Kissed by the Spirit

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”

Jeremiah 29:12 ( RSV)

The Lord said when we talk to Him, He will hear us, and when He talks to us, we were meant to hear from Him as well. I can think of several times when I talk more than I listen. I think I’ve been this way all of my life, whether it is with my children, my husband or my friends, I always felt I needed to give the right answer, when it would have been better if I just listened. 

In thinking about my listening skills, there’s a lot of work to be done there. When I feel listened to by someone, it makes me want to return to that person and talk to them even more. Those who are good listeners will have many friends. Being a good listener is a wonderful goal to aim for. 

Listening is a gift from God that we can share with anyone. We naturally enjoy the company of those who listen to us. There’s a difference in being talked at and talked with. To talk with someone is to first listen to them before responding. 

Once at a family party, I was speaking to my nephew’s wife, who works as a counselor for trauma victims. I learned a lot as she shared her knowledge and skill of listening to her clients. I really enjoyed talking to her, and was impressed with what a great listener she was, but after all, that is her field of expertise. 

The Lord seemed to be telling me that we don’t need a degree in psychology to be a better listener. It’s an intentional gift that we can give to others. Being heard means more than being spoken to, especially during a serious hardship. God can use us to give someone the gift of being heard.

As these thoughts filled my mind, I suddenly realized I was having a conversation with Jesus, and I was actually listening. The Lord 

made His point by inspiring me to improve my own listening skills. 

As we meet people with various problems, we don’t always have to offer them the perfect solution or have the answers to their problems. Having all the right answers are for tests and game shows. When it comes to relationships, most people need a friend who listens. As I look back on my life, even in every good relationship, I might have missed opportunities to be a better listener. 

The beauty of abiding in Jesus, is that He isn’t looking for people who never make mistakes, just teachable people who can learn from them. 

It helps to practice His presence daily, by having daily chats with Jesus, since it is during those chats that we become better listeners. After we listen to Him, we can go out into the world and give the gift of listening to others.

Lord, thank you for always listening to us, and help us to become better listeners to you and to give the gift of listening to whoever we meet. Amen

“In the wilderness you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son.”

Deuteronomy 1:31 (NASB)

These words in Deuteronomy are filled with tenderness and a reminder of the paternal love of God, who carries all of us as a man carries a son. This is a figurative statement, since there are times in our lives that we are too tired, too broken or too weak to walk, but our Heavenly Father, spiritually carries us. It’s a beautiful metaphorical reminder of God’s love and intervention in our lives. 

I heard a true story which depicts this image, except it is more than a metaphor. God sent a helper from Heaven to intervene and save a boy’s life, in the most mysterious, yet physical way. 

A young man named Mark, along with his parents, told this story in a TV documentary. They shared events that cannot be explained in any other way except being a miracle. 

Mark was 12 years old, when he went hiking alone in the woods near his home in rural Missouri. While walking, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle as the fangs of a venomous snake bit through his pants, piercing his skin. As the venom circulated through his body, both his legs soon became numb and his eyesight was getting blurry. Mark was all alone, and only about 150 yards from his home, he could no longer walk. He tried to crawl home, but grew increasingly weaker and began feeling faint. 

Before losing consciousness, he recalls being picked up by a man, who came out of nowhere, wearing a white robe with a red belt. The mysterious stranger quickly carried him in his arms, as he told Mark he was going to be alright, and then Mark lost consciousness, remembering no more.

No one witnessed anything that happened, but his mother found him lying on their kitchen floor, unconscious. His parents saw the bite mark and swelling on his ankle and rushed him to the hospital. By the time he got to the hospital, his breathing was very shallow, but he was treated with antivenin, hospitalized and recovered two days later. When Mark woke up in the hospital he told his parents about the mysterious white robed man.

