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“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 saw his star when it rose and have come
to worship him.’
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great
joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his
mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their
treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return
to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”
–Matthew 2:1-2, 10-11
As we come to the end of another
year, entering the season in which we celebrate the coming of God’s
greatest gift, I want us to learn from these wise men. These men:
- Knew the Scriptures and believed them (Matthew 2:2, Numbers 24:15-19).
- Left their comfort to go out of their way to worship Jesus (Matthew 2:1)!
- Opened their treasures and gave to Jesus generously (Matthew 2:10-11).
This is the proper attitude! This is a
response that comes from love! At Christmas every year, I want to give
my wife and children everything they wish for, and more, because I love
them! My heart is generous towards them, and that generosity comes from
my deep love for them.
This is how God showed His great love
for us—He generously gave us His son to die in our place (John 3:16)!
Is your love for God demonstrated in this way? Does His love for you
inspire your love in return, and is your heart generous towards Him?
Some might think that I am writing
about generosity as an appeal for you to give to our ministry. But
that’s not it at all! Giving should never be under compulsion or
coercion (2 Corinthians 9:7). And if you’ve followed our ministry for
any period of time, hopefully you know that we never charge for our
teaching or materials. Instead we give everything away free of charge,
because we trust in and depend on God to supply all that we need
(Philippians 4:11-13)!
At this time of year, when we
celebrate Christmas, the coming of God’s greatest gift, and consider our
end of the year giving, I want to encourage you to give generously to wherever God is prompting you to give, out of your love for Him! These acts of generosity are part of our worship of Him!
God has blessed us at Justapreacher
Ministries in many ways, and some of that blessing has been through many
of you this year. Thank you! May God bless you to continue to give
wherever He desires you to. It is because of God through you that we can
continue to preach and teach His Word all over the world, free of
charge! May God bless you for that (Philippians 4:14, 17-20).
The wise men knew and loved the
Scriptures. They went out of their way to worship Jesus, and they opened
up their treasures to give generously of what they had to Jesus,
because of their love for Him! May we all have the same heart this
Christmas.
We love you!
Jim and the Justapreacher team
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