Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9: 6 (NKJV)

“And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.”         
Matthew 2: 9-11 (ESV)

So, now what? 

Here we are rounding out of Thanksgiving, heading toward the end of the 2023 calendar year. A year which seems to have passed at a blistering pace.

And all around us, still—personally, and beyond to the ends of the world, questions lie unresolved.   

Issues, problems, concerns, disagreements and worse, linger, fester, and seem to grow everywhere.  

So, now what? Uncertainty reigns. So, then, to what, and where can we look.

The answer is clear and has been with us for over two-thousand years. 

And the answer is in that one last celebration before us as we close out 2023 together. 

The celebration, once again reminding us of the Hope always there for our lives and the world everywhere around us.

The Hope which came in the magnificent birth of the Babe of Bethlehem. 

The Son of God. The Savior of the world.

Christ—there to lead us to the answers we seek, the joy and peace for our lives and for the world. 

Answers we will begin to find when we do what the wise men did, as we read in the passage in Matthew above, as they followed the star and “saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.”

Just as these words of the song “Let Us Be” written by Mike Hurst and Jason Dyba lay before us—

“The heavens rang with praise the night that You were born.
A longing world beheld the Savior come.
You live to bring us peace, You died to make us free,
That we would live to show eternal love.
Because You came, our hearts will proclaim—
Let us be joy to the world. Let us be peace on the earth.
That all would sing, “Come, let us adore Him.”
Let us be wonders of—Heavenly grace, hope and love,
That all would sing, “Come, let us adore Him.”
O Come let us adore Him.”

There it is. The only answer to the question—now what? 

When, like those wise men, we fall down and worship Christ. Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

When we set our hearts each day on the One who then calls each of us to also be joy to the world, and peace on the earth. 

When we live each moment of every day remembering the answer to whatever will be found when we embrace and follow Christ, and live out and sing the words—

“O Come let us adore Him!”

In His Name–Scott

Be inspired, encouraged, and challenged by the song “Let Us Be” performed by the wonderful California Baptist University choir and orchestra.