for those that don’t normally celebrate three kings day (3 K day), it’s traditionally the 12th day of Christmas and recognized as the day that the 3 kings visit the baby Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

growing up, my family celebrated 3 K day and we’ve continued that tradition in our own home. we leave our Christmas tree up until january 6, because on the eve of 3 K day, the kids fill up a shoebox with grass or hay and put in under our tree for the camels of the three kings so that they can continue their journey to see the Christ child. we’ve also been known to put out a bowl of water and substituted carrots as a treat for the camels. during the night, the 3 kings travel through and leave a ‘thank you’ for those that left the food out for the travellers.

the other night, my sis, nadine and i were talking about the three kings’ journey as told in Matthew 2. a couple of things we took away from our discussion were…

the scripture in Matthew 2 tells us that the three kings went to the Christ child bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh–all with special significance. faucett’s bible dictionary states that

gold is “emblem of purity,” frankincense “with its sweet perfume, symbolizes prayer accepted before God,” and myrrh was an “ingredient of the holy anointing oil (Exo. 30:23), typical of Messiah’s graces (Ps. 45:8).”

while the gifts that the 3 kings brought were indeed precious, we talked about how precious the gift of their journey was. we thought about how these kings/magi must have had a lot going on in their lives. for them to have brought such precious gifts, they had to have been wealthy with many people working for them. even so, they left all that they were doing to embark on a journey to a destination unknown. in my opinion, while the gifts carried, and then presented to Jesus, were precious and held symbolic significance, the gift of their willingness to go on this journey was precious in its own right. did they leave bearing gifts from God?

Matthew 2:12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

when they left, they took a different route. they were warned by God not to go back to Herod. after having seen the Christ child, they could not go back the way they came. when we thought about this in terms of a life journey, we couldn’t help but contemplate how the three kings’ journey had led them to a different path after being with, and worshipping, Jesus.

with today being three kings day, what about us? are we choosing to follow the light of God to embark on a journey with Jesus? when we encounter Jesus, do we fall to the ground and worship Him (Matthew 2:11)? what gifts do we bring and present to Jesus? what gifts do we leave with? is our path forever changed?

I read the verses before this text to try to understand what was happening. Jesus said these words to his disciples just after the resurrection on the first Easter morning. He had just appeared to his disciples, but they didn’t totally believe that it was Jesus—that He actually conquered death. They doubted what they saw. So Jesus says something to get their attention, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth.” Jesus was basically telling the disciples, I’m The One—The One you’ve been waiting for—the One who conquered death. Jesus told them that He had the complete authority to bring God’s rule in heaven on earth (Lord’s Prayer: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…)

Once Jesus got their attention, He gave them direction—to ‘go’ and ‘teach’ others what He’d taught them. Jesus had mentored the disciples, had invested in their lives, to the point of death—death that gave way to life. Now it was the disciples’ turn. They needed to teach and mentor others…and we have that same responsibility today.

© 2005 ginny rogers

Today being Good Friday, I couldn’t help but think about Jesus and the cross. In the past, I’d often read the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, but today, I found myself going to verses out of Isaiah written hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth. As I read the words in Isaiah, I began to see another way how Jesus bridges the Old and New Testament, even more importantly, how Jesus is the promise fulfilled.

I was in absolute awe when I read, “He grew up…like a tender shoot, and like a root of dry ground” (Isaiah 53:2) because when I read these words, I was reminded of Jesus’ temptation in the desert wilderness and that he prevailed over every temptation. It’s written that the temptation came just after Jesus was baptized when the Voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 3:17-4:1, NRSV)

I became heartbroken when I read that “He was despised and rejected by men…a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3) because of His willingness to carry our sorrows and pain despite being rejected by the people He loved. Even Peter, whom Jesus called “The Rock,” denied knowing Jesus. Jesus took all of “our infirmities” and carried “our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4) And all of that pain and suffering was intense, so intense that Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Matthew 26:38, NIV)

And then Jesus “was pierced for our transgressions” when each nail pierced his hands and feet…”crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Then “darkness came over all the land” and at “about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’” (Matthew 27:45-46) But God had not forsaken Jesus for God also suffered on that cross with “His Beloved.”

“The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) It’s by all of Jesus’ wounds that we are healed…His crown of thorns, the beatings Jesus suffered at the hands of His captors, His nail-pierced hands and feet, and the spear in His side—through all of that pain, we were set free.

Jesus fulfilled what had been written hundreds of years before he graced this earth with His presence.

And then on the third day…

© 2005 Ginny Rogers

These verses in Matthew recount what Jesus wanted us to know about praying. During a recent Bible study, we talked about these verses; and since I recently posted something on prayer, I felt that these verses provided the perfect opportunity to expand on the topic of prayer.

