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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Lessons of Joy....from KING HEROD???



         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It’s never a bad choice to drink in the joy of the Lord!

            This week after Christmas we’ve been looking at the Christmas story from the perspective of gleaning lessons from some of the prominent people involved in the story.  We’ve talked about Mary and Joseph and learned valuable truths from their examples. They are both POSITIVE role models for us.

            Today let’s consider learning from someone about what NOT to do. KING HEROD! (The NIV Life Application Study Bible notes give us insight into his personality.) 

             "King Herod will be remembered as a builder of cities and the lavish rebuilder of the temple in Jerusalem.  But he also destroyed people.  He showed little greatness in either his personal actions or his character.
            Even his title of King, though granted by Rome, was never accepted by the Jewish people.  Because his royal title was not genuine, Herod was constantly worried about losing his position.  His actions when hearing from the Magi about their search for the new king are consistent with all that we know about Herod.  He planned to locate and kill the child before he could become a threat."

            What lessons can we learn from this self-destructive person’s life?

1.      Great power brings neither peace nor security.
2.      No one can prevent God’s plans from being carried out.
3.      Superficial loyalty does not impress people or God.

   As this year comes to close, let’s put behind those things which are not really important and consider what Herod’s example teaches. Only through God can we have real freedom, peace and JOY.

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