Mark couldn’t have crawled home by himself since he was paralyzed from the venom and had passed out, and yet somehow a boy who was unconscious and paralyzed showed up 150 yards from the woods onto his kitchen floor. We can only speculate, since no one saw a man in the neighborhood who matched that description. The only explanation would be a supernatural one. Mark’s guardian angel appeared, wearing a white robe with a red belt and carried him home.

Angels often appear as regular people, dressed like any human being passing by, but in this case the man was dressed in heavenly attire, as if he hurried to step out of one dimension, to save the life of a boy in another. The guardian angel, who was assigned to protect Mark, took no time to disguise himself, since time was of the essence. 

Today Mark is a father, raising a son of his own, and fully understands how a man would carry his own son in a moment of danger and urgency, as the angel of the Lord carried him home that day, to get the medical help he urgently needed. 

Maybe miracles like this happen occasionally to remind us of the goodness of God, and that He really is intervening in our lives at times, even when we don’t see an angel in a white robe. 

God gives us many illustrations of His paternal love throughout scripture, and He still carries us, in Spirit, when our souls are weary. I think of it as a “Jesus hug”, which everyone needs these days. 

Lord, thank you for the miraculous messengers you have ordered to help us all the days of our life and and for your fatherly compassion to carry us in Spirit whenever necessary. Amen

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

God’s purpose will stand and He will accomplish His will, even when He needs to work His purpose through flawed and imperfect people, which is basically everyone. It’s hard to ignore the fact that so many leaders in the Bible had many serious flaws and shortcomings, but God is teaching us important truths about Himself through these characters. 

Moses had a bad temper when he was a young man. He once saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a slave, and in a moment of anger, Moses killed that Egyptian. After that, he fled the country, living as a fugitive for forty long years, working as a shepherd, but God never gave up on His original plan for Moses.

One day He called his name from a burning bush, and sent him back to Egypt, with a mission to lead his chosen people out of slavery. Despite Moses having a background of murder and knowing very little about the faith of his people, God knew he was the best one to deliver them. Moses experienced what is known in scripture as the throne of grace and forgiveness, as he was sent out on a new mission. 

We all know the story of David with his many moral peaks and valleys, and yet God chose him to rule Israel. After each of his moral lapses, David always returned to the Lord with a repentant heart. This is why the prophet Samuel called him, 

“A man after God’s own heart.”  

(1 Samuel 13:14) 

David, like Moses, also discovered God’s throne of grace that offered forgiveness, mercy and a fresh start.

Jesus chose twelve men, and then invested all of His trust in them to fulfill His great commission. By the world’s standards, those twelve men would have been considered the least likely to succeed in that calling. They had temperament problems, ego problems, and moral reputation issues. All of them were slow to learn what Jesus was trying to teach them, often missing His point, and yet Jesus never stopped believing in them for the task ahead. 

Peter had a fear driven, impulsive temperament. After spending every day with Jesus for three years, he still pulled out his sword one day and rashly cut off the ear of the man who came to arrest Jesus. Later, Peter caved under pressure when questioned, and denied three times, ever knowing Jesus at all. Peter still had faith, but it was buried beneath all of his fears. Jesus forgave him, knowing that there was a great leader hidden beneath his impulsive personality. 

From Moses to Peter, flawed, imperfect men throughout history have found forgiveness at the throne of grace, and rose up to new life in Christ. Their many shortcomings might arouse doubts and questions in others, but not to God. Their lives are a confirmation of hope for all of us. Since Jesus chose them, knowing their good and bad traits, He knew He could work with them and those twelve men brought Christ to the world. 

God deliberately gives us these examples in scripture, to show that He can accomplish anything in anyone, despite how far they have strayed. He knows our faults and believes in us, even when we don’t believe in ourselves. Once we realize how patient God has been with us, it helps us to be more empathetic and patient with others, knowing God has good plans for everyone. 

I recently saw a true story on a Christian cable channel about a man who was in prison for drug crimes but became a believer while he was incarcerated. He found the throne of mercy and forgiveness in Jesus, while behind bars, and discovered that God still had good plans for him. 

