I Read The News Today Oh Boy

Anyone who know really knows me, knows that I am a Beatle nut. I have been since I was about 10 years old. Any other Beatle nuts know that my title to this blog was taken from the first line to "A Day In The Life'". I was thinking of all that we hear in the news today. Economy, wars, murders, local crime, sports, a feel good story here and there. Then my brain wandered to, what was the news in Bethlehem when Jesus was born? I was also thinking of how did God choose to announce the birth of His Son?

Although I really don't know what the news was in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. I am often puzzled as to how God chose to announce the birth of His Son. Today when you have a big announcement you have a press conference, you try to get as many people as you can to be informed about the news you have. But God didn't do that. He could have done anything to get the world's attention. He could have made to where the whole world would have known that His Son was born, but He didn't.

The only ones who knew were, Mary and Joseph, and basically it was only announced to some men who weren't even from the country who had to follow a star and some shepherds in a field.

Isn't that just like God though? We often want Him to make a big splash." Do something that will make us believe" is what the people of Jesus' day said. Yet basically God tells us there is enough evidence already.

When I think of Mary and Joseph, the wise men, and the shepherds and what was common for each of them. I realize that they each had to exercise faith with the information they were given. They each had to choose to believe that the information that they were told was true.

One example would be Mary and Joseph. Wouldn't you think that if you were carrying God's Son, that God would make sure He was born in the best place possible, that there would be no obstacles to overcome? Yet it was the complete opposite for them. They couldn't find a place to stay. They wind up in a manger. Although it makes for a nice Nativity scene and a nice Christmas song, how many of you would like to have your child born outside in a manger? Especially if you thought God was on your side.

Yet, this is how it is for us. We often think a life of following God means easy street, but it doesn't. We still have obstacles, but He is with us in the midst of the obstacles. During this season although there is much to make people happy, this is also a time when we get discouraged or feel down. Let's remember that God is with us. Through the good times and the bad. You may be right in the middle of God's will and yet still experiencing obstacles. Just remember the same was true for Mary and Joseph.

Finally I would like us to think about the person who was in control of the inn. The Bible tells us that there was no room at the inn for them. Think of how the person who was in charge of the inn could have had the Son of God at his inn. Now let's realize he didn't know at the time that the woman who was about to give birth was going to give birth to the Son of God. But just good will should have made him let a pregnant woman come in to give birth to her baby.

I see again another way in which God acts. He often gives us an opportunity to do the right thing. Our part is to recognize the situation. We need to take time to think when those situations come around (which usually aren't convenient) "maybe God is in this?" Maybe He is giving us an opportunity to be blessed by Him.

When we think of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men, let's remember God was blessing ordinary, everyday people like you and me. They hadn't done anything to earn God's favor. God just blessed them.


Was there any news announced when Jesus was born? Just Angels announcing it to shepherds. Wise men from another country. It is interesting that the Angel uses the word news to the shepherds. Shepherds,once again God going against what we would think. God announcing this news to common people.In fact they were thought of low class people. Yet it was to them who God announced this great news to.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid ; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people ; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Luke 2:8-14


Had the angels written a song about the news they may have said," We heard the news today oh boy."

 So let's celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas. Let's remember that He has come to bless, and is blessing, ordinary people like you and me. Let's remember that He came to live among everyday, ordinary people like you and me. Let's remember that He offers eternal life to everyday ordinary people like you and me.

Troy

Christmas Music

I love Christmas. No, I mean it, I love Christmas. With this love of Christmas comes a love of Christmas music. I love Christmas and the music associated it with it so much that I start listening to Christmas music the day after halloween. Yep, if you see me on November 1st sometime during that day I have probably started listening to Christmas music.

I would like to share with you some of my favorite Christmas Cd's. These are cd's that I can listen to each track on the cd from start to finish. There are many great Christmas songs. There are many enjoyable Christmas cd's. But some of the cd's have songs that I'll skip over. The cd's on my list are cd's that I can listen to all the way through without skipping a track. I would also like to add that I am just listing cd's that I enjoy. I'm not making the list based on some artistic level. Just pure enjoyment. I have provided YouTube links where available.

So here we go in no particular order:

1. Tommy Walker: This Is What Christmas Means To Me.
Tommy has some really good arrangements of some Christmas classics. Songs like Silent Night and Go Tell It On The Mountain. On many of the songs he has added little parts to each song. He also has some originals on this collection. If you were looking for some songs to sing at church nearly every song on this collection would work.

