• Come and Worship (A Christmas Devotional)

    By: Kristen L. McNulty

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

    Last weekend I was reading the Christmas story to my nephew Joshua and something jumped out at me that I tend to skip over when reading the story I’m so familiar with. The part that jumped out at me was when the wise men were interviewed by Herod and his gang. When they were asked why they had followed the star for such a long way they said, as recorded in Matthew chapter 2, that the purpose of their visit was to come to worship the newborn king of the Jews.

    "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him." Matthew 2:2


    Reasons For Their Journey


    Their reason for the long journey wasn't to come and be the first one to see him so they could brag to all their friends about him. Not to come to do a scientific exploration of this new star. Not to come to ask something of this newborn king. No, these men traveled what Bible scholars believe must have been hundreds or even thousands of miles through hot deserts and hard terrain and even enemy territory just so they could come and worship the newborn king. 

    Where we have a hard enough time motivating ourselves to go across the city when given an opportunity to worship Jesus, and we have GPS’ to guide us and vehicles to carry us, these men likely traveled for months on end in the pursuit of just one encounter to worship Jesus.

    Following Their Example


    We would be fools if we didn’t follow the wise example of these wise men. Especially considering we are in December, the month of the year we put aside for all things Christmas. But if in between the wrapping and the parties and the presents, we aren’t worshiping this King, then aren’t we missing the whole point?

    So what does worshiping Jesus at Christmas look like? There are countless ways you can express your adoration to Him this season but here are a few ways to start. 

    Some Ways To Start


    1. Spend time in prayer, talking one on one with Jesus. Tell Him what you love about Him and thank Him for all He’s given you.

    2. Be found in worship through music. The wonderful thing about Christmas is we literally hear music about Jesus everywhere we go. This Christmas don’t become desensitized to it. Instead when you hear a Christmas carol about Jesus, sing along with a heart of worship. Create a holy moment in that place, whether you’re at your desk at work, driving in the car or even shopping at the mall.

    3. Reflect the love of Jesus to those around you. Whether that’s giving up a parking space at the store, buying presents for the poor, visiting with the lonely, making cookies for a neighbor. There are so many ways we can be the light and love of Jesus at a time of year when so many are struggling just to get through the season.

    Celebrating The Same Kind Of Christmas


    Let’s follow the example of the wise men and be willing to go the distance to lift up the name of Jesus with our words, our actions and our hearts this Christmas season. And when we do, we will find ourselves celebrating the kind of Christmas that happened on that very first one over 2000 years ago.

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