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Seeking the Savior: The Wise Men's Example for Modern Life · Arise Women of God

• 0:00
  Are you watching for the signs of Jesus's second coming?
• 0:05
  Sometimes it's easy to see them and sometimes we get so busy in our lives I sometimes think we just forget.
• 0:11
  Well, stay tuned today because we are going to learn some tips from the wise men and what they did as they sought Jesus Christ and found him and see what parallels we can draw for our lives today.
• 0:26
  Welcome to Bible Women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.
• 0:33
  Join us Tuesday morning as the gals from Women warriors of Light and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
• 0:45
  From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments.
• 0:56
  Tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from Scripture which empower women today.
• 1:08
  Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible Women in Bathrobes.
• 1:11
  I'm your host, Tamara K.
• 1:13
  Anderson and joining me today are two amazing women.
• 1:16
  We're welcoming Jen Wright back.
• 1:18
  She's a member of our Women warriors of Light advisory board.
• 1:21
  Thanks for being here, Jen.
• 1:22
  Yeah, of course.
• 1:23
  It's my pleasure.
• 1:25
  Oh, we just love chatting with you.
• 1:27
  And today we have somebody new that we're going to introduce you to.
• 1:31
  So Sandy Falter.
• 1:32
  Sandy, thanks for being here.
• 1:34
  Thank you.
• 1:35
  So excited.
• 1:35
  I've been looking forward to this and.
• 1:38
  I got to tell you a little bit about Sandy just so you have a little bit of background on her.
• 1:41
  So Sandy Falter is the mother of six children and the proud grandma of nine.
• 1:48
  Good for you.
• 1:48
  That's awesome.
• 1:50
  Oh yeah, I hear being Grandma is amazing.
• 1:56
  After experiencing tremendous loss and healing herself, Sandy found her passion and purpose in helping others who have experienced experience, loss from divorce, death or unrealized expectations.
• 2:08
  She believes that God turns all tragedy for our good and she has seen the beauty rise from the ashes in her own life.
• 2:15
  Sandy is a certified grief coach, trainer and speaker.
• 2:19
  You can find more about her on her website and she has amazing resources there.
• 2:23
  If this is something you struggle with @heal.sand to glass coaching.com and you can also find her on social media at sand to Glass Coaching.
• 2:35
  So thanks for being here again, Sandy.
• 2:37
  We're excited to have you on.
• 2:41
  All right guys, today we are talking all about the wise men.
• 2:44
  We've kind of been talking about the voices of the Nativity for the last couple of months and we've talked about everybody from Elizabeth and Zacharias to the last two weeks.
• 2:54
  We've been talking about Simeon and Anna.
• 2:56
  And their witness of the Savior at the temple right after he was born.
• 3:01
  And today we're to the wise men, and we are thinking that this happened around two years after Jesus was born.
• 3:11
  And the reason we think that is is when Herod, in the later verses of Matthew chapter two, kind of was trying to figure out when Jesus was born, he asked them diligently, he inquired, when did this star appear?
• 3:27
  And.
• 3:27
  And ended up killing the children two years and under because of that.
• 3:34
  So this was not immediately after.
• 3:37
  We often portray it as happening like they were there, you know, but if you pause and think, if these people traveled, they know no cars, no planes, no trains, probably camels, you know, or by foot they came.
• 3:51
  So these are people who were diligently looking, diligently seeking, and had a lot of work that they had to do to get to him.
• 3:59
  And so I think those are some parallels we'll probably end up drawing.
• 4:02
  But if you would like to follow along with us, we are going to be in Matthew chapter two today, and we're going to cover verses one through 12 approximately.
• 4:12
  And.
• 4:13
  And we'll just kick it off, and then we'll pause and have some good little conversations.
• 4:17
  Here it says now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews?
• 4:32
  For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.
• 4:37
  And I'm just going to pause right there.
• 4:38
  I know that's only two verses, but these are some powerful things that we can learn just in these two verses.
• 4:46
  And Jen, I'm going to let you kick it off.
• 4:48
  And then we'll go to Sandy and.
• 4:49
  And then we'll keep moving.
• 4:51
  I love that these men are looking, right?
