Why were the wise men "wise"?

The definition of wise is possessing inside infor-mation, exercising good judgment, or to be informed about a particular matter.

For me, to be wise means to be able to apply your book knowledge with grace and love to your fellow man. This grace comes from the Lord, and thus wisdom, for me, comes from Him.  The Christmas story (Matthew 2:11) tells us the story of the 3 wise men who traveled to meet the new-born king.  At first blush, this seems innocuous, especially when we have long-forgotten the significance of the gifts. Our pastor's sermon this week reminded me of the significance of these gifts and the import of the prophecy they foretold. I felt compelled to share these ideas with you to deepen your faith and hopefully get you to ask more questions.

The old tales we have been told of the "3 Wise men from the Orient" may not be entirely accurate. Some accounts mention Magi, which could have numbered 12, while the number "3" may refer to the gifts which were rendered to baby Jesus. This link to Wikipedia names three probable Magi- Melchior from Persia or modern-day Iran, Caspar from India and Balthazar from Arabia.  When you look at the current map of the middle east, it is apparent they did not all come from the east nor travel the same distance. Arabia is to the south and quite close to Jerusalem while Caspar traveled the greatest distance coming from India. It doesn't really matter HOW many actually made the journey to see the new savior, at least not in this article, but why they came and what they brought.

Since we can reasonably assume these wise men were from different nationalities, they intuitively knew by the new star in the sky symbolized something significant had just taken place, and individually decided to make this trek to meet this new king. We know they realized the newborn was a king for in biblical times gold was a gift for kings. We also know frankincense was used in preparation by the priests for communing with God for the atonement of sins and myrrh was used in conjunction with the preparation of a body for burial.  Combined, these three gifts are quite prophetic which of course indicates these men were wise indeed; so much so they prophesied the arrival of the King of Kings, the Lamb of God and the Savior all in the same baby, and 33 years hence that prophecy would be fulfilled.

To further illustrate the wisdom, in Matthew 2:, he writes King Herod received these visitors and was quite angered by the proclamation the King of the Jews had been born. Herod was after all, the King of the Jews and of course being a small-minded man could not appreciate what the wise men shared with him. Rather, he was threatened by this proclamation so he calmly asked the men to return to share with him where the baby lay so he too could offer worship and praise.

    Realizing Herod had ulterior motives, the Magi were reticent to tip their hand they were on to him and returned home a different way.  Pastor John made an interesting analogy here: They came before the new born king, received new wisdom and returned home on a different path. Likewise we are born of this world and, when we accept Christ as our savior, we too take a different path to our destination (assuming we become followers rather than just believers).

Word quickly spread later when Herod realized the Magi were not going to return and report to him the first-born sons of all residents in Bethlehem were to be sacrificed, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus fled for Egypt.  There they lived comfortably for several years off the proceeds of the gifts they had received.

Here is another sage piece of insight Pastor John shared: Those who are the furthest from God seek Him the most. People nearby in Bethlehem didn't even bother looking for the baby in a manger yet the wise men traveled a vast distance each to find an answer for themselves. God even announced the birth by sending angels to the shepherds in the fields and the gentiles, the simplest and furthest (spiritually) from Him. John added the lesson of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) in which the son turns his back on his father, family and responsibilities, leaves home, squandering his inheritance before humbly returning home to live as a lowly servant. His father would have none of that and hastened his other son to welcome and honor his brother and his servants to prepare a feast. Angered by his father's not honoring his loyalty, the other son wanted no part of the celebration. His father had to share his wisdom with him by saying "It is right to make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found." (v31)

John goes on to point out the prodigal son, like the the Magi and the many other instances (Lazarus, the sick daughter whom was resurrected, the bleeding woman, the prostitute, Zacchaeus are but a few examples) in the Bible where people take from Jesus first before they can receive.

You must first take before you can receive. 

In other words, before you can have anything to give to God or anyone else, you must first receive from Him for without God, we have nothing. The Magi realized this, sought the new born king, took wisdom from Him and then gave him the gifts of a king, a holy man and a man being prepared for a funeral.

What is Jesus wanting you to take from Him?

Work really IS restful...with the right outlook!

The other day someone asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.  I responded "I would take some time with my family, line up some things I would like to sponsor and donate to and then find an opportunity for me to do what I love to do."

