W. Robert Godfrey: The Unknown God

 

Intrigue swirls around these festooned foreigners. Where did they come from? With a wink Matthew writes, “the East.” Indeed, his description is so utterly “specific” that church traditions in dozens of countries claim to be their country of origin. And who were they? Technically speaking, Matthew calls them magi—but what are magi? Are they kings? Wise men? Sorcerers? Astrologers?

Christians have been trying to nail down their identity for millennia. As early as A.D. 200, Tertullian was laying out arguments that the Magi, while astrologers by trade, were considered kings. To the contrary, John Calvin felt strongly about anyone who would label them “three kings”: “Beyond all doubt, they have been stupefied by a righteous judgment of God, that all might laugh at [their] gross ignorance.” Adding a further wrinkle, first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote several chapters about the Magi wherein they sound more like something from a Harry Potter novel. He details their skill in magic .

Source: December Christianity Today

A Scripture

The human spirit is the candle of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being.                     Proverbs 20:27

A Meditation

The spirit of a person is the candle of the Lord... "spirit," or "breath," is the principle of life breathed into people by God himself...distinguishing them from other forms of life...this is the conscious human soul. We may regard it as equivalent to what is called the heart, with its dual character of receiving light and illumination from God, and sitting as judge and arbiter of our own actions. It is named "the Lord's lamp," because this moral sense is a direct gift of God, and enables a person to see his real condition. Our Lord speaks of the light that is in man, and gives a solemn warning against the danger of letting it be darkened by neglect and sin.

Holiness unto the Lord ... only the burning cleansing flame of the Holy Spirit can make us stunning light....Jesus said, "you are the light of the world...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

A Hymn     A Candle of the Lord

How great the darkness, how deep the need!
How vast the problems of indiff'rence, hate and greed.
A world rejecting, the truth once known,
And slipping down into a nightmare of its own.
Is there a light that's strong enough to go,
And metamorphosize the darkness that we know?

I am, the candle of the Lord
And truth and love more powerful than sword!
O fan the flame, its single gleam diffuse
And let my spirit be the light that you can use
I am, the candle of the Lord
Light me

How bright the light is, from soul to soul,
A myriad tiny flames expanding to a whole,
How strong the truth it, when joined as one,
And what a miracle this shining could become,
It could transform the darkness that we know,
And clearly light the way mankind must try to go.

I am, the candle of the Lord
And truth and love more powerful than sword!
O fan the flame, its single gleam diffuse
And let my spirit be the light that you can use
I am, the candle of the Lord
Light me, O light me

from the album "The Songs of Joy Webb" which features Chelmsford Songsters...Ann Stewart soloist

A Prayer

O God...who inhabits the realms of shimmering light...who has given us life...help us not to lose sight of your light when the world's news all seems bad, when money is tight, when life is uncertain, when the neighbors are annoying, when family life is not a bed of roses, when important relationships seem to be falling apart...when sickness assails, when minds are diminished, when death leaves us bereft of loved ones...remind us, by your Holy Spirit, that darkness shall not overcome the light.

Gentle Shepherd...healing God...let your gentle, living light shine into all the damaged, hurting parts of our lives so that we may be strong...and in that strength may we be able to reflect your loving, healing light into the lives of the people around us...as Candles of the Lord!       Amen

A Scripture    

Honor and majesty are found in His presence; strength and joy are found in His sanctuary          I Chronicles 16:27 (Amp)

A Meditation

Remember that God is not only in the place where you are but also that he is present in a most particular manner in your heart and in the very center of your spirit. He enlivens and animates it by his divine presence, for he is there as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit. Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body and is therefore present in every part of the body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so also God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit. For this reason David calls him "the God of his heart," and St. Paul says that "we live, and move, and are in God." Therefore in consideration of this truth excite in your heart great reverence toward God who is so intimately present in us.                     St. Francis de Sales

Hymn     In the Secret of Thy Presence

 In the Secret of Thy Presence
In the secret of thy presence,
Where the pure in heart may dwell,
Are the springs of sacred service
And a power that none can tell.
There my love must bring its offering,
There my heart must yield its praise,
And the Lord will come, revealing
All the secrets of his ways.

More than all my lips may utter,
More than all I do or bring,
Is the depth of my devotion
To my Savior, Lord and King.
Nothing less will keep me tender;
Nothing less will keep me true;
Nothing less will keep the fragrance
And the bloom on all I do!

