(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)

Worship

By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.

Thanksgiving

Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)

Scripture Reading

Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!

Scripture Reading: Matthew Ch. 2 (ESV)

Meditation

Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.

Devotional

Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)

(Mt. 2:1-23) The first chapter of Matthew portrayed an ending scene of harmony and serenity. The proceeding chapter two, however, began with diffusion of the evil smell and its prevailing scheme to kill Jesus – the one who “will save his people from their sin!” While it has been God’s will to bring the blessings of salvation to all mankind through Jesus, the people of the world were definitely not friendly to him, the true king. From King Herod to the governor Pilate, had any representative of those evil forces been able to stop God’s plan? NO!

According to the Scripture, God’s sovereignty was demonstrated by sending His messengers multiple times to protect Jesus in the first place:

• The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod;
• An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, directing Joseph to take the child and the child’s mother and flee to Egypt:
• Until after the death of Herod, Joseph and his family were led (by an angel) to return back to Nazareth.

Jesus is the Christ and only He is “The Way” to fulfill God’s plan for salvation. No one can change this plan. And even those with power and authority have not been able to stop God’s plan.

In this chapter, note that the religious leaders of the time, the chief priests and scribes of the people (Mt. 2:4), told King Herod about the place where Christ was to be born precisely by referencing the prophecies in the Old Testament (Mic. 5:2). These leaders, however, were unresponsive to this new born king and that was just absurd! It was not the religious leaders but a group of wise men from the East who prepared gifts – gold, frankinscense and myrth, and carried them in treasure boxes as their offerings to Jesus.

Will you make the same ridiculous mistake? Do you understand, interpret, and preach many of the truths that God has revealed in the Bible, but somehow behave indifferently to Jesus and have no appreciation nor honoring Him in your heart? Have you been keeping the knowledge of God’s teaching inside of our brains, but have never put into real action ourselves?

Pray

Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)