• 4:55
  These men, these women, right?
• 4:56
  They're a caravan.
• 4:57
  So there's people with them that they're looking for a sign.
• 5:01
  And when they see it, they recognize it and they move.
• 5:05
  And so that first initial reaction in faith is to take the next step.
• 5:09
  And their step leads them on this journey, just like our next steps do.
• 5:13
  When we recognize that call or recognize that another direction is in front of us, when we answer that call, we look for those signs, just meaning that next spiritual prompting, that next whisper or.
• 5:28
  Or impression, a step is.
• 5:33
  It can take us everywhere.
• 5:36
  Yeah.
• 5:37
  Love it.
• 5:38
  Sandy, any thoughts on these verses here?
• 5:40
  Well, the first thing is, I love the meaning of Bethlehem means house of bread.
• 5:45
  And the Savior declared him himself as the bread of life.
• 5:49
  And I love all the symbolism.
• 5:51
  We see so much symbolism in the scriptures and so just meaning and where he was born is, is beautiful.
• 5:58
  But what I loved is that the wise men didn't come just for scientific purposes.
• 6:03
  It says they came because they wanted to worship him.
• 6:06
  These were people who were led by God.
• 6:09
  These were people who were seeking the Messiah who had been written about.
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  They had, they were watching, they saw the star.
• 6:17
  And I believe that there was a lot of guidance from God in this process.
• 6:21
  They were coming to worship and of course God would, would lead them.
• 6:25
  And I love their purpose is stated right here in the beginning, why they're coming.
• 6:30
  They're coming to worship.
• 6:32
  I really like what you said about symbolism and that idea of Bethlehem.
• 6:36
  And I think the east is full of that symbolism too in Scripture of like a new beginning and a new start.
• 6:42
  And this is like the best start and the best new beginning.
• 6:45
  So I really like, I like looking for those that, that meaning that is there for us there.
• 6:53
  It's really cool.
• 6:55
  Yeah, I love it.
• 6:56
  I've kind of been pondering this, their story a little bit.
• 7:01
  And I know that the, the, the Bible is the record of the Jewish people and the Israelites in general.
• 7:09
  And I find it interesting that here we have people coming from outside of there to witness Jesus Christ because He's their Messiah too.
• 7:18
  Do you know what I mean?
• 7:19
  And so I almost wish there was an account like, where's the wise men's account?
• 7:25
  Like, can we bring that in here, folks?
• 7:26
  I'd love to read that, you know, but how neat it is that God loves all his children.
• 7:33
  And so he's going to send witnesses from other places to take home and tell their people, we saw him, we saw him and we were witnesses of him, you know.
• 7:47
  And so I think it's just so sweet and tender thing to all of us.
• 7:51
  Whether you feel you're part of God's community or not.
• 7:55
  He sees you and he knows you and he's going to send people to witness to you that he loves you and that Jesus is your Messiah too.
• 8:05
  He's your Savior, he's your Redeemer.
• 8:08
  And I just think that that is so beautiful.
• 8:12
  It's just a witness.
• 8:13
  He loves all his children.
• 8:14
  And the other thing that I was thinking in these verses, you guys, is they followed the star to that point and then they didn't know where to go.
• 8:22
  So where did they go?
• 8:23
  They went to a place where, where a king might live.
• 8:28
  They're like, he's got to be here, right?
• 8:31
  And that wasn't where he was.
• 8:33
  But ironically, I mean, we kind of introduced the bad guy into the story here.
• 8:37
  Herod, you know, hello, super bad guy.
• 8:41
  But God used even a super bad guy to get these people to where they needed to go.
• 8:46
  Do you know what I mean?
• 8:47
  I.
• 8:48
  It's no chance.
• 8:50
  So I find it interesting that God can use all people for his purposes.
• 8:58
  Yeah, I like what you were saying about his invitation, his dispersal of witnesses.
• 9:04
  I think Herod is just an example of a choice.
• 9:07
  Like God's going to let us choose and he sends these witnesses.
• 9:13
  And Herod could have chosen differently.
• 9:16
  Right?
• 9:17
  He didn't.
• 9:18
  He had the same witness that Mary and Joseph are going to get again, this confirmation of who this child is from these outside sources that come and say who he is.