"You would go back to work?" they asked incredulously, so I asked what they would do. "Oh, man, I would buy a car, a new home, vacation anywhere, do nothing," etc., etc., etc.

We've all know people like this. And they are truly living an imbalanced life. Personally, I have noticed I go  stir crazy if I have 3 days off with nothing to do. I get owly and irritable and my family really notices this. I am quite aware because I don't like the way I feel. Why is that? Am I unusual? I know almost everyone says they wouldn't work, and perhaps not doing what they are doing now, but I believe they would in fact find something to do lest they would become quite miserable.

Why is that?  I believe it is abundantly clear God made our bodies and minds to work, not perpetually rest. It has been relatively well-established people are less like to be diagnosed with dementia if they are daily using their brain- reading, doing puzzles, in other words, exercising their minds. Genesis 2:15 reads God put Adam into the Garden of Eden to work it, to work it for God. It was entrusted to man by God so Adam's work of the garden would have been a form of worship.

Then we messed it up and God admonished Adam saying in Genesis 3:17-19 “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 
 

It is clear when you look at these two chapters together in context, the initial premise of work was in fact to be a joyful thing for man and was later subjugated to a chore secondary to our sinful nature. Since God had already designed man with the intent of  having him work the garden it can only mean work is supposed to fulfill a basic need and worship God.

Likewise, most people are familiar with the feeling after a good workout. I am not referring to something like a scene out of Rocky or running a marathon. I am talking about an exercise regimen or physical activity which raises the pulse a little. Our body was designed to release endorphins (Endogenous Morphine) into the bloodstream when it is exerted, or worked. This creates an euphoric sensation causing a great feeling when we are done exercising. Likewise, when we are in the right spirit, we will feel, maybe not euphoric after a day at work, but certainly more fulfilled.

God INTENDED for us to work our bodies to help keep us healthy and balanced. I am unaware of any other machine in the world which actually strengthens when it is used.

Furthermore, we have seen the side-effects of a sedentary lifestyle; today, Americans are by far the fattest and most unhealthy they have been in our history, and are more than likely in the #1 position in the world for obesity. Not something to brag about.

Even God himself "worked" 6 days before resting. Why would we be any different?  Were we not made in His likeness? But there's more to the story.

As a Christian, it is incumbent upon us to work well for our employer as a form of worship for our Father. Think about it for a second- particularly if you work in an job which seems like you are alone: You alone are the light of the Father in that dark place. Executing your job with joy and a sense of fulfillment will exemplify the role God has in mind for us.

We all dream of bigger, better jobs, with more pay, but remember the parable of the talents? Matthew 25:14-30 tells us how a master entrusted three servants with talents. 2 increased their gift while the third kept his hidden. This angered the master and he was no longer trusted with more than he already had. If he could not be trusted with a little more, how could he be trusted with a lot more blessing in his life? It is not by accident I think this is a parable on talents. In other words, the talents God has given you are not to be buried or kept hidden (see my article on the lessons to be learned from Christopher Maloney's audition on X-Factor).

When we realize we are worshiping God with our works by working with joy and passion, we are honoring Him and we should then naturally become less focused on the job and what our tasks are and more focused on worshiping God by being a good employee. This will clear our mind and open our heart to be more at rest.  Look at the three men at the top of this article- which one would you prefer to work with? Which one looks like he is a good employee?  


But there is more to the story: We have all heard of a restless heart. Someone who is impatient and seemingly ready to leave at the drop of a hat for something better. They are constantly on the hunt for the grass on the other side of the fence. I always wondered why this is and I believe it is because they have a restless heart. A heart at rest will find peace and joy in its current surroundings, a restless cannot be at peace. Thus, we see people who job hop, overeat, overspend, overdrink, be overly active, are too plugged into society to find their center and balance themselves.  Wise is the person who realizes this and sets about to make a change.

I made this change myself about a month ago. I stopped listening to my news talk radio and music and started listening to things to make me grow and learn. I can tell you from my personal experience, I am less tired at the end of the day, seem to get more done daily, and have grown more in my faith in the past few weeks than I have in the previous ten years. I felt I was in a good walk but now realize I was but a toddler stumbling along my path and now realize how much more there is for me to know and grow.

