The Magi by Robert Morgan

From Robert Morgan

If, as I believe, the Wise Men of Luke 2 were Babylonian disciples of the prophet Daniel, did they ascertain the timing of Messiah’s birth by studying Daniel 9? I believe it’s possible.

The last part of Daniel 9 is one of the most important and pivotal passages in all the Bible regarding the Great Tribulation and the return of Christ. It’s the famous passage about the seventy weeks, or the seventy periods of seven. Daniel9:25 says:

Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One (literally, the Messiah), the ruler, comes, there will be seven “sevens” and sixty-two “sevens.” It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two “sevens,” the Anointed One (literally, the Messiah) will be put to death….

When Daniel received this prophecy, his city of Jerusalem lay in ruins. It was rubble. It has been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. But Daniel was told that a decree would shortly be issued to rebuild Jerusalem, and that decree would start a sequence of events. The clock would start ticking. There would be seven periods of seven years, followed by sixty-two periods of seven years. So here’s a little chart.

7 x 7 years = 49 years

62 x 7 years = 434 years

434 + 49 = 483 years

So Daniel predicted that one of the Gentile rulers would issue a decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and 483 years later the Anointed One, the Messiah, would come into the city and be put to death.

There are various ways of calculating this, but here’s the simple version: The order to rebuild Jerusalem was issued by King Artaxerxes in the book of Nehemiah. And 483 years later, Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem. Hundreds of years in advance, the book of Daniel predicted that the city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt, that the Messiah would enter it, that He would be put to death, and that it would happen 483 years after the decree to rebuild the city.

If the Magi were the spiritual descendants of Daniel, they might have had a powerful clue as to the general time of Messiah’s birth, which would have heightened their interest in the Star of Bethlehem.

People who are truly wise know the Signs of the Times.

The Rest Of The Story Matt 2:12 By Gene Kissinger

The Rest of the Story Redeeming the time brothers podcast by Gene Kissinger and Norman Kissinger, two brothers who spent their lives in ministry and raising large families. Our desire is to provide a digital place for those who long belong. As always, we want to leave a nightlight on for that nightlight is in Matthew chapter two and verse 12. 

'And being warned of God and a dream that they should not return to her that departed into their own country another way."

This is the wise men after having presented their treasures to the baby Jesus, they go back to their own country after having been warned off from going back and talking to King Harold by God.  Let me explain this to you about the rest of the story. 

One of the most famous voices on radio Paul Harvey began his broadcast career when he was just a teenager living in Oklahoma. His personal style made him a fixture on radio stations across the nation. One of his best known features was a series of broadcasts called the rest of the story, which ran for more than 30 years, Harvey would tell part of a well known story without revealing all the details, then he would fill in the background information that explained what people knew and reveal whose story it was. Now, you know the rest of the story, he would conclude.

I think sometimes when we look at the Christmas story, we're missing the rest of the story. You see a wicked king like Herod, who's trying to manipulate the wise men and the scribes and the Pharisees to gather information so that he can stop Jesus from even really being born and growing up. And God circumvents that in a supernatural way. All of his machinations turn to nothing, because he gives a revelatory dream to those wise men. And they go home another way they don't go back to Herod.  Take Caesar, who in Luke two is sending out a decree to tax the world. And that taxing literally ends up fulfilling Bible prophecy. So that Jesus is born in Bethlehem in answer to a prophetic word of God in the Old Testament, so Caesar and Herod are used by God to accomplish the Christmas story. It's the rest of the story. And whether it's the shepherds that are just out watching their sheep at night, or it's the common people that are sort of wandering ariund hearing these amazing stories. They're all part of God's supernatural agenda. They don't know what's going on. But God knows exactly what's going on. God can work through the woof and weave of the fabric of our life and accomplish His sovereign purpose. Even when politicians are crooked, even when we don't understand and acknowledge what's going on. Even when it seems like everything is dark, God is about to shine a bright light in the midst of it. And that's the rest of the story. God caused a light to shine in a region of darkness. And that's what Christmas is all about. And it's not just the star that shines, it's the light of the gospel, shining into our dark sin cursed world. And Jesus brings the victory and the rest of the story.

We know the story about the shopping, the parties, the back ordered gifts sitting in a container ship off of the California coast. But do you know the rest of the story?  The real story? You can still have Christmas.  Gather with family and friends and dig into the “Rest of the Story” I read it every year to my kids before they touch a present.  You will find it in Luke 2:1-20 and Matt 2:1-12.  May you have a refreshing Christmas as you dig into the rest of the story.  I close with a 

Refresh of the song white Christmas by Russel Kelfer

I'm praying for a white Christmas

(Not like the ones we've always known)

But a time of reflecting,

When hearts are connecting,

With why that baby boy was born...

