"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 in the east and have come to worship him."  {Matthew 2:1-2}

Stars have always been a favorite part of creation to me. I feel close to God when I look up into the sky and see many bright lights twinkling back at me. You can almost imagine anything when looking up.  We are told to keep our eyes on the sky, because our Savior and Lord will return someday from above.  

It makes sense  that the very wise men from the east, scientists, and those who studied the stars would see a difference in what was happening above. The sign of his first coming was foretold by the stars, and his second coming will also be seen in the sky. God, who is all magnificent, completely holy and all knowing will come the second time with a power and authority beyond anything we have ever seen.

The sky will be filled with his marvelous light, and everyone will know and see that our God reigns.  Because of his great power, he is holding back until more people come to know him as Lord. The time is near, but our gracious and loving God, does not want one soul to go to hell. He never intended for any person to go there. It was created for the devil and his dark angels, who still blatantly throw themselves at those who will listen.

The devil does not tell the truth, so those who hear him are believing lies about themselves and others so that their lives are ruined. God is not seen as the Almighty, Benevolent Father that he is, when the lies of the enemy tell the lost that there is no chance for them. Our God, who is rich in mercy, will forgive anyone who will humbly acknowledge him as Savior and Lord. It is not too late, until we breathe our last.

I am curious how the magi knew about the promised King of the Jews? I suppose it is one of those details that I wrote about yesterday or before that we will never know. Many ideas are shared among bible scholars that there was a link between these magi and ancient Israel, and so the story was handed down. This sounds plausible, but one thing is for sure, the magi causes quite a stir in Jerusalem.