• 9:30
  But I just think it's really sweet who chooses to hear and who doesn't, what you choose with the information that you have.
• 9:39
  Did you want to add anything to that, Sandy?
• 9:42
  Well, a lot of what I'm thinking jumps.
• 9:44
  Jumps ahead.
• 9:46
  You want to read ahead?
• 9:47
  Go ahead.
• 9:51
  I'll let you keep going because I got a lot to say, but it's okay.
• 9:54
  Well, we'll unpack it then.
• 9:55
  I could just see you're kind of like on the edge of your seat.
• 9:58
  Like, I want to say something, too.
• 9:59
  Okay, let's keep moving forward here.
• 10:01
  So it says verse three.
• 10:03
  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
• 10:07
  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded, you can see, this is a ruler right of them where Christ should be born.
• 10:16
  And they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea.
• 10:19
  For thus it is written by the prophet, and thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah art not the least among the princes of Judah.
• 10:28
  For out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel.
• 10:34
  And then we hear here that Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
• 10:41
  So he wasn't looking, you know, he wasn't aware of these prophecies.
• 10:48
  And like you said, I love that John.
• 10:49
  I'd never thought about him being given a chance, being given a choice, and, boy, he failed that test miserably.
• 10:57
  Huh.
• 10:57
  Let's pause right there and thoughts here, Sandy.
• 11:02
  We'll start with you this time.
• 11:04
  Well, I, you know, they're looking for him among the least.
• 11:07
  I love that.
• 11:08
  I love that it specifically talks about Bethlehem, you know, like that's where you're going to find a king and.
• 11:15
  And that was prophesied, right?
• 11:17
  That's, that's part of his story.
• 11:20
  That is so beautiful and that God can do miracles in any place in the world.
• 11:27
  It doesn't, it doesn't matter.
• 11:29
  I, I love that, I love that, that they point this out here and that Herod, I love that, that opportunity for him to choose.
• 11:40
  And I love all this stuff about secrecy.
• 11:43
  He secretly summoned them and he's so evil and, and his heart is so turned that he, it's like he's without feeling.
• 11:52
  In fact, he's so evil, he's considered Herod the Great.
• 11:55
  There were lots of Herods.
• 11:56
  King Herods.
• 11:57
  And then his sons were King Herods and they divided the land and, but he was Herod the Great.
• 12:03
  He even killed his favorite wife and two of his children.
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  Like, he's just horrible.
• 12:08
  They said it was better to be his pig than to be his son.
• 12:11
  Right.
• 12:12
  And, and so his heart is, and I'm sure the wise men could feel that, you know, he's secretly summing them and he's saying, go look carefully, find him and come back and tell me.
• 12:21
  And, and these are wise men.
• 12:24
  These are men who have been filled with God's spirit to, to lead them.
• 12:29
  And I'm sure they could feel it immediately, right?
• 12:32
  His, his intent and all that.
• 12:34
  I, I, I just wonder.
• 12:38
  Well, as we get further on, we'll see their experience when they meet this king and how they approach this king versus how they approach the Savior when they meet him.
• 12:48
  When they come to Jesus, how do they greet him versus when they meet King Herod.
• 12:53
  I think that's very telling.
• 12:55
  Yeah, very good, Jen.
• 12:59
  Like what you said about how they greet him.
• 13:05
  I don't think we, we only get the reaction that the wise men had to Herod by their course of action after.
• 13:13
  And so I really like thinking, like you said, Sandy, taking it that next step, I like to think of later, we're going to talk about how they worship him.
• 13:21
  But what we know is that they're going to follow through on the feelings that they have.
• 13:26
  And so I do like thinking of what happens next.
• 13:30
  And yeah, I think that's a really cool idea.
• 13:36
  Yeah, I love the fulfillment of prophecy in here.
• 13:40
  It's like every single part of the Savior's life and ministry were prophesied of and the circumstances that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, which was the taxing.
• 13:52
  And here, you know, we learn about Herod and his role in his terrible role in all of this.
• 14:02
  But yet he pointed them in the right direction and they got where they needed to go.