His life changed and he began leading Bible studies in his cell block. Today that man pastors a church, which reaches out to a multitude of outcasts, who live on the fringes of society. He brings the truth to those who are least likely to know about Jesus, who never attended a church before. He now impacts the lives of those who are as lost as he once was.

Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” He promised to hold on to us, despite our mistakes and failures. 

(John 6:39)

His mercy will always be greater than our sins. God hopes for all people to come to His throne of grace. It’s the place where God sees great potential in those who cannot see it in themselves. 

Lord, thank you for always loving and believing in us. Help us to be pleasing to you, and when we fail, may we always return to your throne of grace and find the mercy that is greater than our sin. Amen

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6  (NIV)

The story about Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, is too good to tell only at Christmas. He was an amazing example of trusting God. It’s worth thinking about him more than once a year, and today is as good a day as any. 

Joseph was a good man, but he was also human, and he became very stressed in learning that Mary was already pregnant. He prayed and worried through sleepless nights, wanting to do the right thing, without exposing her to public shame.  

I think everyone can relate to being a firm believer, praying about a problem, but still worrying to the point of having sleepless nights, suffering with anxiety. Joseph has been there and done all of that. 

A marriage engagement in first century Judaism was permanent, a sealed betrothal which could not be broken without a legal divorce. Joseph tried to think of a way to secretly divorce Mary and send her away, to protect her reputation. Even people of faith, who regularly pray, still have a tendency to try solving a problem by their own effort, and in their own way. 

That night an angel appeared to Joseph, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because the child in her womb was conceived by the Holy Spirit. It was an unheard of concept for Joseph to accept since no other time in biblical history had a virgin become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. This was a first and he didn’t fully understand it, but he trusted God, and believed the unbelievable.  

Joseph was chosen for an immense honor and privilege. 

The Lord and Creator of the universe entrusted His only incarnate son and Mary His mother, into the care and protection of one special man. Joseph lived in the days when protection was important, especially with the injustice and cruelty under the rule of a brutal Roman government. 

So, God trusted Joseph and Joseph trusted God, which is the normal result of any close relationship. God probably asks us to trust Him, more often than we are aware of. He also trusts us with responsibilities and missions that He has asked us to do. 

Like Joseph, we also struggle with trust in different areas of our lives. We learn from Joseph’s example that God calls us to trust Him now, and get the details later.

Joseph was visited twice by an angel. The first time was to assure him that Mary conceived the child in her womb by the Holy Spirit, and the second time was to warn him of imminent danger, ordering him to take his family straight to Egypt and stay there until further notice. He knew nothing of the actual details that required him to flee so quickly, which was Herod’s evil plot to have every newborn male murdered, up to the age of two. 

While living in Egypt, Joseph and Mary had no support of a faith community, and had no relatives or friends living nearby. It was just Joseph, Mary, and young Jesus, trusting God together as a family.

Anyone who has ever felt like they are living outside the norm, facing a situation that is too difficult to explain, or living in a proverbial Egypt, should remember that Joseph and Mary went through the same thing. God knew every anguish that they felt from the start, and He knows everything that worries us today, even those things that we keep to ourselves. 

God can surely accomplish any of His plans without our help, but He chooses to have us participate in His plans, which is evident in the life of Joseph. There is no better place to be, than in God’s will, doing what God has asked of us, even when all the details are not revealed, and Joseph shows us how trusting God will keep us on the right path. 

Lord, thank you for Joseph’s life and his great example of trust. Help us to trust you as he did, even when we don’t understand the purpose or details of what is happening in our lives.  Amen

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel (God with us).

