiah, to worship him and to give gifts.
Nothing was going to change their direction, their mission and their
goal.
Is the same true for us? What is keeping us from worshipping God? Who is deceiving or trying to deceive you?
And he did rescue us
from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence
in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
God’s plan for us is very different
from the plan of the people who are trying to deceive us. God’s plan is very different from Satan’s
plan for us. We have to keep that in
mind.
We can be also help others not be
deceived. In fact when our focus changes
from us to others and loving others, we begin to look and act more like
Jesus. Focusing on others while we are
worshipping God helps us become givers.
It allows us to receive the best that God has for us which changes
lives. God will change us and will change
others through the process.
Hebrews
12:15 NLT
Look after each other so
that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of
bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
The Wise men were changed. Everyone the Wise men came in contact with
where challenged and encouraged because these men were focused on someone who
gave them life, new life. They found
something bigger and more important to them because they focused on God who
they knew was able to do anything.
Proverbs 8:35
NLT
For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
We ought to be like the Wise men. They sought God. They worshipped. They gave gifts that were important to them. They shared with others their experience.
May God use us to do the same… seek
God, worship, be givers and share our experiences. Wise men still seek Him!
Matthew
6:20 NASB
But store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break
in or steal;
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