2. James Taylor: At Christmas.
This cd came out a couple of years ago and I have constantly listened to it. Some Monk harmonies thrown in on Santa Claus Is Comin To Town, Joni Mitchell's River and Winter Wonderland are all enjoyable. But my favorite tracks are Some Children See Him, Who Comes This Night and In The Bleak Midwinter. They have great chord progressions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWQkhMGejLc In The Bleak Midwinter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg929aqfmy4 Santa Claus Is Comin To Town

3. Israel Houghton: A Timeless Christmas.
His version of The Nutcracker is worth the price of the cd. This cd is mixed well and funky from start to finish. Marcus Miller plays the bass clarinet on a track, Cc Winans makes a guest appearance as does her brother Marvin. Great musicianship all the way through this cd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4YqVwcdLoU We Wish You A Timeless Christmas

4. Jazz For Joy: Various Artists
This is a wonderful cd of jazz interpretations of some of your favorite Christmas songs. Some of the artists on this cd include: Roy Hargrove, Shirley Horn, Betty Carter, Mark Whitfield and Nicholas Payton. This cd is more straight ahead jazz. If you are looking for some contemporary jazz I would recommend any of the Grp Christmas cd's.

5. Nicole C. Mullen: Christmas In Black And White
This is a cd that has some traditional Christmas songs (The Christmas Song which she does a duet with her father). It has some Christmas songs that you are familiar with that she has rearranged. (Away In The Manger becomes Sacred Night with a nice chord progression and a new chorus with a latin feel). There are also a few original songs. This cd also has my favorite version of O Come O Come Emmanuel. Nicole can get funky when she wants to and she can play it straight. This is very enjoyable listening.

6. Michael McDonald: In The Spirit
This cd has a few classic Christmas songs such as, White Christmas. It also has a duet with James Ingram on One Gift. It is typical Michael McDonald. If you have enjoyed his music over the years then you will enjoy the cd.

7. The Brooklyn Tabernacle: Christmas At The Brooklyn Tabernacle
The BTC has released four Christmas cd's. All of them are very enjoyable if you enjoy choir music. Their first Christmas cd was their weakest. They just released their fourth Christmas cd this year. The cd that I have named was their 2nd Christmas cd. There is a medley of familiar Christmas songs. There is also a bunch of original music. Many of these songs have become a part of my Christmas tradition.

8. Chris Isaak: Christmas
This is a cd for those of you who enjoy early rock and roll. He does Rudolph, Pretty Paper and others with that 1950's early 60's rock and roll sound. Of course he also does Blue Christmas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41wtUbOo8ZI Chris Isaak Christmas

9. Bryan Duncan: Christmas Is Jesus
Bryan has an incredible voice. This is a cd that includes Please Come Home For Christmas, Grown Up Christmas List as well standards like I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day and Angels We Have Heard On High.

10. Kenny Loggins: December
Typical Kenny Loggins. He does favorites like, White Christmas and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Newer Christmas songs, like Angels In The Snow and On Christmas Morning as well as the old classic, Coventry Carol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFMM1cNDvPs


Here is a list of other Christmas Cd's that I enjoy:
Jazz:
Fourplay: Snowbound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo7EG_iTkk0
Oscar Peterson: An Oscar Peterson Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X__UUGK58-g&feature=related
Dave Koz: Dave Koz And Friends A Smooth Jazz Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4yHeptg5Gs
Cyrus Chestnut: A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Yellow Jackets: Peace Round http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ChKilZy6k
Take 6: They have 3 Christmas Cd's all enjoyable http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9N1IMoV0VE

Blues
B.B. King: A Christmas Celebration Of Hope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t467LmaVF58

Country:
Dwight Yoakam: Come On Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8jjwu0z81s&feature=related
B. J. Thomas: Christmas Is Coming Home

Others:
Casting Crowns: Peace On Earth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7670CXvPX0
Natalie Grant: Believe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UB3rZI73Zg
Fernando Ortega: Christmas Songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciA2pMkvInQ
Chris Tomlin: Glory In The Highest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPwNO9RtLJA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L_X10hy1x0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy29mQfiavg
Al Green: Feels Like Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFeY_ZLARZM
Jars Of Clay: Christmas Songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Fm-uZxMD4
Yolanda Adams: Christmas With Yolanda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdEjLvQWfQk
This is just a short list. I didn't even mention some of my favorite Christmas songs that may be on a cd that I didn't mention. I would be interested in hearing from you as to what your favorite Christmas CD's are.
I hope you get a chance to listen to your Christmas favorites this year.

