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Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

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Matthew 2:7-12

[7] Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
[8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
[9] When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
[10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
[11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
[12] And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Many would have you pass through this passage, but let us take a closer look at the significance of the visit of the wise men. Isn’t it amazing how wonderful the feeling is when God provides the light, the star, the word of God to provide the direction to be closer with Christ, it should cause us to rejoice.

1) The gift of gold was given to symbolize that He was God in the flesh. Sometimes people refuse to see the value and worth of the gold, and accept fool’s gold (or their own ideals instead).
It is given first to represent obtaining salvation.

Job 23:10

[10] But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

2) The frankincense was given to Jesus as a symbol of His holiness.Frankincense was the resin from a tree. It was obtained by cutting the bark of the tree and letting it harden, followed by it being ground to powder.

Exodus 30:34-36

[34] And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
[35] And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
[36] And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

It was placed on the altar of incense to be a sweet odor to the Lord. It was given after the gold because holiness before salvation would attempt to be used for self-righteousness. Holiness destroys the unsaved, like wood or hay, but it begins to purify gold!

3) Myrrh is different, as it represents suffering, trials, tribulations:

Hebrews 5:8

[8] Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Jesus never escaped the myrrh throughout His entire life. As Jesus received these gifts, we too also receive the gift of gold (salvation), frankincense (holiness), and myrrh (suffering) from our wise and almighty creator. Suffering is not to destroy us, but to teach us obedience.

2 Timothy 3:12

[12] Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Why is myrrh the only gift mentioned at the end of Jesus life? Gold (salvation) is a one-time gift, Once it is given it cannot be revoked

Romans 11:29

[29] For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Frankincense (holiness) is something you clothe yourself with. You clothe yourself with Christ and become separate from what the world wears.

1 Peter 5:10

[10] But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Our Fall To Sin

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Genesis 1:27,31

[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

[31] And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Man was created in Holiness, and what God made was good within us! Before sin ever entered the world, what we were made to be was good! God made us! What God has made in you is good as well! Even taking in to consideration that we fail because of sin, we still have the good that God has placed! We often forget that in the midst of life.

Genesis 3:6

[6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

By voluntary transgression, man fell to sin. So many times, we voluntarily walk into failure, and God has provided more than enough of ways to avoid sin and temptation to sin. You are only as strong as the spirit that lives within you. With that said, it’s simple: little spirit leaves for little ability to resist. A strong spirit presents a formula for success against the enemy in this world!

Psalms 94:11

[11] The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

The thoughts that we possessed started to become vain. The thoughts that we have every day without God are vain by default, lest we realize what place they should have in our lives. If God is first, He will lead you to see exactly what things should be and should not. That’s the direction of the Holy Ghost that only comes through prayer seeking for direction by faith!

Jeremiah 17:9

[9] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The heart started to become deceitful. Without the help of the comfort of the spirit, we will become weak from our emotions that want to rule us by default. We should never be driven by emotions. Emotions often times will drive us to irrational motive, which in turn leads to actions we should have never found ourselves at to begin with.

Romans 8:7

[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

We became an enemy through the carnal being. Our minds are either upon God and serving him with our commitment to, or we are resisting because we have (in our mind) chose not to. The art of submission when it comes to the spirit begins with making up your mind. We can never inherit the mind of Christ without first surrendering our wickedness first. I say that not in condemnation, but in common sense. We will eventually lead ourselves to destruction over time without God helping us!

Genesis 6:5

[5] And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

By sin overwhelming us, God recognized that even back then and still does today! In the days we live in now, we know not the appointed day, but God wants us to be prepared each day by not falling into the sin that was clearly warned about all through the days of the bible. The example of the flood in the Old Testament should be example enough that we surely would rather come to God’s love rather than God’s wrath!

Romans 5:12,19

[12] Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

[19] For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

The first sin was fatal for all mankind and made us sinners as we know it today. And from generation to generation, we still make the same mistakes that were made before us, regardless of the reasons of why. The “why” does not matter; what matters is finding our way to repentance! That’s why Jesus Christ was sent to be an advocate for us to find forgiveness by the mercy and grace of God.

Romans 1:18,20

[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Being unrighteous, all are condemned without defense or excuse. There is nothing that I could throw at God to ever have a great enough of reason or to feel good enough to be justified. We have to obey, we have to repent, and we have to move on from hurt! It’s as simple as that! God sees what you are going through, and will move on your behalf. So why stay in that condition?

Isaiah 1:5-6

[5] Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
[6] From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The whole nature of our beings is corrupted long-term from never treating the damage that sin takes upon us. Lest we begin to bring to God our problems and issues, we can never begin to heal and recover from what we deal with and go through!

Isaiah 53:6-7

[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

All of our sins have been forgiven if you recognize the one who performed it! If we come to God and believe in faith upon Jesus Christ and surrender our lives completely, a magnificent life-changing transformation can begin to take place! Do it today!

You Are One In A Million

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I write this blog today, not as one that we can really learn something from, but more as a word of encouragement to all of you out there, that might feel small or insignificant sometimes. Because at some point and time in our lives, we all get to that stage. So I hope that this is a blessing to you, just like it was strength to me when i was composing this.

When I hear the phrase, “One in a million“, I think of quite a few things.

First, I consider the fact that there is no one else in the world like me. There might be many that have similar traits and features, but there is not another that is JUST alike. God made us in his image, and though there are many great things in the world, just like the verse reads below, there is just something about us that is special.

Deuteronomy 4:32

[32] For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

So when I read this, I realize that even as I sit here, am unique. I have a special place in the world. I have a calling for something in other words. Consider this:

1 Corinthians 1:26

[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

There are many people that could try to be what God has called you to be, to do what God has called you to do, but only YOU can truly do it. God made you to be that special singer, teacher, praise and worship leader, etc. Anything that you have that is unique that God has given you, that separates you, that makes you who YOU are, and abides in Holiness according to his will, is what defines that inner you that will make you grow to find that happiness we all search for.

I constantly see people out there on their journey of life, trying to do this thing on their own, trying to “find their self” out there, essentially trying to find the meaning to their life. The truth is, they already have the unique gifts and tools right there, and often times don’t want to use the great assets they have. Sometimes the reason is by fear, or by rejection.

I want those of us out there who are strong in the Lord to get a hold of these verses:

Matthew 18:12-13

[12] How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

[13] And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

We, that are on the path, who know the right from wrong, and know how to be leaders for Christ, should not be satisfied with just the 99. Don’t be satisfied knowing that there is one that is out there that needs help. They just may be the one in a million that could save the nation. They might be the person that writes the next Amazing Grace.

I encourage all of you, those of you readers out there, to know that you are special, in every single way that God has made you. In your life, in your mind, in your body, everything; nothing about us is terrible. We are the only reason we think so. We are our worst critic, and we often times beat ourselves down into depression, when in reality, if God was the one that made us, then we are in the image of the God of victory.

We were built to be victors! We were not built for failure! You are not a failure!

In closing, I speak on a more personal note as a testimony to myself to say that I can honestly say that I feel like one in a million. I count myself as one of the few that beat drug addiction, delivered solely and completely by prayer and the Holy Ghost. I wasn’t in a church; I was in a living room. I can honestly say that I also had given up college and hopes for a decent life, and God pieced my life back together, and got me back in school, graduated, and I am happily married and employed today. God even got me a job close to the church where we wanted to go.

And all the times where I thought I was forgotten, I totally laugh about it now. God never forgot about me. God left the 999,999 to come find me; I’m one in a million! Everything is possible if you put an honest life before him, pray hard, have faith, and never give up on God. Be encouraged this day!