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…

God is relational and hangs out in the most perfect place. God is so special with a name that deserves to be restored to full splendor.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…

God’s kingdom is where God rules and to have God’s rule on earth would mean that we would be living a life on earth like what goes on in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

It’s okay to ask God to provide for our most basic needs. Also, we need to ask God to be our daily sustenance.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

The Greek word used here in this verse is “debt” or “that which is owed.” Forgiveness is tremendously important theme throughout Jesus’ ministry.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Don’t let us give in during times of trial (especially when we’re being persecuted for our faith), but instead, we need to pray that God will save us from the evil one.

Finally, in verses Matthew 6:5-8, we are told by Jesus to pray to God with sincerity and be motivated by our desire to get to know God more. We shouldn’t be communicating to others about our prayer time or prayer life more than we are talking directly to God. Jesus warns us to not ramble on and on just to hear ourselves talk…we need to be real and talk with God in a close and intimate way.

© 2005 Ginny Rogers

Chapter 39 begins with Joseph’s plight of being sold into slavery to the captian of Pharoah’s guard, Potiphar. Almost immediately after this part of the story has begun, we read how God was with Joseph–and not only was God with him, but Joseph prospered.

Now, if you think about this, being sold into slavery would not have meant the best circumstances. Joseph had no rights…not a thing…even the coat that his father had made him was ripped off of his back. The most that he could hope for was perhaps becoming a servant in a decent home–that would be a somewhat realistic view of prosperity for a slave; but that’s just the beginning of what happens for him with God at his side. It seems that as soon as he’s taken into Potiphar’s household, the Egyptian captain of the guard recognizes that this servant is not on his own. Even this Egyptian (that more than likely didn’t have the same belief system) saw that God was with Joseph–and that’s huge. Just imagine for a moment what the outward signs had to have been for God’s presence to have been recognized. God just doesn’t bless Joseph, but Potiphar’s whole household with God’s presence.

And then there’s a conflict beginning in Genesis 39:7; Potiphar’s wife makes a proposition to Joseph. Joseph’s reply to the woman is at the end of verse 9, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

What I found interesting in Joseph’s reply was what he didn’t say. Joseph didn’t say something like, “How can I do this and lose all that I’ve worked so hard for?” or even, “How can I betray my master, Potiphar?” No, Joseph instead recognizes how getting entangled with this woman would be a sin against God–and that’s all that matters to Joseph. It’s this verse that gives us clear insight into the character of Joseph and his heart for God–and it gives us insight into why God was with him–Joseph considered God first and foremost in his decisions regardless of the circumstances.

If it wasn’t enough that Joseph was a slave, the next part of the story goes one step further. With his refusal to Potiphar’s wife, he’s trapped and then thrown into prison. Now prison by today’s standards is not the best place to find yourself, but back then it would have been much worse than we could imagine–especially as a slave going to prison. But what happens is that God was with Joseph, and guess what…he prospers in prison…so much so that the warden put him in charge of the other prisoners. As we read on, Joseph’s not only in charge of the prisoners, but he cares—he demonstrates God’s love to them—by wanting to know what’s troubling them.

Even in these most extreme circumstances, God remained faithful to Joseph, and Joseph remained faithful to God. When two prisoners are encouraged by Joseph to share their troubling dreams, he encourages them by saying, ” Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams” and totally relied on God for the interpretations.

Reading this portion of Genesis brought me back up to the New Testament and Matthew 5 where Jesus began his teaching (posted 2.6.05) and said, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (The Message). Joseph was blessed with God’s presence when he was at the end of his rope as a slave and as a prisoner. He didn’t have any control over anything, so he gave it all to God—and God is faithful—God blessed Joseph in the midst of his circumstances. And Joseph, seeing the reality of God’s presence in these bottom-of-the-barrel circumstances, gave everything to God—Joseph gave the freedom that he lost to God, and God freed him. In fact, God freed him from a prison more restrictive than the cell that he was in, God freed Joseph from being a prisoner of self reliance. Just like with Joseph, When there’s less of us, there’s more room for God; and when we leave room for God to make the difference in our lives, we will experience prosperity that’s beyond our current circumstances–regardless of where we are.

There’s a lot of things that happened to Tamar in this story with Judah and his family. She’s chosen as the wife for Er, then when widowed and then as was the custom of the day, she’s given to the second son who doesn’t necessarily have her best interests in the forefront of his mind. This behavior of the second son doesn’t necessarily please God and Tamar is once again a widow. Then Judah tells Tamar to wait until his son Shelah becomes of age. But having asked her to wait for his son, Judah doesn’t fulfill his end of what he agreed to.