• 14:06
  So I think it's also a testimony to this that as we seek the Savior, people will be there to intersect with our lives.
• 14:13
  That will point us in the right direction.
• 14:15
  Now, whether they are good or not so good, they can still be used for God's purposes.
• 14:22
  Right?
• 14:23
  To get us in the right direction.
• 14:24
  If we're truly seeking him, we'll get there.
• 14:27
  We'll get where we need to go.
• 14:30
  And I love that.
• 14:32
  I love that, that promise almost to anyone who is seeking Christ.
• 14:37
  If you seek, you will find.
• 14:39
  Right, let's keep going.
• 14:42
  Verse 8.
• 14:44
  So after he'd inquired, how long ago did this star appear?
• 14:47
  It says in verse 8.
• 14:48
  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the Child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.
• 14:58
  Yeah, no, that's not what he was going to do anyway.
• 15:01
  But verse nine, when they had heard the king, they departed.
• 15:04
  And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was.
• 15:12
  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
• 15:17
  And I'm just going to pause right there.
• 15:18
  And I'm like, how did that even work?
• 15:22
  Can I just ask that question?
• 15:26
  Do you know?
• 15:27
  I'm like, the star went before them.
• 15:29
  I'm like, oh.
• 15:31
  I mean.
• 15:31
  I mean, obviously they.
• 15:32
  They followed the star.
• 15:34
  They knew where generally where he was supposed to be.
• 15:37
  So obviously somehow it led them to where he was.
• 15:41
  And like I said, I don't know how that works, but I know God works miracles.
• 15:46
  And so I think it's neat.
• 15:49
  Jen, you look like you want to say something there.
• 15:51
  No, I just really like what you said.
• 15:52
  As far as I don't know how they got all that way.
• 15:55
  I think sometimes looking back at periods of time of either struggle or what we might recognize as an unfolding miracle in our life, that we can look back and think, oh, my gosh, how did this happen?
• 16:09
  And I think it happens in the same way, which is that you take the next best step and that you follow inspiration and that you respond to the inspiration that's given you, whether that's leaving past people behind, like
• 16:28
  the wise men end up doing right, or changing their circumstance, which they were able to do.
• 16:33
  And I think that they just did it one piece at a time.
• 16:37
  And when they got there, it is easy to think, my gosh, what did that even look like?
• 16:43
  But I think.
• 16:44
  I think when we're in something, it is just that next piece.
• 16:50
  I love that, Sandy.
• 16:53
  Yeah, I, I love that too.
• 16:54
  And I love thinking that as they travel they had the, the star guiding them and then they lost that for a minute.
• 17:00
  And sometimes in our lives, when we go through hard times, we, we feel this, maybe this space of, of darkness.
• 17:06
  But we know that God rules the day and the night.
• 17:09
  Right?
• 17:09
  He never is gone.
• 17:11
  He's.
• 17:11
  He's still there.
• 17:12
  And we have these periods of darkness and then how we rejoice when the sun comes up again in our day of darkness.
• 17:19
  And them to have this rejoicing when the clouds parted again and they saw the star and how beautiful that was.
• 17:27
  But in all of our journeys, it's not just smooth sailing.
• 17:30
  And I love that we see this even in.
• 17:33
  And I can't imagine how long and treacherous their journey was and we only get these little snippets, but we did experience this period of darkness where they, they lost the star.
• 17:45
  They couldn't see the star anymore.
• 17:48
  The clouds had come over and there's purpose in their visit with Herod.
• 17:52
  All of this is part of prophecy and, and all of that.
• 17:55
  But, but in my own life, the reminder that the sun will rise again, that, you know, Christ is the morning star.
• 18:03
  He.
• 18:04
  He is always there for us and he.
• 18:06
  He will always be there for us, even when we can't see him.
• 18:09
  Even that he rules the day and the night.
• 18:13
  Oh my gosh, Sandy.
• 18:15
  I've never thought of this story in that light before.
• 18:17
  That is beautiful.
• 18:19
  But you're right, you're right.
• 18:20
  They, they, it.
• 18:21
  That they do go through that period of losing the star.
• 18:24
  That is fascinating.
• 18:25
  I never thought about that before.
