King Herod. He was not looking for Jesus, at first. But after the wise men came to him asking, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” King Herod became interested. In fact, the scriptures say, “he was alarmed, and all of Jerusalem with him.” They must have liked things the way they were.
This is one of the main reasons why people don’t look for Jesus. They like things the way they are.
King Herod gathered all the chief priest and experts in the law. They knew the scriptures, the Old Testament and told the king exactly where Jesus would be born. He then schemed to use the wise men to be his spies, and after finding the Christ child to report back. Even as a child, Jesus threatened the status quo. When the wise men found Jesus in Bethlehem they were warned not to return to the king, so they went back home via a different route.
An angel warned Joseph to take his family to Egypt so he did. Soon after King Herod saw he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He then sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under.
So now King Herod was looking for Jesus, but only because he was influenced by Satan. The devil did not, and still doesn’t know God’s plans, but because he was once in heaven he knew the name of Jesus. Satan, the devil used Herod to apply a shotgun approach to kill Jesus before he could grow up and do the will of God, and that was to defeat sin and death.
Satan will never win over God. And he doesn’t know what God is doing in your life either. Life with God is so much better than without him. When you surrender your life to God, and ask him to lead you and guide you, I assure you, life will be so much better. This season, look for Jesus for the right reasons. You will soon be glad you did.
Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
A minister shared the story of his daughter, who was very young at the time, and in Africa, by herself. There was a native mother having trouble birthing her child. She was in great agony and screaming out. The village, female, witch doctor had her candles burning, incents smoking, while she recited “hocus pocus” chants. The young woman had enough and begged someone to go retrieve the American, who earlier had made her faith in God, known. The minister told us his daughter went there and surveyed the situation. She was barely 21 years old, and the only thing she could think of to do was sing the song, “In the Name of Jesus”. The witch doctor had a fit, and stormed out, at which point peace entered, the woman’s pain subsided, and she delivered her baby.
How do you convince someone you love them? You could tell them over and over perhaps. You could show them in every way possible. You could do everything you can think of. You could even learn their love language, and speak it fluently. After all the effort you would expect them to accept you, to accept your love, but what if they don’t? Can you imagine the frustration you would feel? Then, what if you told them, “In order to prove how much I love you, I’ll die for you.” They might still reject your offer, and even say, “You’re crazy!”
I attended a funeral this week. My aunt. She was the last sibling to pass on, from my father’s side. There were 10 of them. After the grave side service I walked over to my father’s grave. I cleaned it off and told him I missed him, even though he was a handful to deal with in the last years of his life.
Considering the challenges, it’s understandable why my wife and I had a difficult time in the beginning adjusting to each other. An American who didn’t understand Filipino culture, and a Filipino who wasn’t used to a man making decisions. My wife’s father left the family when she was young.
brady, mark a. 