The Kingdom of God is like none other. What ruler saves His people with a King born to a teenage girl and a carpenter, in a stable? What baby is first visited by dirty and outcast shepherds? What kind of a toddler has magistrates come and visit Him, to bring birthday gifts that are for the preparation of His death? The answer to all of those questions can be found in this series. In the beautiful, yet strange Upside Down Kingdom of God, each and every individual played an important, and possibly even peculiar role in the grand scheme of things. We hope you enjoy the long awaited Upside Down Kingdom Series!
Because King Herod, the ruler of their day, felt threatened by the birth of a "so-called" Messiah, Mary and Joseph fled to the haven of Egypt for the first few years of Jesus's life. It was right before they moved there, that the wise men came searching for their newborn king. Over the last few years, they had been following an extravagant star in the sky. The star they saw was in accordance with the prophecies, saying that they would be led to the Promised One by following it. So they followed it, and after a while, they arrived where Jesus lay.
Now, even though we still don't know the exact number of wise men who came, we know that three gifts were given to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Gold is given to those of great wealth, royal esteem, or prominence. It was almost as if to say that Jesus was destined to be great and even rule over His people eventually. Now, we serve Him with the title of being the King of Kings!
Frankincense was the scent that would burn in the temple as incense to the Lord. It symbolized the great reverence and respect the Magi, and eventually, all of humanity had (or would have) for Jesus. After all, He was God, just in a flesh-like form.
Myrrh was the oil used to embalm the dead and deceased. Now imagine with me this: It's your second or maybe even third birthday, and all these surprise visitors come to celebrate your birth, and one of the guys pulls up with a gift that prepares for your death! You are a literal toddler, and that's what they get you? I don't know about Mary and Joseph, but I know that I would be shocked to see my child get this as a gift. The myrrh showed that even from the start of it all, God's plan had been laid out. Jesus's death and ultimate conquering had always been a piece of His story, even from the beginning.
God was planning everything out, and He still is doing the same in our lives today! The Hand of God has been, is, and will forever continue to be what guides all that goes on in our lives. After all, just as Jesus did, we also have a role in His upside-down kingdom.
END OF THE YEAR MESSAGE FROM GENELLE:
Dearest Philanthropical Faith Family Members,
We are closer and closer to our official one year anniversary! This means that for the past (almost) year now, The Philanthropical Faith has been here, and is a great testament to the faithfulness of God, and we want to take some time to reflect on that goodness!
From our very first devotional that came from my favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:6-7, to growing to having members and readers all across the globe, and even establishing not just one, but two flourishing social media platforms, we could not be more grateful! God is good! Doing this has been nothing but a labor of love, as I have strived to be intentional in the way I run and manage this devotional, as well as taking the time to deeply study the Word of God, and what I feel Him lay on my heart, and through all of that, He is still good to me!
With this season of old coming to a close, there are incredible and great new things on their way, and I declare over this platform that what is coming for you and me will be greater than the latter, in Jesus' name.
I love you family!
<3 Genelle
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