• 18:27
  So, so cool.
• 18:29
  And the symbolism with that darkness, because we do go through periods of darkness.
• 18:36
  Wow.
• 18:37
  And I guess it's just that reminder to keep hope burning in those dark times that the light will appear and morning will come.
• 18:48
  We can see that, you know, in our daily cycle is that no matter how dark midnight is, morning will come.
• 18:56
  And I've had many midnights of my life where just weeping, that weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.
• 19:04
  So hang on through those night times of your life and keep seeking Christ.
• 19:10
  I think that's a beautiful reminder.
• 19:13
  Well, and, and just to add to that, I think, I think it is seeking.
• 19:17
  I think that's part of it.
• 19:20
  Because we can spiral into despair, which doesn't help us.
• 19:23
  Right.
• 19:23
  But if we keep that hope and if we keep seeking.
• 19:26
  In one of my times of darkness, it, I, I was, it was hard and it felt like, this was a really long night and when to happen.
• 19:37
  And as I studied, I was actually studying the creation and I realized that God created both.
• 19:45
  God is the creator of day and night.
• 19:47
  Right.
• 19:48
  And.
• 19:49
  And because he is the creator, he is aware.
• 19:51
  And just this overwhelming peace came to me, that this is.
• 19:55
  This is part of my journey.
• 19:57
  It's part of his plan.
• 19:59
  He will never leave me.
• 20:00
  He's always there.
• 20:01
  But it was in that seeking that I continue to find him and to find his hope that all will be well, that I truly can trust in him and in his plan and.
• 20:13
  And have peace.
• 20:14
  Even in the dark moments, even when I'm sad, I can have peace.
• 20:18
  Even when I am hurting, I can have peace.
• 20:22
  Those can both exist at the same space if we continue to seek and trust and love our God.
• 20:28
  Oh, that is so love what you said about peace.
• 20:32
  And it coexisting outside of other things, that it can coexist, that they.
• 20:39
  It can occupy space can be shared.
• 20:43
  And I like contemplating that about this exceedingly great joy.
• 20:47
  They've been on this long journey, they just have this crazy situation happen with a king, and they can still access that, you know, no matter what's ahead and no matter what's behind.
• 20:56
  I really like that idea of peace being with us and that we are not beyond God's plan in any part of life.
• 21:05
  I really like that, Sandy.
• 21:06
  That's cool.
• 21:08
  Yeah.
• 21:09
  And I think that's one thing that the adversary can't replicate, is that peace.
• 21:13
  I remember several years ago, my husband had to have neck surgery, had to have his neck fused.
• 21:20
  And, you know, the doctor is super blunt and upfront.
• 21:24
  He's like, if I sneeze during the surgery or whatever, you're going to die.
• 21:29
  And, you know, saying goodbye to my husband as he goes into surgery that day, I felt peace.
• 21:36
  But at the same time, I'm like, I don't know what the peace means.
• 21:39
  You know, I'm going into this and just trusting God that you've got me, no matter the outcome of this.
• 21:49
  And I could feel that peace.
• 21:50
  Even though I was anxious, even though I was scared, I could feel the peace.
• 21:54
  And I was like, okay, we know that he's supposed to have this done.
• 21:58
  And oh, my gosh.
• 22:00
  And it did work out that he's still with us, which is awesome, and I'm thankful.
• 22:05
  But it's that assurance.
• 22:08
  Like me praying for my kids to be saved from their autism and healed from it.
• 22:14
  That prayer was not answered the way I wanted.
• 22:16
  Did I feel peace in the midst of it?
• 22:18
  Every once in a while.
• 22:21
  But I did go through a lot of grief.
• 22:24
  There was a lot of dark times there when my kids were younger.
• 22:28
  But I did gain a stronger witness that God would walk with me through that darkness, you know, anyway, let's keep going.
• 22:38
  Let's get to their witness.
• 22:39
  Well, how.
• 22:40
  Why don't we get to verse 11 here?
• 22:41
  It says, and when they were come in into the house with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him.
• 22:50
  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.
• 22:57
  And then we'll just tack on the inverse here.
• 23:00
  And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
• 23:09
  Oh my goodness.
