When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. -Matthew 2:10-12 (KJV)
You’ll notice the response of the wise men when they saw the star and were led to the Lord Jesus. They rejoiced. I wonder how much rejoicing we have done this Christmas season. Are we so consumed with everything that is going on that we have forgotten how to rejoice in the Lord and to seek Him as did the wise men? Nothing would stand in their way. They stood before a wicked and evil king and did not fall victim to his schemes. The reason for this was that they were attentive to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. When we tune our hearts to the Lord and we focus on Him we are led to the place where God would have us to be. We are not wandering aimlessly through the season, but we are intently seeking Jesus. Will you, will I, will we as followers of Christ seek the Lord Jesus? Will we lay aside all stresses and distractions and place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives? Will we walk forward with the attitude that says we have come to worship the king? If not, then we are in for a letdown this Christmas.
Have you noticed how that when we are looking ahead to something and anxiously awaiting its coming that it seems to get here and be gone way too soon? Christmas can certainly do that. We look forward to it for so long and then it seems that its gone as soon as it came. When we place Jesus at the center of Christmas it doesn’t happen that way. Trusting Jesus Christ and focusing on Him has a way of slowing everything down in terms of all that goes on this time of year.
Place Jesus at the center of Christmas and here is what will happen: less stressed, less exhausted, more focused, more thankful, more appreciative, and more able to understand the true meaning of it all. All of that happens when we trust the Lord and place Him at the center of all we are doing. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ will empower us to walk in the fullness of His grace today, at Christmas, and all the year.
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