Christmas is my favorite holiday. I get so excited about spending time with loved ones and with our students here at Shiloh. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the whole world celebrated Jesus Christ as God’s Gift to the human race? It is sad that some of the world is deprived of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and King. He has come and He has saved people from their sins. Debbie and I are grateful for the Lord finding us when we were in our depravity and revealing to us His saving Grace. We are both  convinced that we are on a journey that was predestined for us. We were created for such a time as this to fulfill our destiny. Everyday is exciting because everyday the Holy Spirit yields revelation in who we are in Christ Jesus. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). The Heavenly Father has destined us to  be conformed to the “image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Many are striving to be happy, but fail and wonder why life is so difficult? As humans we are designed by God to have bearings that require calibration (*to adjust or mark so it can be used in an accurate way). Sin has a desired effect by the enemy of our souls. If he can render us un-effective then we never achieve the purpose of the design in which God created us for. When revelation comes to us by the Holy Spirit in what Jesus said in John 3:3, “You must be born again to see the Kingdom of God,” then and only then can one perceive the glorious destiny of what God says in His Word, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him," 1Corinthians 2:9. Every human being deserves to be set on the right course so purpose can be revealed. Our bearings must lead us to the One who calibrates us for eternity.

                                                                                                                                                                   
In Matthew 2:1-12, we read about these particular royal astrologers (Magi’s), who studied the heavens and in their quest for knowing the universe they were led to It’s “King.” “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.”         

                                                                                        
 
From the beginning of time men and women were led and used by God to prepare Israel for their Messiah (Christ) to come  to His Vineyard (Isaiah 5:4) and all of planet earth. All thru the old and new testaments we read about people driven by a quest to encounter their Messiah, Savior, King. The account  in Matthew 2:1-12, is about the wise men who studied the stars. Somewhere in their studies they were calibrated in their bearings to chase a phenomenon, a star that seemed fixed, but guided them. As they chased this star across the desert sands of the middle east it led them to Bethlehem, as prophesied in Micah 5:2. When the Magi’s ( wise men) finally arrived they worshipped the (King) child and gave gifts. Wow! What a monumental moment that was! These men weren't Jews, but Gentiles. They could have only knew this truth by studying the books of the law and prophets. But the reality is when their hearts first began this journey it was already destined for them to become what they were created and assigned to do, be calibrated to find the King. All of us should be wise like these wise men. When we assess life and the meaning of it are we satisfied? We should never be satisfied until we have forsaken all to meet the “King.” The three wise men were driven by a passion that began like many of us who were curious about “Who” flung the stars? (“It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order,” Isaiah 48:13). As we begin our life we are calibrated as humans to know why are we here? It is instinctive in us to begin a pilgrimage that will lead us to know and worship the Creator of the Heavens, He is God and wants to be known and encountered as “Father God!” As the Heavenly Father began His plan before the foundations of the Earth to bring our Redeemer, He had one plan only, to bring “The King” & His Kingdom to Earth. He would do this by purchasing humanity from the slave block with His Son, Jesus dying on the Cross and resurrecting Him from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He now sets at the Fathers right hand, but soon He (The King) is coming and He will consummate His Kingdom. Question is do you know Him as King? If not, please allow Holy Spirit to calibrate your bearings to meet “The King,” He is waiting, worship Him!