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Scripture
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Matthew 2:11

Observation
How could strangers new to town draw such a crowd of gawkers? Wisemen walking through Bethlehem were like orange robed Buddhist monks trying to blend into a Kansas town Main Street. The king of the land and the head office priests all wanted to have a peek at the baby. And of course the shepherds had already been and left. Mary and Joseph were so new that their number wasn’t yet listed in the phonebook. No one knew who they were or that they were even there.

But Jesus was there and that made all the difference.

Jesus is attractive. It started when he was a baby. He would later say of his death, that nailing him high on a cross would only draw more people to him. I get this picture in my head a heavy object in the centre of a blanket that makes everything else slide to the middle. When Jesus was present a crowd gathered.

Application
I want Jesus present. Activity and programs can sometimes cover up the embarrassing reality that Jesus is not with us. The star is gone, but we think the show must go on. But when Jesus is with us things come together and everyone comes. It may be simple but the theology works. I’ve been pondering on this sentence in the last two days: Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now. It comes from Matthew 6:34 in The Message. If we would only ask what God is doing and then become involved in it we would be like shepherds and wiremen who were there to watch the most amazing event in human history. Simeon and Anna asked it too and got to be in on the front row. But no one else asked that question, so they were home in bed. I want to ask that question so I’m present for the miracle of Christ present when it happens.

Prayer
Father, what are you doing right now? Where is it happening? Help me to be in it. Amen.

Scripture
Who does great things, unfathomable, And wondrous works without number. “Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. Job 9:10-11

Observation
Could a multi-story building crane slip through a street unnoticed? Surely the builder of skyscrapers could not blend into traffic. Great machines construct great buildings. They are as magnificent as the structures they build. They stand out.

So where is the maker of stars and planets to be found? I read yesterday that over 400 planets have now been discovered beyond our solar system. One of these behemoths is six times the size of Jupiter and Jupiter itself is 300 times the size of Earth. VY Canis Majoris may sound like a chemical additive for making shampoo, but it is in fact a star 2,600 times larger than our own sun. It is a mere 4,900 light years away from our planet. The creator of suns and planets is greater than mega Jupiters or gargantuan stars.

Then where is God to be seen? As great as his creation is, God can still slip unnoticed in human life. I heard a sad interview with Richard Dawkins the scientist who preaches atheism. When asked what he would say if he were to meet God after death, he replied, “I would say, ‘Why did you make yourself so difficult to find?’” Job struggled with the invisible God. In his pain, his vision was blurred. God seemed absent.

Application
We should not take the invisibility of God for his absence. He is present, though he is not seen. Some artists are so egoistical that they draw more attention to themselves than to their artwork. God is not like this. Jesus said that he is humble of heart. He camouflages himself in humility so that only the humble can find him. I think it gives the maker of gigantic suns and immense planets some degree of satisfaction that only those who think like children can find him. God makes himself difficult to find to help us to become humble like him.

So how can I see the invisible God? The secret is to relax in what we do not know and to focus on what we can see. Honestly, giant stars and planets don’t help me much with discovering God as much as when I reflect on the last four decades of my life. The jpegs of my mind scroll through the faces and places choreographed like some intricate dance. There are so many coincidences, divine appointments, unexpected breaks, and open doors. I could never have planned such a life. As I relax into what I do not know about God, and instead focus on thankfulness for the life I can see, I come to discover that the grand artist is hiding in the crowd. He is with me though he cannot be seen.

Prayer
Father, there is so much of you and yet so little of you enjoyed by us. We humans waste little time meditating on your works. It’s time to reflect. It is time to thank. It is time to see you in your hiddenness. How I delight in your ways when I become at ease with what I don’t understand. That is the definition of faith. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to a heart-changing song from JesusCulture.org as you read today’s devotion on fire.

Scripture
Flaming fire His ministers. Psalm 104

Observation
It is from verses like this one that John Wesley explained the attraction of his ministry, “Set yourself on fire and people wll watch you burn.”

Some pastors excell at chopping and stacking wood. With laborious exegesis they saw and split cords of firewood but there is no fire. Other preachers are like boxes of matches. There is not a depth of knowing that comes from the word of God. With spit and shout they ignight like a box of match heads all at once the flame is bright but it does not last.

A preacher needs firewood and the fire. He needs both careful study as well as burning prayer.

Application
Next weekend I’m speaking to some of my favourite folks at Peninusla City Church in Frankston, Victoria in Australia. I want to bring the wood as God sends the fire!

Prayer
Father send the fire on me.

Press the arrow to listen to New Life Worship sing “In Your Presence” while reading today’s devotion on contentment.

Scripture
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. Psalm 131

Observation
One of the sure signs that we are growing up is that we are happy when our needs aren’t met. A mother and her small child are sketched in Psalm 131. The child is happy, not because he is getting the bottle. Instead, the toddler is content simply because mama is close.

I know I am maturing when I am content praying even if no answers come. All the selfishness of requests are set aside, and it is good just to be with the Lord.

Application
There is a place of rest for me somewhere between desire and fulfillment. Most will not be content until the answer comes. But the Father shows me a another option of satisfaction even when the bag is empty for me. I suspect in the current economic earthquake that there will be a lot more need to find contentment in the word “without”. That will spare me from overreaching. Instead, the instructions for me are clear: compose and quiet yourself. I must pull in my insatiable longings and find my contentment in just being with the Lord.

Prayer
Father, help me to really value what the word “present” means. It is not a possession that you offer me, like a boxed present. It is a relationship that you give me in the sense that you are present in the room. That is more than enough for me. Amen.