Livin' Ready

The third Sunday of Advent found me preaching about the Wise Men. Several lessons jumped out at me while preparing for the message. For example:

• they were the first Gentile believers after the birth of the Messiah. What a great Missions Message and a challenge to those who thought the Messiah was only for the Jews.
• they came bringing their best as gifts to the Messiah. They didn't search around at the last minute for an offering, er I mean gift.......they came prepared to worship Him through their gifts. And God was able to use their gifts to finance the trip into Egypt and back.
• they had studied the Word. They knew what the prophets had stated about the coming Messiah. And they accepted it as absolute truth.
• they were sensitive to the leading of God. Through this they may have saved the life of Joseph & Mary and perhaps others. I wonder how many other lives would be saved if all of us were this sensitive to the Spirit.
• they were not content with only knowing about the Messiah but they wanted to be in His presence. Contrast this with the chief priests and teachers of the Law for the Jews. They could not have cared less even though they knew.
• finally and perhaps most importantly to me, once they knew about the coming birth of the Messiah, they watched for the star and lived ready so they could follow the star. They stayed packed up and ready to go. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to live our lives in such a way that we are not "entangled" by the things of this life. (Hebrews 12:1)

What great messages wrapped up in the lives of these Wise Men from the East. May these lessons become real to all of us during this time and throughout the rest of our lives.

Always in Pursuit!