Troy

Hope Is Dangerous

Have you ever hoped for something? Have you ever hoped for something, only to have it not turn out how you had hoped? What was your reaction? Has it happened more than once? Sadly after a few times of having hope in something and not having it turn out people begin to lose hope, or even eventually give up on hope. We don't enjoy being disappointed over and over. My heart goes out to those who have experienced disappointment after disappointment.

Many like to go through life without having to hope in something, or someone. When you live this way, you don't have to worry about being disappointed. But on the other hand, think of those who live with hope. Think of the endless possibilities for them just by having hope. Sure risk is involved. You may get disappointed, but you may also get what you desired. The Message translation of the Bible says," Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around." (Proverbs 13:12)

You can see why hope is dangerous. If you want to exercise it, the outcome may lead to disappointment or fulfillment. We like a sure thing. But life doesn't usually work that way.

Think back on some of the best things that have happened in your life. For many of them a risk was involved. And in that risk you exercised hope.

God is wanting us to have hope while the devil is wanting to take away our hope. The choice is ours as to which way we live. Hope is dangerous because it leaves us open to the possibility to disappointment, but it also the way to realizing your dreams. No matter how discouraged we may get at times, it is important to cling to hope. Our Heavenly Father is known as the God of hope.

I would like to end with some verses from the Bible on hope.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.
Lamentations 3:21,22

For I hope in You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.
Psalm 38:15

Troy

God Is There To Help

During my Bible reading this past week I came up to Deuteronomy chapter 20. The first verse says,
 "When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you."
There was so much encouragement offered in that verse that I would like to share.

We all know in life that we have battles. There is no getting around that. In this verse the context was that the Israelites would have military battles, but we can also make the application to life's battles that we all face.

In the verse it says that at times, the enemy is going to outnumber you. Let me put it this way for us today, at times the odds will be stacked against you. We all enjoy enjoy a battle when we have the odds on our side. But in life we often have challenges and battles where the odds are against us coming through. Examples? Too much month left at the end of the money. Rumors of losing your job. Marriage problems. So often we see situations that didn't turn out well for others and think that we will experience the same outcome.  The list could go on and on. In life we are often in situations where the odds don't favor a positive outcome on our part.

When the odds are stacked against us, this is where that we still have to trust in God. I admit, it is not always easy to trust when the odds are stacked against you. I wish I could say that I always trust and I'm never afraid, but it's not true. What does help though is that the verse says in those times," don't be afraid of them." Why does this help? It says that I have a choice. I can choose to be afraid or not. I don't have to automatically give in to fear. Why? for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.

The Israelites had been in slavery to the Egyptians for hundreds of years. But God set them free through various miracles and great acts. If you have ever seen the 10 Commandments on TV, that movie shows what God did. So what God was essentially saying was, "Remember you have been in impossible situations before, but I brought you out. The odds were stacked against you before, but I brought you through." We haven't come out of a literal Egypt in our lives, but God has brought us out of some impossible situations. So when the odds are stacked against us in life God wants us to reflect on what He has done for us in the past. This is so important, because if we don't keep reminding ourselves of what God has done for us the enemy will continually tell you what God is not going to do. You have heard his voice in your mind before," this situation isn't going to change", "God isn't going to help", "take matters into your own hands", "things never work out for you", "you aren't worthy of God's help". Again, the list could go on and on as to what the enemy says to us to try to discourage us. But remember that God tells us to reflect on what He has done for us in the past. He has brought us through some impossible situations.

So, there are going to be times when the odds are going to be stacked against us. God's Word tells us not to be afraid. For God who has helped us before when the odds were stacked against us, is with us. God is there to help.

If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31b

Troy

Getting Back Up After A Beat Down

Everyone of us have experienced those times in life when things just don't go the way we had imagined. In fact, there are times when not only has life not gone the way we had imagined, but it went worse then we had imagined. During those times when we've experienced a beat down we can feel like staying down. Like a boxer who has been beat up round after round when they finally go down instead of getting back up, they just stay down. But we all know that in life that we have to keep getting back up.

We are presented with many options when we want to get back up. What will we cling to in order to get back up? Where will we go for help in order to get back up? Many of the options presented to us can just lead to another beat down in life. I think many of us have gone down that road. I know I have before.

