The Longest Journey – Part 1

  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law Galatians 4:4 ESV

On the night Jesus was born the shepherds had followed long dark pathways down from the hills where they had been watching the flocks. Joseph and Mary had wearily journeyed all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem at just this right time. Farthest of all came the wise men who had journeyed all the way from the east. But of all who were there in Bethlehem no one had traveled father than the one for whom they came.

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The shepherds came at the time they heard the angels. The wise men journeyed at the time they saw His star appear. Mary and Joseph arrived when the time was completed for the birth of the child. How interesting that Jesus also came at just the right time,

 

It was at His chosen hour that God sent His Son. It was the longest journey from the place of the pure love of God to a world where King Herod ordered the execution of innocent children. It was an enormous distance from the halls of worshiping angels to a stable with the snorting of cattle and the rustle of mice in the hay. But at God’s exact day and hour Jesus came. He could wait no longer. Our dark and cold world awaited Him as angels stood on tip-toe to witness His birth. He came as hope when all our hopes had been wrapped in night. He arrived in the natural pains of child birth and but He opened His eyes His journey was only just beginning.

My Winter Garden

Queen Lily she is resting

Underneath her frozen bed

While sister Iris covered in snow

Shakes her sleepy head

The daffodils start snoring

While the tulips pray for Spring

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And Rose patiently puts on her robe of ice

Till the robin flies home on May’s wings

And the Father of Gardens smiles lovingly down

Through this season of quiet and cold

As we gently wait through our Winter

Till His bloom time comes round for our souls

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What Will We Give?

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.  Matthew 2:11 KJV

 At Fort Knox in Kentucky the U.S. government stores over 9 million pounds of gold bullion. As you can imagine this is one of the most secure facilities anywhere on the planet. That gold has been there for over 90 years. Nothing more has gone in and nothing has been taken out. That is the way things are with the treasures of this life. They are kept under lock and key and rarely used. But at the birth of Jesus Christ things changed if only for one night. Men who had saved up immense riches risked everything to bring them to Bethlehem.

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They risked their lives on the dangerous and difficult journey from their far homeland. They willingly risked the wrath of King Herod whose soldiers were standing by ready to descend onto the helpless village. But nothing of their treasure, nothing of their comfort or safety mattered to them on that evening. All they could see was the star they had followed standing over the place and the opened their treasures and worshiped Him!