Tag: Jesus

I Am Prayer

Claire's Prayer

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁.  Especially words spoken against you by a friend.  They cut deep and can become a festering wound.  When I was young, if someone was being mean we used to chant the phrase; “𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦!”  But the fact of the matter is – that simply isn’t true.   Words that are spoken have great power, the bible tells us the power of life or death!  (Prov 18:21)

Powerful King David, the man after God’s own heart, wasn’t immune to the wounding of words from those he considered friends.  Psalm 109:4-5 tells us this, “𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆.   𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.”    David felt surrounded by words of hatred, attacked for no apparent reason, accused, maligned, and criticized.  Sound familiar?  He was hurt and his soul was downcast.  No-one would have blamed him if he had risen up and retaliated in kind.  I am amazed at David’s response – “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.”

“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓!”  David took it to the LORD in prayer.  Even when they attack me and accuse me, I will pray.  Even when they shout words of hatred at me, talk about me behind my back, I will pray.  Even when they lie about me, slander my name, or smear my name, I will pray.  I am a man of prayer.  I for one can certainly learn something from David as so often I react immediately instead of taking the time to pray and asking the LORD what my response should be.

The Hebrew meaning behind David’s phrase, “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓,” is interesting.  Translated it becomes, ‘𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.”  David’s whole life was characterized by prayer, it was that important to him.  Charles Spurgeon puts it this way, “𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺.  𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦.”  David became prayer as they became hatred, he became prayer as they became discontent.

And so, the question becomes, which do we want to be?  We have to choose.  We can choose to become people of prayer or people that are marked by the unkind words we say, by the gossip that we speak.  In my heart of hearts, I want to be prayer but today is a good day to take stock of the things I say, to consider my actions and reactions, and to remember to take everything to God in prayer. 

Giants in Prayer

Claire's Prayer

Have you ever heard of David Livingstone?  As a child I loved the story of how this incredible Scottish missionary discovered Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, he thought the falls were so beautiful that he stated, “𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵”.  After many years of not hearing from Livingstone a reporter was sent out to Africa to find him, upon locating him he declared the famous quote, “𝘋𝘳. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦?!” As young preteens we just loved this phrase and would repeat it to each other in the best British accent we could muster and then collapse in fits of giggles!  However, this is not the story that I want you to remember.

David Livingstone was sent a note by one of the chiefs in the surrounding area where he was working.  The message said that they would lose their lives that very night as he was coming with his warriors to slaughter them all.  As you can imagine Dr. Livingstone was very afraid and cried out to the LORD for protection.  That night, nothing happened!  Some months later the same chief gave his life to the LORD and Livingstone asked him why he hadn’t killed them as they had said they would.  The chief looked at him and told him, “𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 39 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱!”

Many years later, David Livingstone returned to Scotland, to the small rural church that had sent him to Africa, and he told them the story.  After the meeting the church secretary approached him and asked, “𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”   Livingstone did and gave it to her.  Looking through the church records she came to that very day and showed him the entry.  𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟵 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲!   Coincidence?  I think not.

Sometimes we don’t realize what the scripture, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉,” really means! (James 5:16)  What is the much?  I would think much more than we could ever even begin to imagine.  I do know that our prayers don’t have to be fancy ones, they don’t have to be long ones, or even ones with flowery words, but they have to be effective and fervent.  Led by the Holy Spirit. 

The far-reaching effects of our prayers we may never fully know, but we do know that great things are achieved by prayer, there is power in our prayer, and God hears and acts on every effective, fervent prayer!

He Restores My Soul

Claire's Prayer

There are times in my life where I feel worn down, burned out.  I can feel more easily irritated with people and oh so frustrated!  Is that you today?  Do you feel as though your soul is downcast, a touch of depression has slipped in, and those tears are being only just held back?  Almost as though your life is quite simply upside down.  These are time to cry out to the LORD, “𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹!”

God is indeed our Good Shepherd, and I am certainly a sheep.  I go astray, I wonder off, I like to do things on my own, in my own haphazard way.  How thankful I am that our wonderful Father is that shepherd who will always come after me, showing His patience in so many ways. 

Here’s something interesting I didn’t know before.  Have you ever heard of a ‘cast sheep?’  Many sheep have a tendancy to roll onto their backs and as their feet loose contact with the ground they find themselves unable to turn back over.  Sometimes it’s because their wooly coat is overgrown, or they are out of shape and overweight.  But try as they might, they cannot right themselves or turn themselves over.  They are upside down.  They have to wait for the Shepherd to come and turn them over again, to set them on their feet once again.

