Advent

(our theme for December)

Matthew 2: 1-2 (NIV)

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  But how many of us would begin the long journey, without knowing where we were going, with no map, with no address, with no phone number for the person on the other end of the journey? Nothing but a star to guide us!

The Magi, wise men from the far East, took such a journey.  We are not told their country of origin.  No number or names are given for the wise men, though three was destined to become the most common number because of the three gifts they were bearing – Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  In fact, the term Magi/Magus, or “wise men” was translated from the Greek and Google says these men were probably astrologers as their study of the sky led them toward Jesus. 

But regardless of who they were, they were brave, determined, and keenly focused on reaching their goal, of finding the newborn King of the Jews!  Surely God inspired their journey and gave them the confidence to follow that mysterious Star to reach that Goal.  And though they didn’t know his name, we do – they were seeking Jesus!

Our personal journey to find Jesus, also begins with a single step and trust in the calling to seek him.  God will lead us, just as he did the Wise Men.  God will not lead us astray or leave us on the trail with no idea of which way to turn.  God will keep the star of hope shining in our hearts, if we but seek him, every day, as we journey onward toward the goal.

And our goal is not only to find Jesus, and God reassures us that we will, in Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  But once we have found him, we are to work to become more like him, one step at a time, toward his bright, shining example.  We don’t know where the journey will take us, but we do know that Jesus himself summed up our goal in the greatest commandment – LOVE God and LOVE people.  That is the Way we must go!  We need to focus on Him.  His star is always bright – leading us onward to the goal of great LOVE!

Please pray with me now…

Dear God – Even though we don’t always know exactly where you are taking us, please keep that star burning bright in our hearts; give us courage and keep hope alive; keep us focused on the goal of growing a little more like Jesus each and every day.  And in His name we pray.  Amen!

This episode was written and read by Bernice Howard

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.