Christ Church Daily Devotion Dec 31 2023

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem to worship the newborn King of the Jews. King Herod was disturbed and asked the magi to find the child and report back to him. The magi followed a star to Bethlehem where they found Jesus and presented him with gifts. The gifts were symbolic and expensive. The passage talks about the importance of giving gifts and how we can give ourselves to Christ through prayer, service, and witness. Instead of making resolutions, we should focus on improving in one area and bring that gift to Christ this year. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for December 31st, 2023. Today we will be reading from Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 through 11. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people, chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. In Bethlehem, in Judea, they replied. For this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel. Then Herod called the magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him. After they heard the king, they went on their way. And the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In many Eastern cultures, the giving of gifts is a very common practice. If one is invited to dinner, one carries a gift to the host. It was natural for the magi, coming from somewhere east of Israel, to bring gifts to the one they were seeking. Their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were gifts for a king, a priest. And for someone who would give his life. Not only were their gifts powerfully symbolic of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, their gifts were expensive. If God set up an online gift registry to instruct us on what gifts to bring Christ, what do you think would be on the list? When we join a United Methodist Church, we promise to participate fully in the life of the church through our prayers, presents, gifts, service, and witness. In making this promise, we say we will be present in worship, in small groups, and other gatherings. We will pray for the staff, leaders, and ministries of the church. We will give our financial gifts and put our spiritual gifts to work in service. We will witness by living in ways that bring honor to Christ. We will share our faith in Christ with others. These are awesome gifts that would no doubt be on that registry. Today's personal worship option. Many of us are better at some of these promises of prayers, presents, gifts, service, and witness than we are at others. Pray about this and pick the one you need to work on the most. Don't make a resolution. Instead, make a promise and bring that gift to Christ this year.