How like me in my own life – the stress and weight of the world causing me to feel as though everything is mixed up, upside down, difficult, tiring.  𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲.  𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 ‘𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀.”

The Hebrew word for restore means ‘𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯.’  God will return us to a place where there is life, energy, vision for the future, but we cannot do that ourselves.  Only God can restore our soul.  Only our loving Father can make things right again.  We cannot do this on our own and cannot carry on in life as though we are the Energizer Bunny!  Even he runs out of power eventually.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀?  Through His Word, His Word that brings life, renews our mind, gives us the strength to run and not grow weary.  Psalm 19:7 tells us: “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡; 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚.”  My desire is to be restored, wise, full of vision, energized, right side up!

Today if you feel spiritually beaten down, exhausted, if you’re weighed down by the burdens of the world.  Perhaps on the receiving end of something unfair, so weary that you feel that you cannot overcome.  𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹.

An Abundance of Gifts

Claire's Prayer

There is only one thing that will always remain the same, one thing that will never change, is constant, and ageless.  𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. He is the gift given to us that we celebrate every year. And, oh, what a gift! The gift to top all other gifts!

 I confess, I love gifts. I love giving them, and I love receiving them. Our Father in heaven loves to shower His children with gifts, too. Ephesians 1:3 says, “𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨.”  We are blessed beyond measure. Blessed with abundance. Nothing in the heavenly realms is held back by your Abba Father, who did not spare His own son’s life because of His great, unfathomable love for you. We can say with absolute assurance that our Heavenly Father has blessed us.

After the tragedy of 9/11 warehouses were stocked to the roof with donations, 18 wheelers came from as far as Alaska filled to the brim with everything a New Yorker could need, from teddy bears to toothpaste, from dog food to diapers.  In fact, more than 2 million square feet of gifts flooded the capital, an estimated $75 million dollars’ worth!  How incredible.  What a spectacular show of generosity!  If you can imagine those warehouses stocked full then you can imagine the abundance of spiritual gifts your Abba Father has for you!  Unending. Lavish. Bountiful.  The LORD is not slow to give or miserly.

Of course, every gift He gives is perfect. “𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚…,” says James 1:17. These gifts are enduring, don’t need to be taken back to the store, never wear out, and don’t need to be replaced. Gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, God’s Word revealed, His holy presence and eternal life through His Son. I could go on and on, but I know you get the picture!

This year, I pray that our Abba Father would give you the gift of prayer, the gift of time, and the gift of hearing His majestic voice. I pray, too, for you and your family, that you would receive the gift of joy! Unspeakable joy as you celebrate the birth of our beautiful, generous, and giving Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who Do You See When You Pray?

Claire's Prayer

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲?! From Father to Friend, The Word to The Way, Jesus, True God, Son of God, Strong Tower, My Shepherd, My Shelter, King of Kings and LORD of Lords, Bright and Morning Star, Jehovah Elohim – The LORD God, El Hayyay – The God of My Life. What about the Alpha and the Omega, Alpha being the first letter of the Greek Alphabet and Omega being the last. Essentially saying, God you are everything from A to Z and somewhere between Alpha and Omega there are 700 names of God, 700 different aspects of His personality, 700 different character traits that make up your God.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱? Is it the one hanging on all those old ancient walls, the one that shows Jesus as a shepherd with a lamb around His neck? Or perhaps it is the one of Our Savior hanging upon a cross. Does He have His hand outstretched across the stormy sea? Do you visualize Him as friend, constant companion? When you close your eyes and begin to pray what do you see? Do you see the man, or do you see Almighty God?

Revelation 1:12-17 describes Jesus, the Son of God, this way – “𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒍, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒛𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑, 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆-𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅.” What a description of power, of might, of majesty. Jesus portrayed with eyes of fire, those same eyes that had filled with tears at Lazarus’ tomb now flaming with the fire of a righteous Judge before whom nothing is hidden. A voice resounding and roaring with power and authority. His face shining like the sun, glory blinding, light dazzling, that same glory that struck Paul blind on his way to Damascus.

I think that what you see when you pray makes a difference, the revelation of Jesus caused John to fall down as though dead. He knew this was Almighty God, the God of All Power, the God who crushes the enemy, the God who can blind you with one brief glance at His glory. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆? All powerful, for whom nothing is impossible. Today when you close your eyes, I pray that you would see Jesus in all of His brilliance, in all of His power and that as you do faith would arise and revelation would be yours just as it was John’s. Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, your everything from A to Z. 💕🦋

Supernatural Joy

Claire's Prayer

Did you ever sing the song “𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀,” in a round?  We sang it on the bus going to Youth Camp, half the bus would start in the verse, when they got to the chorus the other half would join them from the beginning.  If it worked out right the verse and the chorus would flow together in glorious harmony but more often, we would get out of sync with each other and the result would be muddled and messy.  Laughter would bubble up and we would chuckle with amusement, sometimes that laughter would be uncontainable, and we couldn’t stop.  A good belly laugh – how does that scripture go?   “𝑨 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.” Proverbs 17:22. Laughter, joy, and gladness, are good for you, but depression and sadness drain your strength.

