"We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

We will be visiting our kids and grand kids in New Mexico for Christmas.  Where they live is known as the High Plains Desert; the elevation is 4,000 ft. and it is miles and miles of farmland and dairies.  There is very little urban development there so the night skies are blanketed with thousands and thousands of bright stars.  It is something I don't often get to see where I live because of all the light pollution.  The artificial light and glow produced in heavily populated areas in California interferes with the natural light of the stars, making the display of the night skies difficult to observe.  So when I am out on the vast plains of New Mexico I make sure to go out in the deep of the night to look up.

The psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge."

When I spend time gazing at the night skies filled with the "work of His hands", I am reminded of the vastness of God and how small I am.  It moves me to worship.  I wonder if the Magi felt something similar when they saw His star in the East.  Little is known of them from scripture but they are thought to have been a sect of wealthy pagan priests from the area of Babylon who searched out the mysteries of the Universe through astronomy and astrology.  Perhaps they too "heard" the heavens pouring forth speech, declaring the glory of God.  Matthew tells us they saw His star and came to worship Him.

Searching and pondering the wonders of the night skies and the magnificence of God moves us to worship Him too.  The majesty of His Creation compels us to pause in wonder, to stare in awe and fascination, and to drop to our knees in praise.  But just as the artificial light produced by large city areas diminishes the heavenly lights above us today, so too does the artificial light that exists in the fast-paced world in which we live.  There seems little opportunity in the busyness of the "information age" to search and to ponder.  The artificial light produced by our culture gradually seeps into our lives and diminishes our ability to see the True Light of the World, our Savior Jesus.

The very One whose hands stretched out the heavens and marshaled the starry host at Creation came to us as a little baby born in a stable thousands of years ago.  Not many noticed.  Perhaps they too were busy, living in the artificial light of their time. But some noticed...because they were looking.  The Magi searched, saw, came, worshipped.

May we also take time to search...to ponder...and then to worship the One who is worthy of all our praise.

The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom. Proverbs 9:10

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'...God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  (Genesis 3:1-7)

Such a familiar story, that cataclysmic event in the Garden.  The Lord God had made all kinds of trees to grow out of the ground.  They were all good for food; they were all pleasing to the eye.  But this morning I'm struck by the phrase that Eve saw the fruit on this one forbidden tree was "desirable for gaining wisdom", so she ate.

Wisdom...The fear of the Lord is it's beginning.

Scripture tells us that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".  In the original language of the Old Testament "fear" carries with it a sense of respect and reverence; for God's people it usually is viewed as a positive quality.  It is something that moves us to be in awe of Him.  It is spine-tingling, as when you come over a mountain and see an amazing vista of creation lying before you.  It's when you come out of your house in the morning, busy to take on the day; you pause and look up at the colors of the sunrise strewn across the skies.  It captures you and takes your breath away and you praise God.  

Wisdom...The fear of the Lord is it's beginning.

We don't know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden.  We do know it was long enough for them to work the ground and care for it.  To name all the animals.  And to be in the very presence of the One who created it all.  I wonder.  When you see that amazing vista of creation before you when you are in the mountains...when you see the unexpected beauty of the sunrise across the skies...do you ever wonder what it looked like before the Fall?  Because that is what Adam and Eve experienced every day in the Garden.  Everything should have inspired awe in them.  Everything should have inspired the "fear" of the Lord.

Did Eve - amidst all the treasures and beauty of the Garden, walking with the Lord in the cool of the day - lose her sense of awe, her fear of the Lord?

Had she grown so familiar with God and all His glorious provision that she was no longer amazed?  No longer enchanted?  Did the glory of God grow dim to her because of familiarity?  Did she just "presume" that He would always be there, always provide?

Did she not know that the fear of the Lord - the awe, the reverence and respect producing a desire to obey - would provide the wisdom she so dearly craved?

So it is with me.  I am Eve.  I find myself sometimes taking the Lord for granted; presuming on His goodness and grace; expecting from Him just because.  I find myself in a dry place again, desiring other things like Eve.  And I realize that perhaps I have lost the "fear" of the Lord.  And I pray from the deep desire of my heart,

"Oh Lord, captivate me again with Your goodness; may Your word and Your works amaze me and enchant me.  Give me a heart for wisdom - Your wisdom.  For I know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  May I never lose the wonder."