Isaiah 7:14 (RSV)

Christianity is the only world religion that teaches that God came into the world in human flesh, to have a relationship with us, and just to “be with us.” This is  evidenced by one of the titles of Jesus, Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Christianity is the “God with us” religion. Islam says God calls us to be obedient servants. Judaism says God calls us to study the Torah and steadily learn about Him. Hinduism say the gods call us to offer rituals and sacrifices in order to change our karma for a better next life. Buddhism says that a distant, impersonal God calls each of us to seek a state of Nirvana, through meditation. 

Each world religion has some positive takeaways, but it all leaves us with a vague and futile concept of how to please a nebulous, supreme Being. The missing puzzle piece in every other faith tradition is a personal God who desires a relationship with us, so much so, that He calls us to personal friendship with Him.

Christianity is the only faith tradition that offers friendship with God. Our Father in Heaven seeks our friendship through His Son, Jesus, who said:

“I no longer call you servants, but

I now call you friends…” 

(John 15:15)

It’s more than a friendship with God, but also a family. The Christian faith fulfills all the relationships that any human being could ever long for. God is our loving Father, Jesus is our Savior, our Friend, and the Bridegroom of His church. The church is a big spiritual family with brothers and sisters, and a community of faith, to come home to. 

It’s the reason Jesus taught us to pray in the third person plural, saying, 

“Our Father who art in heaven”…. give us this day our daily bread…”

The emphasis is on us, our and we, because the faith that Jesus established, recognizes that we were created to be social beings, part of one big spiritual family.

Christianity goes beyond any 

“me and God” relationship. It’s a faith that recognizes that we each have a part in a family and are children of one supreme Heavenly Father, who sent His son in human form, to enjoy friendship with us. 

Immanuel has to be the most cherished title of all Jesus’ many titles and names in scripture. Even in the worst of times, He is still the most valuable friendship we have. “God with us” is a rare treasure of the faith, and unique only to Christianity. 

Immanuel, God with us, reminds us that He is with us in our joyful celebrations as well as in the uncertain and fearful times. He was with Mary when she asked “How can this be?” and He was with Joseph even when his initial reaction was one of doubt. He sent His angel to speak to both of them, assuring them that God would be with them in the task of being parents to the Son of God. 

In the same way, He is with us in our doubts and unanswered questions.

Jesus, who is Immanuel, is with us in the doctor’s office, while we are listening to an explanation of our test results. He is with us in the waiting area, when our loved one is undergoing a serious surgery. He is with us when we feel alone, in the midst of the busiest of holiday season of the year. He is with us when we grieve over loved ones who are no longer with us. He is with us when we are betrayed by someone, because He once experienced that exact kind of betrayal. Things may not always go as we hoped or prayed, but we can be sure that Jesus, is always, always with us.

We are children of our Father, and like any beloved child, we find refuge in Him. We have friendship with Jesus, and have tasted His goodness all throughout our life. God wants to be invited into every dimension of our lives, and He desires that we stay close to Him. He gave us a spiritual family, who share the same Father and know what daily friendship with Jesus is all about. 

Lord, we are blessed by your loving faithfulness and in having our Immanuel, God with us, every day. Thank you for making us a part of your family through the church that you established. Amen

“Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself…..”

Philippians 2:6-8 (RSV)

As the Israelites travelled through the wilderness to the promised land, they took with them a tabernacle, which was a mobile tent, highly revered and used for worship. It was filled with holy relics and temple items according to all the instructions given to Moses by God. 

Inside the tabernacle, there was a bronze altar with embroidered linens that were made especially to lay over the holy altar. Incense burned, filling the tent with the smoke of a scent made from a special blend of scented powders. 

Whenever Moses entered the tabernacle to speak with God, the presence of a glory cloud would overshadow it. When the people saw the cloud, they bowed in worship. All this reverence and awe surrounded a holy tabernacle that was brought with them on their journey to the promised land. 

Fast forward now to the birth of Jesus. The same holy presence of God that dwelled in a tabernacle, fully resided in the infant Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, who overshadowed Mary’s womb. In His birth, He was laid in a manger, and introduced to the world in a common stable. 