In the Bible we are told the story of David. In this particular story, David experiences a beat down. David and his army had been gone, when they came back to where they were staying they discovered that it had been burned with fire by their enemies the Amalekites. As if that wasn't bad enough the Amalekites had taken the women, and the sons and daughters of David and his men. The Bible tells us that David and his people wept until they had no strength left to weep. (Anyone ever been there before?) As if all this wasn't bad enough, David became distressed because the people began to talk of stoning him. In the midst of all of this the Bible tells us that David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Here is how that story is told:

1 Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire ; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
  1 Samuel 30:1-6

So when the beat downs of life come (and they do come) we have found that the Bible tells us that we can  follow the example of David and strengthen ourselves in the LORD. But how do we do that? What does that mean? Though I am sure different people have different ways of strengthening themselves in the LORD,I think a few actions are consistent with everyone.

1: Keep Praying.
Many times a thought will come to us and say," prayer must not work since we had been praying and yet this happened in life." Don't listen to that thought. Reflect on all the answered prayers you have experienced. Reflect on all the good things that God has done for you even when you didn't pray to Him for them to happen.

2: Keep Reading Your Bible. 
This action can help us with our thought process. When those negative thoughts come (and they will) we have to counter them with the truth from Scripture. We can only do this as we keep reading our Bibles in the midst of the beat downs of life. We have to keep talking Scriptures to ourselves. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said the central cause of spiritual depression," is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself." You see we keep listening to those negative thoughts instead of speaking scripture to ourselves.

Doing these two actions isn't always easy in the midst of the beat downs of life but they are critical to strengthening ourselves in the LORD. Sometimes we have to trust even when we don't see any change. I would like to end with an example from the Psalms. In Psalm 42 the person speaks of their soul being in despair. But then he reminds himself of God. He reminds himself of the goodness of God. You see he couldn't just let his soul stay in despair, he had to remind himself of God. He had to action.

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul ? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. 6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls ; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. 8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime ; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life. 9 I will say to God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy ?" 10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God ?" 11 Why are you in despair, O my soul ? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 42:5-11

I hope you are encouraged and remember that when those beat downs come in life we can get back up by strengthening ourselves in the LORD our God.

Troy

The Life Of Jesus Pt. 3

 This blog we will look at two other people who got a chance to see the baby Jesus. Their story is told in Luke 2. Their names are Simeon and Anna.

25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon ; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel ; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple ; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word ; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel." 33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed - 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul -to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four . She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke doesn't give us much information concerning these two individuals. Though we may not know much about their lives, we do know that they lived holy and devout lives.

It was the custom in those days that you would bring your baby boy and present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice. This is why Mary and Joseph had come to the temple.

We see from Simeon that 1) We should never give up hoping.
God had promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. Events in Irael's history were not looking good. They were under control of the Romans. Many of the religious leaders didn't know what it meant to have a relationship with God. But Simeon held on to God's promise. I believe that what helped him to remain hopeful was that he was righteous and devout. Hope seems to wither away when we begin to forget about God. For then the only thing we can hope in is what we see and ourselves. In that type of situation we begin to lose hope because we see how bad things are and we know deep down inside we do not have the power to change things or circumstances. But keeping our lives devoted to God helps us to stay hopeful. For we know with God all things are possible.

2). The manifestation of the promise goes beyond the promise.
Simeon was told that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. He kept hoping in that promise all his life. But as we scene played out, not only did he get to see the Christ, he also got to put him into his arms. Isn't this true of our lives in God? There have been many instances in my own life where I felt God had given me a promise. But when the promise was fulfilled it turned out even better than I thought. This can also happen in life situations where we may not get a promise from God, but where God has put something in our hearts to do something and it turns out better than we could imagine. I think of all my musician friends in this instance. We all as young kids desired to play an instrument. I believe that God put that desire in us. But as we look back over our lives, all of the experiences we have had are greater than anything we imagined in that initial desire just to play music. Parent also have this experience when it comes to having kids. The experience exceeds anything they could have imagined. And so it is when God fulfills His promise.

3). Like Anna we should give thanks to God and tell others about Jesus.
Luke tells us that when Anna saw the baby Jesus she began giving thanks to God and spoke of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. I believe we should also thank God for His Son and tell others. Life may not always work out the way we hope or expected but we still have many things in life to be thankful for.