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, we find Him praying to the Father, on a night when his disciples slept and Judas was about to betray Him, the Savior of the World takes a moment to pray for us!  In John 17:13 he prays this; “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” That they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝘆!

Joy!  But not just any joy, Jesus’ joy, not a worldly joy but a supernatural joy, and not just a drop but a full measure!  A cup that runs over.  A cup that never runs dry.  That’s what Jesus asks for you!  It’s not the first time Jesus has talked about joy; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍.” John 15:11.  It does seem that your joy is important to Jesus.

You see, joy is the mark of a Follower of Christ, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a sign that differentiates the believer from the unbeliever.  Even in the face of adversity and persecution there can be joy because it is supernatural joy, Jesus’ joy.  Psalm 126:2 says, “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” When the world saw the laughter and joy upon the people of Israel, they exclaimed that the LORD had done great things for them!  They could see that there was something different about God’s people, they laughed in the face of adversity, sang for joy in the middle of oppression!

Today if joy is not your portion, if you find yourself in oppression, full of anxiety or depressed ask the LORD to fill you with HIS joy, not the joy of the world but supernatural joy.  Ask Him to fill your mouth with laughter and cause praise to spring forth.  “𝑹𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆!” Phil 4:4

Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Claire's Prayer

Fall. One of the most stunning times of the year. The trees are awash in gold, red, orange, and yellow. A time that brings back to my remembrance the scripture from Isaiah 55:12; “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.” Almost as though the trees are rejoicing, their glory bringing glory to Almighty God!

With all the beauty that ushers us into a new season I am reminded too that this time can be so hard for many. A season where there is little joy and no peace. As the days get shorter peace can be elusive. And yet, doesn’t God’s Word tell us that we can have peace? “𝑩𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.” (Phil 4:6-7) We all know this scripture, in fact Amazon released data stating this is the most highlighted passage of scripture in the Kindle Bible!

I don’t need to point out the obvious, that we need to pray about everything, raising our voices in thanksgiving to the God of the Universe, to the One who deserves all our thanks, I know you know that. But there is something in this scripture that speaks loudly to me. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.” As we pray and seek the LORD with thanksgiving, 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱, releasing our questions to Him and giving up our need to understand it all, acknowledging that we don’t need to understand, just trust. Then peace will rise above and surpass our need to understand and guard our hearts and minds! Herein lies the secret to peace during this busy season, 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱.

My prayer for you as we dive into this holiday season is that you would be able to trust, find God’s peace, and with that peace would come joy, overwhelming thanksgiving, that you would be like the trees of the field clapping their hands in praise to our Beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who is God to You?

Claire's Prayer

Questions.  We all have so many of them.  Would you believe that in 2022, 12 million people asked Google the question Who Am I?  Coming in at 1st place was What to Watch with a staggering 109 million searches! As we journey through life with our Abba Father at our side, the question we need to ask Him is 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? This dear friend, is the real question, the important one. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? Ultimately it does not matter who we are, it matters who God is! Who do you believe God is? What do you believe God can do?

Matthew 16:13-20 tells us a very interesting story, one that was pivotal for Peter. Jesus asked, “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎?” and Peter answered Him, “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅.”  Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one they had all been longing for. I find Jesus’ reply astonishing, “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒓–𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”

Peter knew who Jesus was. It was revealed to him by the Father. But for one moment look at the blessing that came with that revelation. He was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, the ability to bind and loose, and the very church itself was built upon Peter! An imperfect man who denied Jesus three times, even after this revelation. Incredible authority was given to him.

This question too, is pivotal for us and it is in the secret place, that place of intimacy that the answer will be revealed. It is when we come away with the LORD that we discover who He is! 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂? Today is a beautiful day to establish that question in your heart.

𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗺𝗲𝗴𝗮, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱.  𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲.  𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗔𝗺.

Our Savior Weeps

Claire's Prayer

There are times when the ache in your heart threatens to overwhelm you, when your heart literally feels pain because of a grief so great or a burden too deep.  The only way to relieve that pressure that presses deep into your soul is to weep.  To cry great heaving sobs, oceans of tears, and then perhaps, but only perhaps, there is some sense of respite.   So many people tell me that they feel great after a ‘good cry,’ but I don’t.  I feel terrible, my head aches, and my eyes are red and irritated, and I’m an ugly crier, a hot mess.