Put this to action in your life:

1. Find some time in the day to UNPLUG!  Turn off the phone, the social media, radio, tv. Be quiet, and reflect on who you are, what you have been given and whom you might be able to help. But start with yourself! Starting your day by watching the news is a great way to start looking at the world through a prism of negativity so refrain from watching/reading news.
2. Spend time listening to things that will improve you during your commute or during your lunch.
3. Start finding miracles in the small things in your life and be thankful for them, as trivial as they may seem. 
4. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, be thankful for the job you have now. Realize your boss may not be the greatest in the world, but they too are human, have ambitions and fears and could benefit from an employee like you, worshiping God by being the best employee they have ever had!

The miracle of the United States intro

Being an historian, I have had an opportunity to enjoy the many stories of the remarkable adventure that became the United States.

Tracing our history back to the Pilgrims and their improbability for success, I marveled at what is obviously something God was directly involved in. When you consider the various turns of events in our history, I am more and more convinced we were (as a nation) of Intelligent Design, and having been in medical sales for over a decade, having been exposed to the miracle of the human body, that we (as humans) are of Intelligent Design as well. 

Through subsequent entries of this blog, I will offer some of the more illustrative examples in which we not only succeeded against overwhelming odds, but flourished in less than 200 years.

Previously, the only people capable of such feats were conquering armies like the Romans, Greeks, Mongols, French, and many others throughout history. Powerful army-nations who conquered less powerful people and vanquished them to servitude and exploited the spoils of war.

While some would argue we did the same (especially with regards to the native Americans), the main difference here is we did not venture north to Canada nor to the south into central or south America which would be an appropriate example when compared to the aforementioned conquerors.

Furthermore, much of this great nation was taken from other nations in conflict, eg., Mexico, or outright purchased from others like France and Russia. No matter how you look at it, for a country to rise from the ground with literally nothing going for it but the desire to be free, and no guarantees except a very real possibility of dying, our founders braved difficulties, dangers, risks and fears you and I cannot begin to appreciate.

Consider the Pilgrims. Who were they? Were they the wealthy, aristocracy of Europe? Were they people of influence and means? No. They were very nearly the bottom of the barrel of society- perhaps one step above a prisoner or a slave.

They were not successful in part because they were religious outcasts, otherwise, they would not have had a need to leave and expose themselves to such risks and unknown variables. Yet, for all their shortcomings, these people established colonies in the wilderness of the eastern U.S., and set the groundwork for something truly remarkable- a nation unlike any the world had or ever will see; a nation of free men, and one that emerged as a superpower, and a powerful economical force as well.

That is not to say we have not made mistakes- we have. Many of which we continue to make (ostensibly for the greater good) today; Allowing judges to legislate from the bench, allowing the vocal minority to undermine the fabric of our nation by removing God from our schools and teaching revisionist history, allowing our taxes to be spent wantonly with little or no accountability, backing illicit governments, and unfortunately, repeating some of the same mistakes over and over.

Nevertheless, we tend to come out on top for a variety of reasons. The media call it ingenuity, military or economic might, what have you. Make no mistake about it- when adding them all together, it can be nothing short of Divine Intervention.

The Miracle of the United States Part one: Pearl Harbor

Few images are as recognizable or stir deeper emotions more than those of the Arizona sunken and burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. Not many people would say the attack was a miracle or an act of God, but I submit to you, God was in fact working that day.

We were on a collision course with war; one we very much wanted to avoid after our recent experiences with WW1, but the clouds of war gathered over Europe and in Asia. Conflict was imminent and the American people, like those in Continental Europe, chose to ignore the warning signs and hope for the best.

Our embargo of Japans' oil supply is what had pushed us to the brink of war with the tiny nation. We were fully justified in placing this embargo considering:

1.) Japan's refusal to follow the Washington treaty limiting warships to a maximum tonnage of 35,000 tons.

2.) The manufactured international incident in Manchuria and their subsequent rape of the land. Oil and rubber were at a premium for the Japanese war machine and if they could not get us to loosen sanctions through diplomatic channels, they had but two choices: Scrap the mammoth battleships they were building which violated the treaty, or, they would go to war. Historical perspective of course gives us the benefit knowing which path they would choose.