Blessed Lord, to see thee truly,
Then to tell as I have seen,
This shall rule my life supremely,
This shall be the sacred gleam.
Sealed again is all the sealing,
Pledged again my willing heart,
First to know thee, then to serve thee,
Then to see thee as thou art.

Albert Orsborn   (1886-1967)

A Prayer ... for God’s Presence

In you alone, O God, we live and move have our being;
your Holy Spirit breathes life into us
moment by moment and day by day;
therefore, we wait for your loving-kindness, O God,
and open our hearts to your presence,
asking that you be with us now
and hold us in your strengthening care;
help us to put away all the distractions of our daily lives,
to quiet our hearts and our minds,
to seek and to know your presence with us now;
and then teach us to wait peacefully in your presence
and to cast all our cares on you because you care for us;
Give us, Almighty Creator, the gift of life renewed;
Grant us, Healing Savior, the gift of life renewed;
Fill us, Indwelling Spirit, with the gift of life renewed.

Christopher L. Webber

A Scripture

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.           Luke 15:7 (NIV)

A Meditation
When the shepherd found the sheep, he did not chastise it; he did not use rough blows to drive it back, but gently placed it on his own shoulders and carried it back to the flock. He took greater joy in this one sheep, lost and found, than in all the others.

Consider the hidden meaning of this parable. The sheep is more than a sheep, the shepherd more than a shepherd. They are examples enshrining holy truths. They teach us that we should not look on men as lost or beyond hope; we should not abandon them when they are in danger or be slow to come to their help. When they turn away from the right path and wander, we must lead them back, and rejoice at their return, welcoming them back into the company of those who lead good and holy lives. Let's not be like the stay-at-home brother in the Lost Son parable...pouting, resentful, unmoved by the restoration of his brother. REJOICE !

Hymn       There Were Ninety and Nine

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

"Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer: "This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me.
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep."

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry;
'Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.

"Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain's track?"
"They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back."
"Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?"
"They're pierced tonight by many a thorn."

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv'n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav'n,
"Rejoice! I have found My sheep!"
And the angels echoed around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"

Author: Elizabeth C. Clephane (1868)

A Prayer

 Lord, we pray for the one who is lost and can't find their way. You have said in your word, Lord, that the Son Of Man has come to save that which is lost...You said that we should rejoice over the lost sheep than over the ninety-nine, that did not go astray. We know, Lord that is is not your will that any one should go astray. Thank you Lord for taking care of your lost sheep...I thank you, Lord, for your awesome work of rescue ... I am humbled upon the image of your great effort to retrieve a lost sheep...especially the sheep that is me!

Scripture

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me

                      Psalm 51:10-12

A Meditation

The requirement for ascending to the place of God in worship is that our hands are clean and our hearts purified. The question then becomes, “Who has clean hands and a pure heart?” The only One who has such hands and such a heart is Jesus our Lord. The Bible reminds us that He has ascended the holy hill. He has entered the holy place, not by the temporary washing of the blood of goats and calves (Heb. 9:12), but by His own blood. By entering in, He has made a way for you and me to enter in as well (Heb. 10:19). Does Jesus have clean hands? Yes, and so do all who have been washed in His blood. Is Jesus of a pure heart? Yes, and so are those who have been scrubbed by His blood. Through the blood of Christ, our hands and hearts have been cleared and cleansed. This means that, because of the blood of Christ, we are able to serve and worship God.

Hymn     Create in Me a Clean Heart

Touch the Hem of His Garment

Oh, there was a woman in the bible days
She had been sick, sick so very long
But she heard that Jesus was passin' by
So she joined the gatherin' front

And while she was pushin' her way through
Someone asked her, "What are you tryin' to do?"

She said, "If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'll be made whole"
She cried, "Oh Lord and oh Lord, oh Lord and oh Lord"
Said, "If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'll be made whole"

And oh, she spent her money here and there
Until she had no, had no more to spare
The doctors, they'd done all they could
But their medicine would do no good
When she touched Him, the Savior didn't see
But still He turned around and cried, "Somebody touched me"

She said, "It was I who just wanna touch the hem of Your garment
I know I'll be made whole right now"
She stood there cryin', "Oh Lord and oh Lord, oh Lord and oh Lord
Said, "If I could just touch the hem of Your garment
I know I'll made whole right now"

Sam Cooke singing