The Home Stretch.

Matthew 2:12-16
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

Have you ever felt uneasy or nervous with the presence of Jesus Christ around you? Herold did. I'll admit that understanding Christ's presence leads to at least some change can be a bit scary.

We have to understand that Jesus expects change out of us as long as he is in our life. Sometimes we don't want to make any changes. At any rate, these changes may mean doing what the world says is wrong or insignificant. Jesus may call for less computer games or spending less time watching football and more time praying and reading the Bible, for example.

These changes will make you as close to perfect as you can get and more importantly, you will be transformed into a Christ-like figure even more so than you are right now. Think of some things Christ is wanting you to change. Do you mind making those changes?

P.S. My devotions are back after having a wonderful Christmas in Tennessee with my sister and family. Now I'm "semi-back to normal" since I'm off from school for another week. I'm already missing everybody up there. Anyways, I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. We're now in the home stretch of 2008 and I'm looking forward to 2009 even though this year has been great!