There was no scent of incense surrounding Him, only the scent of barn animals. He was wrapped in cotton swaddling cloths, instead of beautifully embroidered altar linens. His bed was not a bronze coated altar, but a manger filled with straw. There were no golden candlesticks to light up the dark stable, but the one lying in that manger was the light of the world. 

Jesus left His kingdom and all His glory in heaven, to be born as an unknown, helpless infant. He did it for us, to illustrate true humility. This world was not His real home, though He resided in it for a brief thirty three years. He was not received by everyone with wonder and awe. Only a few bowed to worship Him while He lived among men. He was scorned, disrespected, falsely accused and criticized for befriending sinners and breaking religious laws. 

Although He had the power to call down a myriad of angels to punish His persecutors, His mission was to save the world, not to judge it. He felt out of place at times, and He reminds us that we are not part of this world either. We are resident aliens, because our true citizenship is in heaven. Whenever we feel out of place, He is teaching us lessons of humility, as we journey through our own wilderness. 

His church is made up of every ethnic group, speaking every language in the world, so that our prayers become the special blend of scented powders, filling His Heavenly tabernacle with a fragrant scent of incense. He seals and fills us with His Spirit, promising to be with us always. 

Lord, as you humbled yourself for us, help us to embrace every lesson of humility in our lives and show us how we can be a tabernacle for you in this world. Amen

Jesus said to Peter, 

“…but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:32 (NAB)

Jesus had total confidence in Peter, even though He knew that he would temporarily lose his way. Jesus told Peter that once he turned back, he should go and strengthen his brethren. With Jesus, it was never “if” he would turn back, but “when.”

Everyone can relate to making wrong choices, losing their way and experiencing failure in some way, but even then, God hopes for us to turn back again, because He has total confidence in us. God’s will is for us to return to Him and then to strengthen others in the faith. 

So, instead of dwelling on our past failures, we return to God and with hope, we strengthen others. My two sons had a rebellious period in their early teen years and they both got into trouble with the law. After spending a short time in juvenile detention, they both recommitted their lives to Christ. 

Fifteen years later, my son Michael, met and married a beautiful young Christian woman and today their entire family of four serves the Lord. Michael has shared his personal story with the youth group of his church, in order to strengthen the faith and warn young people against the wrong choices that he made. 

Michael is just another example like Peter, who Jesus told, “After you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” We learn from our failures, just as a baby learns to walk, by falling several times. We might even learn some of our greatest lessons from our failures, more than from our successes. We are products of our past, but never prisoners of our past. Like Michael, we can use our past errors to strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ today. 

Learning from our past reminds me of a beautiful true story. There are thousands of orphans in India, and many good people from other nations, who adopt them. It has been said that adopting an orphan means adopting not only the child, but their past as well. 

A five year old boy named Saroo was cared for by an older teenage brother named Guddu, in a small village in India, while their mother did hard labor during the day, just to bring home enough food to feed her children.

One day Saroo’s older brother told him to wait on a public bench as he went to find some work to do. Saroo woke up on that bench in the middle of the night and panicked with no one around. He quickly snuck onto a train, which went straight to Calcutta. The lost five year old wandered all over the streets of Calcutta, as many other orphans did, hungry and sleeping on pieces of cardboard in the streets. He longed for his mother and brother. 

One day as he stared at a man eating a meal in a restaurant, that man later came out and brought Saroo to a police station, to help him find his home. The problem was that Saroo mispronounced the name of his village so no one knew where he was from. To make a long story short, he was placed in an orphanage and adopted by a very kind Australian couple. 

Saroo grew up in a loving home in Australia and finished college, but at the age of 25, he had a restlessness to find his original family in India. He couldn’t help but worry that his mother and brother would have been sick with grief over his disappearance all those years. 