• 23:10
  We've been talking all about how their reaction was so different than their reaction to Herod.
• 23:17
  I think the Spirit must have been there and just, you know how God can sometimes just speak that tremendous, powerful witness to our old.
• 23:25
  I'm.
• 23:25
  I'm guessing that's what happened here.
• 23:27
  Jen, thoughts here and then Sammy?
• 23:31
  Oh, I just always think of Mary and Joseph, who we know are probably very young.
• 23:37
  Right.
• 23:38
  And that come from definitely working class.
• 23:42
  Right.
• 23:43
  Just.
• 23:44
  Just by where they're from and the task that they are so willing to undertake.
• 23:54
  And what a loving God does is make these people show up in their path throughout.
• 24:01
  That gives them the signal that keep going.
• 24:05
  This is it.
• 24:06
  You're right.
• 24:06
  You weren't.
• 24:07
  You don't have to second guess it.
• 24:09
  Right.
• 24:09
  And it begins with the shepherds and Anna and Simeon and they're going to here with the wise men.
• 24:14
  And then it's going to be at the temple when he's younger and then he's going to start talking about it.
• 24:19
  They're just going to hit these points that I always just think God is so good and so kind that there are going to be people that are going to remind us of who we are to him too.
• 24:34
  That's how he works.
• 24:35
  It's how he spreads his love.
• 24:37
  And that we can be wise in that way, just as these wise men were with anyone that we intersect with in our lives.
• 24:46
  Like you were saying, Tamara, that we're spreading the relationship of, or the gospel of a relationship with Christ so that we can come to know a loving heavenly Father who builds into our lives, these people that when we,
• 25:04
  when we have access to them, they can reassure us of our mission or reassure us of whose we are.
• 25:12
  Oh, that's beautiful, Sandy.
• 25:14
  So good.
• 25:15
  I think about how overwhelming it must have been these Are, you know, simple people.
• 25:21
  I'm sure when the shepherds came, they might have felt more comfortable in the presence of shepherds than an entourage.
• 25:28
  We don't know how many wise men came.
• 25:31
  No, we know three gifts were presented, so it's represented as three wise men.
• 25:35
  We don't know how many came.
• 25:37
  We don't know the entourage that came with them.
• 25:39
  Right.
• 25:39
  But to.
• 25:40
  To have them come and their response to seeing the Savior, to falling to their knees and worshiping, how humbling that must have been.
• 25:51
  And as a mother, to.
• 25:53
  To know that they saw in your child what you knew to be true, especially Mary.
• 25:59
  Right?
• 25:59
  This.
• 26:00
  This is like.
• 26:01
  And they know, too.
• 26:02
  They.
• 26:03
  They know.
• 26:03
  And.
• 26:04
  And I'm sure they must have been overcome.
• 26:06
  I.
• 26:07
  They must have been overcome.
• 26:08
  And then they.
• 26:09
  They go and they get their treasures and they want to present these beautiful gifts, which are both practical and symbolic.
• 26:17
  Practical because they have to flee.
• 26:20
  Not.
• 26:21
  No, they don't know they have to flee.
• 26:22
  But now they have to flee.
• 26:23
  And they have gold and.
• 26:25
  And frankincense and myrrh.
• 26:26
  They're all valuable.
• 26:27
  They.
• 26:28
  They're all of great worth.
• 26:30
  And, And I think the timing of that, like, you know, I'm sure they did.
• 26:34
  Didn't have a lot of possessions.
• 26:36
  And I looked at the map.
• 26:38
  That journey was not short.
• 26:40
  Right.
• 26:41
  And so.
• 26:41
  And the wise men's journey was not short.
• 26:43
  And they carried these precious things this whole way to present worthy of a king.
• 26:50
  I love that.
• 26:50
  So I love the symbolism of each of those.
• 26:52
  Gold symbolic of royalty and kingship.
• 26:56
  Frankincense was used for priesthood ordinances and ordaining priests, and myrrh was used for medical purposes, but symbolically for embalming and.
• 27:06
  And burial.
• 27:07
  How beautiful.
• 27:09
  The symbolism, along with God was providing for them in another way.
• 27:15
  Oh, wow.
• 27:16
  I love that.
