They saw his star, and it led them to Israel.

These scholars, “wise men from the East,” were on a mission to worship a special king, a Messianic king, whose birth was marked by a star in the heavens.  Yet when they arrived in the capital city of Jerusalem, how astonished they must have been to learn that no one knew of the birth of this special king.   He hadn’t been born in the palace.  His birth had not been celebrated with the ringing of bells or great proclamations of joy throughout Israel.

Instead of a palace in Jerusalem, these wise men finally found the king they had been searching for in the lowly, obscure village of Bethlehem.   His star led them not to a royal residence but to a simple home.*  How astonished Mary and Joseph must have been when they answered the door and standing before them were these regal men, strange in dress, imposing in manner and decorum.  And to amazement of Mary and Joseph, with great humility these men bowed down and worshiped their child, Jesus, presenting him with precious gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense.

These wise men weren’t bothered by the simple surroundings.  They weren’t interested in worshiping one who appeared royal.  They wanted to worship the One who was divinely royal.  They pushed aside their preconceived notions as to who and what this king would be like and worshiped the king who was revealed to them by that guiding star.

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On a crisp, clear “up north” night we sat around a bonfire.  But quickly our gaze turned from flames of the fire to the brilliance of the star studded sky.  As our eyes looked upward, we were mesmerized by its majesty; we were filled with wonder at the omnipotence of our God who spoke these stars into being.

Although the number of stars we could see with our naked eyes were too numerous to count, they were but a minute number of stars that fill our galaxy.  Scientists tell us the Milky Way consists of 100-300 billion stars.  Even further confounding is the fact that our galaxy is but one of over 100 billion galaxies in our universe.  Our God is an incredible star-Maker, planet Creator!

And, it is this awesome and powerful God who calls out to us with an extraordinary invitation:

“Draw near to me and I will draw near to you!” James 4:8

How incredible it is that the loving desire of our omnipotent God is for us to have an intimate, personal relationship with Him – a relationship where we have the privilege to call on His name, knowing that He hears and answers us.

When we truly reflect on how blessed we are by God’s great love for us, I think we can relate to the words David wrote in Psalm 8:

“I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,

your handmade sky-jewelry,

Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

Why do you bother with us?

Why take a second look our way?”  vs. 3-4

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He came bursting through the door barely able to get his words out. All she could decipher at first was, “We’re leaving!” 

Running from room to room, he scanned each one quickly determining what would be taken and what would be left behind.  She could barely keep up to him and had an even harder time comprehending what he was telling her.  She had never seen such joy and excitement on her husband’s face.  I imagine Abraham must have finally turned to her and said something like this:

“Sarah, I met God today – the living God.  He promised great blessings, unbelievable blessings.  But Sarah, the most incredible blessing is that from us would come a great nation.  Do you know what that means?  It means God is promising that we will have a son.” 

 A son!

This was the one thing Sarah longed for.  In her culture, a woman’s worth was based on her ability to bear a son, an heir for her husband, and Sarah had lived long with the stigma of barrenness.  No matter what joys of life she experienced, they were always dampened by her desire for a child..  I think Sarah must have started pulling clothes out of drawers, emptying every closet.  Most likely she called the realtor and scheduled a yard sale.  Oh, how she wanted a child!  Yet in the midst of the excitement,  she must have paused and asked Abraham this question,

 “I’m willing to leave, but where are we going?  What’s the plan?”  Continue Reading

Eighty years old,

while tending sheep on a wilderness mountain,

he catches a glimpse of a bush on fire.

What holds his attention, what compels his curiosity is that the bush is not consumed.  As Moses moves closer, he hears God speak to him from that bush.  And, what he hears shakes him to the core.  God commissions him to do what seems impossible – to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, to free them from the bondage of slavery.

Certainly God couldn’t expect him to be their deliverer.  Forty years earlier in his prime, it may have been possible.  But not now!

God’s response?  Moses, this time,

“I will be with you.” (Ex. 3:12)

Then God did something for Moses that He had not even done for the great patriarch Abraham, nor his descendants, Isaac and Jacob.  God revealed to Moses His name – “I Am.”   Abraham knew God by a title, “Almighty God” but to Moses, a man whose hopes, dreams, and aspirations had become ashes of despair and resignation, to this man, the Lord revealed His name.

“This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.”’ (Ex. 3:14)

With the name “I Am,” God declares He is a “present tense” God.  He is not just a God of the past who has done great things.  Nor is He just a God of our future, who is the hope of our salvation. 

He is the God of our present.  He is our “present tense” God. Continue Reading