Ministry Leader Pastor Cheyne Day: The Significance of Christmas
Pastor Cheyne Day, who serves as ministry leader to members of the Arkansas Legislature as well as to members of the Oklahoma Legislature, has provided Capitol Ministries’ Christmas Devotional this year. From Pastor Day:
“What is the longest distance you have ever traveled for a Christmas vacation? One of the amazing stories surrounding the celebration of Christmas relates to a group of men who traveled anywhere from 800 to 1,000 miles over desert terrain on the backs of camels. We know them as the Wise Men.
“What would motivate these Wise Men to travel a month’s-long journey of hundreds of miles? According to the text, their purpose was to follow ‘His star’ to lead them to worship ‘the King of the Jews’ (Matthew 2:2). Who was this King? He was the Christ child, the promised Messiah who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), the One worthy of worship.“When the Wise Men arrived, they fell down before the Christ child and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:10-11). Gold reminds us of His royalty (fit for a King), frankincense reminds us of His divinity (used for worship), and myrrh reminds us of His destiny (used for burial).
“There is coming a day when ‘EVERY KNEE WILL BOW’ before Jesus and every tongue will declare that ‘Christ is Lord’ (Philippians 2:10-11). The question is not whether we will bow before Him. The question is whether we will recognize His identity as God’s Son, the true King who offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. His resurrection on the third day served notice that He is worthy of worship as ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’ (Revelation 19:16).
“No matter where or how far our Christmas vacations take us this year, may our hearts follow the path of the Wise Men in leading us to worship Jesus, the Christ child born in Bethlehem. Will you surrender your life and worship Him today?”
Dr. Cheyne Day
Capitol Ministries State Director
Oklahoma and Arkansas
Capitol Ministries State Director
Oklahoma and Arkansas
If you wish to support Pastor Day’s ministry, visit capmin.org/oklahoma or capmin.org/arksansas
If you wish to read or download Ralph Drollinger’s Bible study, “Leading the Family Devotions at Christmas,” visit capmin.org/Bible-studies.