It is amazing how God allowed these two people to come into contact with Jesus. As we know it wasn't like Jesus was born and the whole world knew He was the Savior. No one knew at that time except to the few who it had been revealed to. The wise men, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna. As Jesus' life goes on even though He does only good, preforms miracles and fulfills what God had said His Son was going to be like, the majority of people still didn't believe that He was the Savior, The Christ. Isn't the same true today? Most people know the name Jesus, have heard about what He has done and yet still don't want to believe He is who He says He is. That is why for those of us who do believe we should be extremely thankful to God. We should be thankful for God's grace. That like Simeon and Anna,  God has allowed us to come into contact with His Son. It is nothing we can boast of. Because we didn't have anything to do with it. It is by grace God has revealed Himself to us. Let us share with others how good God has been to us.

Troy

The Life Of Jesus Pt. 2

When we think about the birth of Jesus. We usually get the image of the manger scene in our mind. In the Bible, besides Mary and Joseph, there are four different instances of someone seeing the baby Jesus. The first two that I will mention are the one's that are well known. The last two are not as well known. In this blog I will discuss the first two, and in the next blog I will discuss the last two. I will again, without going to deep would like to share some life application from the stories that we find in the Bible. The first group of people that I will mention who saw the baby Jesus are the wise men. They are also known as the magi. The following passage is from Matthew 2:1-12.

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews ? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea ; for this is what has been written by the prophet : 6 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH ; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.' " 7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child ; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." 9 After hearing the king, they went their way ; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother ; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

I think one of the first lessons we can learn from the story of the wise men is that, 1) God speaks to people in ways that they can understand.
This group of people had been looking at the stars probably most of their lives. It was a passion to them. There are so many stories of God doing this in people's lives. There is a journalist who investigated the claims of Christ just as he would have investigated a story. As he approached Christ's claims in a way that he was familiar with, He came to believe the claims of Jesus. The way that God revealed Himself to the wise men was completely different than the way He would reveal Himself to the shepherds. And so it is with us, God will usually reveal Himself to us in a way that we can understand. He will generally use things that we all ready have a passion for.The way that He reveals Himself to you will probably not be the same way He reveals Himself to someone else. He doesn't use this approach all the time, but He does use it often.

We also see that, 2) God will use unlikely ways to lead people to Jesus. 
When you think of the purpose of a star, you don't initially think that the purpose of a star is to lead a person to Jesus. This lesson shows us that we can't limit God as to how He might lead someone to His Son. There are people who have never been drawn to Jesus by a sermon but have by the kindness of a Christian, or by the birth of a baby, or by the death of a loved one. There are so many examples that could be used. I have heard so many stories in my life of ways that people have been led to Jesus. Some have been conventional, some haven't.

The next passage is from Luke 2:8-20. It tells the story of the shepherds.

 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid ; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people ; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

God will reveal Himself to people who society doesn't think too highly of is the lesson I want to share from this story.
In the Jewish culture shepherds weren't thought too highly of. The orthodox looked down on them because they could not keep all the ceremonial laws. Isn't the same true for us? There are those who are very religious in their lives. I mean this in a negative way. They do all the rituals that you can think of. In the process of doing all these rituals they look down on others. They think they are better than others. They do all the rituals, but they do not have a relationship with Jesus. In fact, they aren't able to have a relationship with Jesus because of their self righteousness, their spiritual pride. They think in keeping all the rituals that they are ok with God. Yet, when you read the story of Jesus' birth, it wasn't to religious people that God revealed His Son. It was to the wise men, they weren't even Jewish. It was to these shepherds, they couldn't keep all the rituals. You and I would think that if God's Son is going to be born into the world, God would let the High Priest see Him, or the top religious people of the day. But those people were full of spiritual pride. No, God revealed Himself to the lowly, to the seekers. The same is true today. God reveals Himself to the humble. To those who don't feel they know it all. To those who others would never think of. If you are in a relationship with Jesus right now, you would probably agree with me that most people who know you would never have thought of you as someone who God would desire to have a relationship with. Yet, here you are, in a relationship with the God of the universe.

Remember, if you feel like you don't know it all when it comes to God. If there is a humbleness to you when it comes to God. If you feel that a relationship with God has to be more than keeping rituals, you are the type of person God can reveal His Son to. God may reveal Himself in ways that you are familiar with and He may use things that you or others would never think of as ways to get your attention and reveal Himself to you. Stay humble and alert for God loves to reveal Himself.

Troy