I'm praying for a white Christmas

Won't you join in praying, too

That God's great story

Will bring Him glory

As in men's hearts He's born anew

Russel Kelfer

Dear Lord God, I thank you for these dear ones. I pray that you bless them. Allow them to know that you love them and care for them and let them know that no matter what machinations Satan may be bringing against them, no matter what treacheries have taken place in the broader culture, we know that we can turn to you and trust in you because you're a God who can snatch a victory out of a place of defeat. You can bring light in darkness, victory out of defeat. Thank you for being who you are watching over us. God draws close to you. In Jesus most holy, precious and powerful name, amen. Hey, God bless you. I love you but Jesus loves you so much more. Have a great night.

Finding Your Song Again In The New Year by Gene Kissinger

Chuck Swindoll shared a newspaper story about a woman who had a rather traumatic experience. She was using a vacuum cleaner hose to clean some tight spots in her kitchen. It worked so well she thought she’d stick the hose in the bottom of her bird cage. It worked great—that is until her phone rang! The brief distraction caused her to flinch, she heard a thump and a screech and suddenly “Chirpy” (her beloved pet canary) had vanished.

The woman instantly shut off the vacuum, called his name and stuck her fingers down the hose. When that didn’t work, she opened the tank of her vacuum, sifted through the debris and found her dirty birdy alive but looking a little shook up. When the reporter asked the woman how Chirpy was feeling now, she replied “He’s fine physically, but come to think of it, he doesn’t sing much anymore.”

After 2021,  most of us can relate to Chirpy. We’re fine physically, but as we think about last year and look ahead to the new year, we don’t feel much like singing!

I like to use the last few weeks of each year to review my life.  Socrates said "the unexamined life isn't worth living."

It is so easy to pick up bad habits like... 

catastrophic thinking where you assume the worst in every situation. 

Complaining about everything and everyone.

Jealousies that divide our relationships.

Anxiety, we find ourselves always stressed out like poor little chirpy. 

As you identify the big troublemaker attitudes and actions in your life, partner with a friend and agree to hold each other accountable in a concerted effort to improve these areas.  When you do it will give you your song back.  It will take time, one swallow's song won't make it spring but it is a sign of positive change ahead, one day won't make a life but string enough good days together and you have a great life.

After Reflecting I like to focus on resting as much as possible.  Get some rest over this break. Say no to a few things so you can get some true downtime to recharge your batteries.  That will go a long way to getting your song back.

Along with Reflection and Rest, a third item for your agenda as you head into the new year is Risk. One song stealer for humans is drudgery without a dream. Humans can toil for an entire lifetime enthusiastically if they have an overarching adventure they are a part of.  Is there something on your bucket list you need to move toward this next year? Risk setting out to accomplish some of your dreams.  Become a world changer, you may not change the whole world but you can change the world of the people who you interact with on a daily basis. 

I leave you with this parable.

"Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions. 

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching.  As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977)

One Word by Gene Kissinger

Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the premier authors of his day, he had mega hits that made him a very wealthy writer, he wrote Treasure Island and kidnapped, he also had plays like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and so many others that were massively successful. It was reported in a paper that he was worth one British pound per word. One up and coming author who was a bit jealous of the reviews and accolades that Mr. Stevenson was getting, ended up sending him a letter saying in which he put a pound note and said, It's reported that you get one pound per word, here's my pound, where's my word? , Mr. Stevenson sent back a reply with only one word on the page "thanks"! I know I've probably told you that before, but I want you to remember that even though Thanksgiving is over, Thanksgiving should still flow from our lips. If you had to buy each word that came out of your mouth, if it cost you, if it cost you $100 per word, you'd be wise to make them thankful words. If you want to change your life. One of the best ways to change it is at the end of each day, write down three things that you're thankful for that happened that day, because chances are many things happen that day, some good, some bad, but if you can focus on the things you're thankful for, it will elevate your mood and your spirit, you'll begin to find life getting a little better and a little brighter. And if you want to add to that, there's another life hack that you can try. Write down after those three things that you're thankful for one thing you're looking forward to the next day. That's a kind of Thanksgiving but it's also a sense of anticipation and excitement and you'll begin to find your mental state transforming your emotions being innervated by this simple concept. So if you had to pay one pound per word, make that word thanks,