The wise men saw a new star in the east, and they knew from the teachings of Daniel that it signified the birth of the King of the Jews. What excitement it must have caused them to travel — so far from Babylon to Jerusalem! They met with Herod as the local head of state, thinking that the newborn would be his son. They continued to Bethlehem, following, following, following the star on its journey to Jesus, the King of all people. It was a new beginning, the dawn of a new era. They realized the significance and worshipped Him. They were believers in hope, all because they followed a star.

In our galaxy, the sun is the star nearest to us. Every single day, it rises in the east at dawn to usher in a new day with new beginnings. No matter how difficult the previous day may have been, dawn brings new hope. Even better hope comes through Jesus, Who is referred to as the sun of righteousness:

Malachi 4:2 – But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. (NIV)

Perhaps leaping like a calf is hard to imagine for some readers who may never have seen calves. Maybe playing like a kitten, or bouncing like a puppy would be easier to identify with, or maybe squealing like children just released from school. Are you smiling at the unbridled excitement and enthusiasm? In any case, imagine the pure joy that believers will feel when Christ returns! Just as the day takes time to unfold, the days of Jesus are taking time to unfold. Two thousand years have passed, and still, we wait for the rising of the sun on yet another new era. We wait for Christ's return. Just as the night is darkest before the dawn, the current times may be bleak, but the new dawn will bring a new day, and Jesus will come again to bring the brightest day ever!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we wait in hope for the dawn of the new era when Christ will return. Only You know when that will be, but we pray for Your help in preparing for that glorious day. Each day, may the rising of the sun remind us of the faith journey of the wise men as we make our own faith journeys. In hope, we pray. Amen.

When I was a young girl, The Sound of Music had just been released to the theatres, and I was invited to join neighbours on an evening outing to watch it. My friends were immigrants from Austria, and the father, Walter, had been raised in the same region that the movie was filmed. We all sat enthralled with the story, the music, and the scenery, and you could have heard a pin drop in the theatre. The closing scenes were of the Von Trapp family hiking over the mountains seeking freedom from the Nazis. Suddenly the spell was broken as Walter jumped to his feet shouting, "You're going the wrong way!" Obviously, the movie makers preferred that scenery as the backdrop, but it was inaccurate, and my friend, being familiar with the area, realized it. He had become so completely drawn in to the movie that he felt the need to warn the Von Trapps before it was too late.

The inaccuracy of the beautiful film reminds me of our attractive world that is now dominated by deceptions, partial knowledge, inaccuracies, and convenience. It is so easy to be drawn in to secular lives that are wrongly influenced by sins that are made to seem so innocuous, rather than godly lives that are guided by the teachings of Christ as written in the Bible. Just as the movie makers used pretty scenery to make a lovely, but inaccurate, movie, the secular world tries to lure us down the wrong paths by offering enticing lifestyles that don't match up with the life that God wants us to live. We need to guard our behaviour carefully so that we aren't leading pretty lives that are false. We all need a "Walter" to guide us and to call us out when we stray off course. Let's not ignore God when He nudges us back. His directions in our guidebook, the Bible, are clear.

Prayer: Thank You for being our leader in life, Lord. It is so easy to stray onto the wrong path, and we need Your guidance daily. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear when You give us direction, and then, grant us the courage to move our feet in the way that You want us to go. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

"Tell me the story of Mama patting the skunk." "What about the time that Digby caught the mouse?" My grandchildren love hearing the stories of my childhood, or that of their parents. As we snuggle down for bedtime stories, they enjoy hearing me read the traditional books, but can't wait for them to end so that they can ask for one from real life. I, too, have wonderful memories of hearing my dad tell stories from his childhood. My mother would groan and say that we've heard that story before, but in the repetition was the love — the love of our father for us — the love of us for our father. I remember his stories, as I hope my grandchildren will remember mine.

The Bible is full of stories from the life of Jesus. They were passed down by His disciples in love — love for Jesus and love for His followers. Jesus as a boy in the temple. Jesus walking on water. Jesus breaking bread at the Last Supper … so many beloved stories. We learn them in Sunday school. We sing about them in church. Hopefully, we pass those stories along to the next generation and the next. They are our family stories, the stories of our family of God.

Jesus was a great storyteller when He wanted to instruct His followers. The parable of the sower, the prodigal son, the lost coin, the fig tree … We hear these stories, learn from them, and remember them. The children were drawn to Jesus, and I suspect that His storytelling ability was part of the reason. I would love to have been one of those children gathered at His knee!

So, tell the stories. Repeat them to your children and grandchildren. Tell them to the kids in your Sunday school class. Sing them out loud as you go about your chores at home. Make them part of your everyday life. Keep the stories of Jesus alive, and in so doing, keep your faith alive and growing.

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear;
Things I would ask Him to tell me if He were here;
Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.
       – William H. Parker

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we hear Your stories and remember them. Use them to teach us what we need to know to live godly lives. Use them to comfort us when we feel lonely in our faith. Help us to pass the stories to others, that they may learn them, too. In the name of Jesus, the greatest storyteller of all, we pray. Amen.

I have read the PresbyCan Daily Devotional for several years now, and like everyone else, some days God uses it to really speak directly to me. Here's just such an example.

I'm an avid gardener. I find weeding particularly meditative. After all, there isn't much thought required to root among plants and pull out the ones that don't belong. One afternoon, this quiet activity was suddenly broken when I unearthed a hive of wasps at the root of the weed that I was pulling out. I was badly stung, but put it down to a natural occurrence.

The following day, while picking raspberries, a hummingbird flew up to my face and twittered as if speaking directly to me. This very unusual action was repeated several times. I was surprised and delighted to see it, but again put it down to a natural occurrence.

It was the following day that everything fell into place as God's message was revealed. I opened my PresbyCan Daily Devotional to find that the title was Hummingbirds And Wasps! Boy! Did I ever read that thoroughly! The text of it referred to the need to read the Bible regularly. I had been neglecting that in my busyness in the garden. God found a way to address my neglect directly and to guide me in the right direction. What a wise and loving Father we have!

God caught my attention in the garden, but there are other times that He calls to us. A friend is on your mind and when you phone, you discover that they really needed a comforting word. Or something tells you to drive one direction instead of another, only to discover later that there was a bad accident where you had originally planned to drive. So many people write these types of things off as a coincidence, but I believe that it is our God directing us. Listen to that small voice in your head — it is often the voice of God!

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
       – C. Austin Miles

Find that joy in listening to the voice of God!

Prayer: Father God, we praise Your creativity and Your sense of humour. We ask that our hearts be opened to the sound of Your voice. Help us to pay attention to what is truly important for our lives and our spiritual growth. We ask this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.