Right there in the middle of a victory celebration, where palm fronds were waved, and thousands cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9) the King of Kings, riding on the back of a young colt looked out over Jerusalem and literally began to sob. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)

My heart hurt when I read this verse, knowing that my Savior was so overcome with sorrow during this short celebration.  This was not simply a few tears that stained Jesus cheeks but the Greek tells us this was mourning, sobbing, or wailing aloud!  The grief that hit Jesus’ heart as he looked at Jerusalem caused His shoulders to shake as he began to cry. 

The future loss of His beloved city was almost too much to bear.  This should have been “their day!”  “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day…”.  Not only were there 300 prophecies about the Messiah but this was such an important day that it had been prophesied by Daniel 483 years before!  It was a day that Israel could and should have recognized. 

Sir Robert Anderson, the former head of Scotland Yard, calculated in his book, The Coming Prince, that Jesus’ triumphal entry was exactly 483 years after Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 9:25. Incredible!  The day Zechariah predicted, the day Daniel spoke of, was such an important day, and it could have been “their day.” 

No wonder our precious Savior’s shoulders shook with grief, no wonder a sob escaped his throat, as He contemplated the future of His chosen people.  The signs were all there but they didn’t see Him, they didn’t recognize their Messiah!

Is today “your day?”  Your appointed time, the day in which you need to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied about countless times in the scriptures?  A day created for you from the beginning of time.  A day that will bring you peace, freedom, and joy in Christ, the beginning of a journey with the King!

The Christmas Star

Claire's Prayer

Last night we climbed up a small hill near our home and waited with great anticipation as the sun set in glorious golden colours.  I held my breath as the sky became deep blue, would we see the Christmas Star?  We missed it on the 21st as it had been cloudy but tonight was a crisp, clear, night and stars were beginning to twinkle. 

Suddenly, there above the horizon, the Christmas Star appeared, bright, beautiful, glorious!  “There it is!” I shouted in excitement. A magnificent gift from above!  As I stood and took in its sparkling edges, I thought to myself, am I gazing at the very same star that the Wise Men followed so many years ago, and I smiled to myself, wrapped up in the warm glow of His love.  In a year filled with so many difficulties the God who spoke the planets into existence, the God who sprinkled the heavens with a trillion sparkling lights, gave us this miraculous gift of the Christmas Star.  A reminder that He. Is. Coming.  An invitation to seek out the newborn King!

It all reminded me of a sticker I had once seen on a car – ‘Wise men still seek Him!’  So many of us know and love the story of the wise men and have watched many a Christmas nativity play and perhaps have even acted in one!  This may be our frame of reference but something wonderful jumped out at me when studying those Wise Men.

Matthew 2 tells us that the Magi, who saw the star, travelled a considerable distance to Jerusalem to seek out the King of the Jews.  Once in Jerusalem, they enquired of King Herod, the chief priests and scribes, all who knew and studied the scriptures, where the Christ was to be born.  These incredible scholars of the Word of God immediately quoted Micah 5:2; “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”   The Christ will be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  Interestingly these learned men, scholars of the scriptures, chose not to seek out the Messiah, the Saviour, even though he was born only 5 miles away! They knew the scriptures well, but were not changed by them.

In contrast the wise men headed off to Bethlehem and Matthew 2:10 tells us; “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”  From this we can deduce that the star had not been visible during the whole of their travels.  The star had appeared many months before guiding the Magi to the general area, it then appeared again in Jerusalem leading them to the King.  These Wise Men heard the Word of God and they acted upon it.  In faith they travelled on to Bethlehem and were overjoyed when they saw the star again.  The wise men stood on the scriptures, sought the Christ, and found Him!

So, this Christmas, the question that remains is – will you seek Him?  Will you take the time to stand on faith, believe that God’s Word is true and seek the Newborn King?  Knowing that this King will not forever be newborn, but is in fact your Saviour, your Redeemer, the one who came to draw you to Himself because He cares for you!  Knowing that this tiny baby came to earth to go to the cross, taking on your sin and mine, because He loves you!  Wise Men still Seek Him!

Tonight, another clear night, I am going to climb my hill again and watch the sun set in all its splendour and marvel at this year’s gift of the Christmas Star, perhaps I’ll imagine I’m a wise man and in faith I will set off into the unknown, knowing that if I seek Him – I will find Him!