• 27:18
  Thank you for bringing that to our minds as well.
• 27:21
  That.
• 27:22
  And, and we can kind of pull those parallels in our day that when we are in perhaps dark times, that God sends people that give gifts.
• 27:36
  And sometimes they're not monetary gifts, sometimes they're gifts of time.
• 27:40
  And I don't know about you, but sometimes it's hard to receive gifts.
• 27:47
  You know, you're like, no, I'm good.
• 27:49
  I got it.
• 27:50
  You know, I think our society teaches us that we have to be strong and independent, but God did not make us that way.
• 27:57
  You know, he made us to interact and.
• 28:00
  And connect with each other and love and serve each other, because that's.
• 28:03
  That's.
• 28:04
  That's part of his plan that we.
• 28:06
  That we minister to one another and.
• 28:07
  And serve each other.
• 28:08
  And so I love that they received them the gifts graciously.
• 28:14
  And I think that's a reminder to us, too, that there's going to be times and seasons of our lives when we're giving, and there's going to be times and seasons of our lives, and we need to receive and
• 28:25
  be gracious receivers.
• 28:29
  And having been at that point, at many points in my life, I've learned that the love that I feel towards those who served me in my deepest heartaches was multiplied exceedingly because I was willing to open myself and
• 28:49
  receive those gifts.
• 28:50
  Right.
• 28:52
  Anyway.
• 28:53
  All right, guys, let's wrap it up.
• 28:55
  Jen, you look like you want to say something.
• 28:57
  No, I feel like I was.
• 28:59
  No, I just really love what you said about, like, the power of serving, serving others.
• 29:06
  And I just had this thought that, man, I.
• 29:11
  Sometimes the service that has been symbolic to me the most is just company in what's happening.
• 29:17
  Right?
• 29:18
  It's just being a part of a group, or in the wiseman's case, it would be a caravan, right.
• 29:23
  That we can invite people in the group who can hold space for whatever's happening and that we can accompany them in those times.
• 29:32
  Like you said, Tamara, of where.
• 29:35
  Of wherever they are, whether they can see the star yet or not.
• 29:42
  That was just really powerful.
• 29:44
  I like that idea of.
• 29:46
  Of just reaching out to others.
• 29:48
  Sweet.
• 29:49
  I love it.
• 29:50
  Sandy, takeaway?
• 29:52
  Yeah.
• 29:52
  I think one of my takeaways is in the very, very last verse, and it talks about the wise men went another way and.
• 29:59
  And how when we experience the Savior, does it change me?
• 30:04
  Do, do I turn and go another way?
• 30:06
  Do, do I, do I let it change me?
• 30:11
  That experience of.
• 30:12
  Of being with a Savior.
• 30:13
  I know, it's just a kind of a thing.
• 30:15
  They went the other way.
• 30:16
  They knew they shouldn't go back to Herod, but they had just experienced, they had witnessed, they had been in the presence of Jesus, and.
• 30:28
  And I wonder how that changed them.
• 30:30
  And my encounters with him, as I'm in His word, as I'm serving other people, as I, you know, as I worship all those things, am I.
• 30:41
  Is it causing me to turn and go another way and to.
• 30:44
  And to follow him a little more closely.
• 30:46
  That was one of my takeaways.
• 30:48
  Oh, I love that.
• 30:51
  Gosh, so many good things, you guys.
• 30:55
  I think my biggest takeaway is just kind of, how am I seeking for Jesus?
• 31:01
  Today in church yesterday, one of the guys speaking said something like, if you want to change the course of your life, change the course of your day.
• 31:12
  And so if we want to end up and seek Jesus, then what am I going to do today?
• 31:18
  What am I changing in my daily walk today so that I can end up like these wise men at his feet someday?
• 31:29
  You know, And I think that's a question that we all need to ponder because the answer is going to be different for each of us in our unique circumstances.
• 31:37
  So thank you for joining us today on this episode, and we hope that you can find peace in your journey no matter where you are.
• 31:46
  Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women warriors of Light.
• 31:52
  We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you.
• 31:58
  If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the Word Word.
• 32:03
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• 32:10
  Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings just like you are.
• 32:20
  Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.