It is also worth mentioning the Japanese cunning went so far as to attempt to enlist the help of Mexico with the promise of returning Texas to Mexico once they were victorious. But their plan, while audacious and bold, was executed with flair for not fully exploiting their success which would be a common theme of the Japanese military campaigns in the coming years.

The first miracle was that Admiral Chester Nimitz was, though being several years junior to other ranking naval Admirals, chosen to be the CINCPACFLT. Realizing there to be a rising storm in the west, he declined the position thus putting Husband Kimmel in the hot seat and forever dooming him to be the scapegoat of all scapegoats. This put Nimitz in the commander's chair 10 days later. A man with such strategic insight and nerve was exactly what we needed at that moment.

Second, thankfully military people are typically not terribly out of the box thinkers. As such, the battleships were still highly regarded as the capital ships. This is why they were all arranged quite neatly in rows on the morning of the attack. Aircraft carriers were largely viewed as a distraction and subservient to the battleships (BB's).  Thinking at the time essentially held the aircraft would be more valuable as scouts and spotters not as a prime arm of attack.  This is also the primary reason our aviators were so sorely outclassed with their under-performing a/c while the Japanese enjoyed many advantages in the air.  This is all miraculous for if they truly appreciated the quantum change in naval warfare, the naval leadership would not have sent the 3 American aircraft carriers to sea by themselves to ferry plane to American outposts.

Third, the Japanese failed to strike the oil tank farms (see below, in the bottom right of the image annotated "Oil Storage") immediately east of Battleship Row. These would have been plainly visible and clearly defined during the attack. In fact, many planes flew over them during their ingress/egress to their targets, or as they swooped in on Hickam Field to the south. This farm constitutes the oil reserve for the Pacific fleet. Just a couple of bombs would have set them afire, also threatening CINCPAC HQ which was within shouting distance. Without these reserves, refueling would have had to have been done on the West coast of the U.S.,  requiring many oil tankers and at sea refueling. This would have effectively ended our ability to check the Japanese advances in the Pacific at Coral Sea and later at Midway. So at a minimum, their failure to at least damage these reserves was a grave and costly strategic mistake.

Fourth, the fact the harbor was indeed so shallow made it easier to resurrect some of these damaged ships, returning them to see action against these foes, exacting some means of retribution and revenge.

Lastly, and I feel most important, they failed to secure the islands. Things would have turned out much differently had this occurred. This possibility was raised to my attention by their having not attacked the tank farms mentioned above. The very reason they attacked was for an oil shortage.

While we will probably never know exactly what the Japanese intended or why they failed to exploit their success, one fact is absolute; the outcome of WWII would have been far less certain had they continued the attack on the islands. They had won a great victory over the U.S. Navy, but because they had lost many more aircraft in the second attack, Japanese leadership thought it best to retire rather than press a third attack.

But what if the Japanese fleet had continued to advance on Pearl Harbor and the capital ships then started shelling the installation and surviving U.S. vessels? They wouldn't have had to be too terribly close to do so.

Most likely, their overly-conservative stance coupled with a fear of being discovered by aircraft from land or the elusive American carriers. Surely though, they knew our few remaining P-40 and F4F fighters were no match for the A6M Zero in the hands of accomplished combat pilots. So why? Why did they leave such a valuable strategic asset so close, yet so far away? Could it have been the threat of submarines patrolling? Surely they too could have been hunted down and dispatched.

Perhaps they felt they would be finding oil in the Australia/Western Pacific approaches, in SE Asia or within a few months following a successful campaign against Midway Island they would be returning to Hawaii. Had they brought an occupation force with them, they secure Oahu within a few days, replenish their fleet, finish off our remaining ships and find those carriers of ours before cruising the west coast with impunity.

To compound the question is also Admiral Yamomoto's reluctance to attack the U.S. in the first place. He had studied in America for some time before the war, and was awed by the industrial might of the United States. He warned his superiors such an attack was unwise, and if they followed through with the attack, they would have approximately 6 months of impunity before America would respond. In fact, after the attack he was quoted as saying "I fear we have only awakened a sleeping giant."

His foresight was eerily prescient. Almost to the day 6 months later, despite numerical advantages in every category, the Japanese would be handed one of the most catastrophic losses of any naval battle in history at a little known atoll named Midway- the site of another miracle in the history of the United States.