He used google earth to search for the town that he thought he was from, but there was no town called Ganestaly. He kept searching until he found a town called, Ganesha Talai, which turned out to be his home town. 

Saroo went back to India and after speaking to people in his old neighborhood of Ganesha Talai, he finally found his elderly mother living there. It was a beautiful reunion after 20 years. His mother said she had searched for him for so long, but always believing she would see him again. Saroo sadly learned that his older brother, Guddu, had died, but his reunion with his mother was an example of turning back to strengthen others, though it was in a different way than Peter did. 

His Australian adoptive parents were invited to meet his birth mother in India and they were all grateful to have their questions answered. It’s a heartwarming true story of hope, returning and strengthening the hearts of those who lived without answers for so many years. 

Lord, if there is anyone that we can strengthen after turning back in some way, show us. Thank you for the power of hope that lives within us and the faith that brings answers to our prayers. Amen

“Taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves…..The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Matthew 14:19, 21 (NIV)

This is an example of kingdom math, by the multiplication of the five loaves and two fishes, which fed 5,000 people, as recorded in the gospels. Kingdom math tells us that 5+2=5,000, instead of seven. It’s a math that defies all human calculations and takes our faith to a new level. It inspires us to look beyond the usual sources for the needs of daily living, and to trust God even when the numbers don’t add up. 

Kingdom math is driven by the principle that God multiplies whatever we give to Him. It teaches us to give first, and it will be given back to us. If we give in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, God promises to use the same measure and give it back to us, in abundance. (Luke 6:38)

Another principle of kingdom math is that where sin increases, grace much more abounds.(Romans 5:20) God’s grace increases depending on how much sin needs to be forgiven. 

As long as we keep coming to Jesus, His grace will always be greater than our sin. It makes no human sense, but it’s a Kingdom concept. 

Kingdom logic declares that the first will be last and the last will be first. It also says that those who save their lives will lose it, and those who lose their lives will save it eternally. Tertullian, the third century historian, once said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed that multiplied the church throughout the world. It may not sound logical, but that too is  Kingdom logic, which is not from this world.

The scripture says, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” It means that Jesus knew us and died for us before we ever knew of Him or believed in Him. He loved us first, so it wasn’t based on our merit, but on His merit and His lovingkindness. Nothing can or ever will separate us from that kind of love. 

Finally, there is the concept of Kingdom fatherhood. Jesus taught us the story of the prodigal son, who went straight from the pigpen into his father’s arms. The father of the prodigal received his son with open arms, although his boy was wearing filthy clothes, and smelled like a pig. He never told his son to go wash himself and change his clothes first. Instead, he embraced him, called for the finest robe to be placed on him, and then threw him a party. 

Jesus told us this parable to teach that whoever comes to His Father, is accepted, celebrated, clothed in a robe of righteousness, and greatly loved, all because of the atoning blood of Christ. There is not a more powerful example of God’s grace than the parable of the prodigal son. 

Paul wrote, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.” It’s the nature of God to love, bear and keep hoping for us, through all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7)

Kingdom math, Kingdom logic and Kingdom fatherhood are not from this world. They are all motivated by God’s love and grace, and not dependent on our worthiness. We could never earn this kind of love and grace, because it’s God’s most cherished gift to us.

Lord, thank you for loving us and revealing your Kingdom ways, as you taught us in the gospels. We trust your ways in every part of our lives, and our aim is to always follow you more intimately. Amen

“…and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Matthew 2:11 (NAB)

I believe that the story of the magi has meaning for us every single day. The Magi came to worship a divine king, who was two years old by the time they arrived. The gospel tells us that they entered “the house” to see the child. So Jesus and his parents were living in a house by the time the Magi arrived.

According to the catacomb paintings and early historians, there were more than three magi, possibly twelve. They were not kings, but advisors to kings, and they came from the East, in what would be present day Iran and Iraq. They were from a completely different culture, educated in mathematics, science, medicine, astronomy, astrology, prophecy, and even magic. They knew the Hebrew prophecy of a divine child to be born, which correlated to the astronomical sign in the sky, and it led them to the house where that toddler king was living. 

