RECOGNIZING GOD
Erin Kranz
Today's Scripture: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” Matthew 2:1-2, ESV
Theme: Just as God provided signs for the Wise Men, God has given us signs to allow us to know Him personally.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Merry Christmas Eve, Cove Church! As you’ll see at our services this week, we are celebrating the Good News of the name Immanuel – God with Us! It’s honestly amazing that the God of the Universe would leave heaven to come down and choose to walk among us and ultimately die to save us. But understanding that fact also gives us yet another message of hope – God WANTS us to know Him!
RECOGNIZING MOM
When my oldest son was around one year old, he attended preschool two days a week. I have curly auburn hair, which tends to be rare, but funnily enough another mom there had hair similar to mine. Whenever my son saw her he would get excited, but when he heard her voice or got close to her face, he would cry, realizing it wasn’t me. He wanted his mom, not some stranger! Even as a little baby, he eventually learned to recognize the signs when his real mom was calling him and near.
TUNING IN
In the case of the Wise Men, God didn’t hide the star from everyone else’s vision; these men were just the only ones to recognize it as a sign from God and who had the onus to follow it. God put the star in the sky so that the wonderful gift He was sending to humanity could be found. But that’s just the start of it – Jesus spent His entire ministry walking with people and sharing about who God is and the love He has for us.
Maybe you’ve wrestled with thinking that God is too lofty and important to really be known. While there are things we will not understand in this life, God does want us to know Him. He has given us signs throughout history and even today! “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, ESV).
Make It Personal: Sometimes God may be trying to reach us, but we either aren’t attuned to His voice (John 10:27-28), or don’t know where to look. Job reminded his friends while wrestling with God himself: “Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of man's words’? For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it” (Job 33:13-14). It starts with recognizing that God wants to commune with you. Take time today to thank God for His passion for you and pray that He would open your ears and eyes to the ways He wants to speak to you.
Pray: Father God, thank You for sending us your Son, Jesus, as a little baby all those years ago. Thank You that Your love is just as strong for us today as it was then. Thank You for the hope that You have given to me, my family, and the world. Thank You for the many ways that You have reached out to me to make Yourself known. Help me to learn to listen and recognize Your voice. I want to know You more. You are so good. Amen.
Read: John 10:27-28, Job 33:13-16, I Samuel 3
Weekly Memory Verse: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, ESV