It’s interesting what happens in the course of this story. From the very beginning of Genesis 38, there’s this sense that there’s something—some reason—why the series of incidents occur between Tamar and Judah. When I read on to the births of Perez and Zerah, it all seemed to make sense–especially when I saw the reference to Matthew 1:3. With that, I jumped forward to the New Testament and read the geneaology of Jesus.

When reading the Bible, I continually look for connections between the Old and New Testaments. This connection through the lineage of Jesus, gave me insight not only into the story of Jesus, but also how I can continue to read the stories of the Old Testament and see how they lead to the promise of God’s purpose fulfilled through Christ in the New Testament.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are–no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ”carefull,’ you find yourselves cared for.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world–your mind and heart–put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

“Not only that–count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens–give a cheer, even!-for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

–Matthew 5:3-12, The Message

In reading these chapters, I was reminded of Genesis 13 when Abram talked with Lot about the two of them going their separate ways. Abram said, “If you go north, I’ll go south; if you go south, I’ll go north.” (Gen 13:9) Then Lot takes a look at the lay of the land and decides to take the prime real estate for himself. This gave me reason to take a moment to think of Lot’s character—he took the best for himself. Later on, and to his credit, Lot welcomes the strangers to Sodom in a very hospitable way by opening his home to them even despite the danger. But when he tries to get his future sons-in-law to move because trouble is on the horizon, they don’t—they think he’s kidding—but why? At this point we don’t get a definitive answer but I can’t help but wonder if their unwillingness to pay attention is yet another glimpse into Lot’s character. If he’s a ‘me only’ kind of guy and we see that in this story, how do others see him? It seems to me that Lot is surrounded by people who have little regard for others and have little respect for Lot.

Jump up to Genesis 18—-Abraham is visited by three guests and he goes out of his way to make them feel welcome and he’s told by the Lord that he’s going to have a son. Just as the three visitors got ready to leave for Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord tells Abraham that he’s going to check out what’s happening in these two cities because from what He’s heard, it’s not good. So what does Abraham do? He makes a plea to the Lord for the people of Sodom…if there are 50 good people…40… 30… 20…10…will God spare the city? This gives us insight into Abraham’s character. He offered the choice of land to Lot before choosing any for himself; he pleads to the Lord for others. This also gives us insight into Abraham’s relationship with God—it’s real. He can talk with God; and in fact, God shares with Abraham what’s going to be done with Sodom and Gomorrah. God doesn’t have to share with Abraham; God chooses to share with him.

This section is then rounded out with the scene with Lot and his daughters. Lot’s daughters each chose to act based on the character that they knew—their father’s. What’s the end result in their choices? There’s conflict between their descendants and Abraham’s for generations. It seems to me that this conflict began with a conflict in character.

Reading these chapters in Genesis gave me cause to think about the examples of character that have influenced me. Well, I’m fortunate to be able to say that my parents both have been an example of good, strong character—-they look out for others and are very considerate. I’m also blessed to be able to read about Jesus and the way that He lived His life with perfect character always considering others before Himself—-loving each one of us so much he went to the cross. Even Jesus’ adversaries knew of His character when they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.” (Matthew 22:16) In fact, the Gospels are filled with examples of Jesus character so that everyone, regardless of their heritage, has His example to follow.

© 2005 Ginny Rogers

As I was going through the news online, I came across two reports that just jumped out at me. The first was a visual representation of the world’s water situtation created by number27.org, with “Every minute 7 people die of bad water or no water.” The second was a report on cnn.com with the headline, U.S. Report: Hunger affected 12 million families in 2003. Because this report only included US stats, I knew I had to go to the UN’s World Food Programme web site at http://www.wfp.org where their interactive map points out that out of the total world population of 4,712,200,000, there are 797,900,000 that are undernourished (16%).

Two thousand years ago when Jesus talked about hunger and thirst, the majority of the people he was talking to knew real hunger and thirst—first-hand. He knew that most of the people who were listening to His words were sitting out there with empty stomachs. Even the disciples succumbed to the potential reality of being without food to eat. Mark 8:17-21 tells us how Jesus asked the disciples, “Why are you so worried about having no food?” reminding them of the times that He fed 5,000, and then 4,000, people with food to spare.

In Matthew 5:6, Jesus takes the real issue of His people’s pain from hunger and thirst and turns it into a blessing. He tells all of us that when we allow ourselves to hunger and thirst for God’s justice, we will be satisfied—fully. When we hunger and thirst for the things that are close to God’s heart—God will be glorified. My question is: are we hungering–I mean really hungering–for God’s justice?

© 2004 Ginny Rogers