Jesus, even at two years old, touched the hearts of those who were outside the margins of His family’s religious community. God had a purpose in leading such a unique group of learned men from the East to visit a poor Hebrew toddler, who wasn’t even old enough to converse with them. What could a two year old boy offer these wise men?

The Magi never heard a parable or a single sermon. They never saw a miracle or witnessed His divine power, and yet they came to bow in worship and offer their gifts to Jesus. They only knew that this toddler was the Son of God and Savior of the world. What made them true “wise men” was that they came to Jesus, to receive the greatest gift of all, the honor of His presence. 

The Magi teach us the greatest lesson of the Season, which is to seek His presence above all else. They travelled a long way just to worship Jesus and bring Him their gifts. God didn’t lead them there to increase their knowledge, grant them more wisdom or correct the errors of their belief. He led them there to bless them with the presence of His Son.

The prophet Jeremiah said, “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

The Magi sought with all their hearts for the Messiah child king.  Every sincere searcher is going to inevitably be led to a revelation of Jesus. In the presence of that little toddler, they beheld the face of God’s mercy. 

Years later, people beheld the same face of mercy as Jesus taught, prayed, touched, ate, drank and performed many miracles among them. A dying thief beheld His face of mercy as he hung on a cross next to Him, which led him straight to Heaven. 

The entire life of Jesus was directed at finding the lost sheep among His own community as well as those outcasts among the margins of society. Many gladly encountered His face of mercy, and found that His grace extends far beyond cultural, ethnic and racial boundaries.

The Magi happened to be the first group of outsiders, to be blessed by seeking His presence and discovering His face of mercy. 

Lord, may we always envision you as the face of mercy, in all situations. We worship you in this season of your birth, and seek your presence as the greatest gift of all. Amen

“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

Acts 1:3 (NIV)

Jesus fasted and was tempted in the desert for 40 days, but on day 41, the devil departed from Him. He appeared to many people after His resurrection, over a period of forty days, and then He ascended back into Heaven.  The early church was formed on that 41st day, when Jesus left this world, entrusting His church to spread the good news about Him. 

Forty is a pretty special number throughout scripture. It represents a time of testing or suffering. I have always been fascinated by God’s choice and use of numbers, and after 40, comes the number 41, representing hope realized. 

The number 40 is repeated throughout the old and new Testaments. In the days of Noah, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, but on day 41, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared. Moses left the Egyptian palace in fear, living as a shepherd in the land of Midian for 40 years, but in the 41st year, he was called to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Moses spent 40 days on top of Mount Sinai overshadowed with fire, smoke and lightning, but on day 41, he came down from the mountain bringing with him the ten Commandments.

Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days, but on day 41 he was slain by David. Jonah preached a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh for 40 days, and on day 41, the entire city believed and was saved. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, but in year 41, they finally entered their Promised Land.

There are so many other bible stories involving the number 40, there isn’t room to write about it. 

The number 40 may represent a time of testing and trials, but it also has a deeper meaning that sends a message of hope to us through all these examples, saying, 

“Don’t give up, 41 is coming!”

It’s a number that reminds us to never stop believing, never give up hope, and to keep our eyes on Jesus, instead of our dilemma, because He always has a word of encouragement for us in the midst of our fiery trials and storms. 

The giants will fall, the rainstorm will stop, the devil will flee, the lost will be found, and God will lead us out of our desert and into the promised land. However bleak the world appears at times, we know that 41 is coming. Our living hope is Jesus, and just as He left this world on the 40th day after His resurrection, He is coming back again in the same way.

Lord, because you live, we live also. Renew our hope so that whatever we go through, we may know that you meant for us to be over comers, through your peace, love and joy. Amen