True Seekers
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”—Matthew 2:1–2
The story of Christ’s birth is one of the Bible’s most famous and loved stories, probably one that most people who are not even familiar with Scripture have heard at one time or another. And certainly a story we hear repeated every Christmas is the account of the wise men being led by the star to the place where the King was to be born.
Matthew’s Gospel tells us these wise men came from the East (see Matthew 2:1). Skilled in astronomy and astrology, these men were highly revered and respected in their culture and were especially noted for their ability to interpret dreams.
Because of their knowledge of science, mathematics, history, and the occult, their religious and political influence grew until they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors in the Medo-Persian and Babylonian empires. More than just soothsayers and magicians, they were dignitaries. And though they weren’t kings, they were men of tremendous importance.
But even with all their knowledge, these wise men still had not found the answers they had been looking for in life. You might say they were seekers. We know they were true seekers, because God revealed himself to them in a special way when the star led them to the place where they could find Jesus: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10). Then they offered Him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” If you are also a true seeker, if you want to know the true God, then He will reveal himself to you too.
Summary sentence: Are you a true and sincere seeker of truth?
Tags: Christmas, wise men
Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
From reaching more people with the gospel than ever before, to being there for you with relevant Bible teaching—wherever, whenever, and in whatever way you connect with us—this year of ministry has stretched and challenged us.
In a number of ways, it has been a lot like running a race.
This year we have run, not walked, through doors of opportunity into territory that we have never been in before. But it is not enough to just start a race, or just run a portion of the course…we want to finish the race and finish it well.
It might surprise you to know that upwards of 30% of our annual ministry support will come through the generous gifts made during the last weeks of December, making our ministry year a race that ends with a run straight uphill to the finish.
As we come to the close of the year, I want to invite you to run with us to this finish line. Would you prayerfully consider a special gift in these last days of 2011? Let’s cross the finish line together in a victorious ending to a fantastic year, which saw thousands of people come into the kingdom of God.
Called to the gospel,
Greg Laurie
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