January 8, 2026

The days after coming to Bethlehem…

…journeying as magi back into the world.

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“So Joseph got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt. They stayed there until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.‘” (Matthew 2.14-15)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

While it is true that Joseph and his family were not magi, they were indeed wise and trusting of the word of God. Trusting in God was their only option and only solution. That does not mean that other options weren’t considered for the rest of their lives. It does mean that true wisdom scans the horizon for possible ways to live and then turns to God to ask “Where do I (or we) go from here?” It is not an admission of guilt or ignorance nor of having a weak character. It isn’t about being wishy-washy, non-committal or just lazy. It is about making decisions between a day-to-day focus that calls for survival instincts to kick in and short-term goals to be the highlight of the days and true fulfillment for all your days. Only God can see beyond the horizon, around the corner, past the forest which cannot be seen for the trees. That is because in his nature of love is the fulfillment of faith. It is by faith that God is able to navigate the many detours in our lives and show us “the way, the truth and the life.” And while He gives us free will and free choice, He never loses touch with us. He is always with us. He manifests Himself in our presence and calls it “Immanuel.” God was always Immanuel, God with us, even when we decided to do our own thing and go our own way. God is always Immanuel, God with us, when the challenges of this world seem to block our forward progress and our mental, literal and spiritual GPS(s) appear to be dysfunctional leaving us at the mercy of the world around us. God will always be Immanuel, God with us, because it is His promise to never leave us nor forsake us. He will be with us and us with Him as we get better and better at “walking by faith and not by sight.” That means regardless of where we were intending to go, where we ended up being along the way and when we have no idea where to go from wherever we are, God not only knows the way but is still willing to extend His mercy and grace and point out the way. God’s sincere desire is that everyone will end up in the same place. Yes, even when God knows that it will not be everyone, God will not fail to be God and still put the path before us so that we CAN get back on track. How many have wandered far off the beaten path believing that dancing to the beat of a different drummer will lead them to the ultimate goal? They are like the biblical “sheep without a shepherd.” And yet, God in His infinite wisdom (and faith) has given to us a Great Shepherd who not only knows the way, the truth and the life but is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

So, having been warned in a dream to leave Bethlehem both parties, the Magi from distant lands and Joseph’s family, obey God’s directive. The Magi head back into their world bearing the news of affirmation and confirmation of God’s revelation and intention that the people of the earth become the people of God. They were the evangelistic groundbreakers preparing the way of the Lord, making a straight path by which to follow Him, in distant lands long before John the Baptizer would do so in Jerusalem and in the Wilderness beyond the Jordan. Joseph’s family head out on the Desert Road which lead to Egypt, probably to Alexandria. It was a return to “The Land of Sojourn” where there ancestors lived for 400 years as servants to Pharaoh having trusted the word of Pharaoh to Joseph for protection and prosperity. It was a word that would only last so long as Joseph would live and be remembered by Pharaoh. The day came when that no longer happened and the prosperity granted by Pharaoh and fostered by God’s promise which built a great community of “the people of God” became a burden both to Egypt and those who would be considered slaves and exiles. But, God had a way for them. It would come out of the wilderness, down a wilderness road bearing a staff, a shepherd’s staff, and his family to confront Pharaoh with the word of God, “Let My people go.” God, Immanuel, had not forgotten Joseph, nor Jacob, nor Isaac, nor Abraham. For the Magi and Joseph’s family, it was time to bring God’s people back to being the people of God. The Magi returned to the land of Abraham in the Ur of the Chaldees and along the Fertile Crescent road. Joseph’s family would go to Egypt until the time came for the word to be spoken “Let My people go.”

Read tomorrow as we consider the road most have taken!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.