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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, and thank you for listening to your

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Speaker 1: Daily Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each

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Speaker 1: day to learn more about God and his will for us.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jessica Fenrokel, and after the short word

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Speaker 1: from our sponsor, will continue with our Advent series Experiencing

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Speaker 1: Christ This Christmas with Matthew chapter two, verse eleven. Today's

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Speaker 1: Bible Verses Matthew chapter two, verse eleven. On coming to

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Speaker 1: the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,

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Speaker 1: and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened

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Speaker 1: their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold Frankincen's

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Speaker 1: and mermin. When I was a little kid, I kept

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Speaker 1: a box tucked under my bed. Inside were my treasures,

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Speaker 1: things really only a child would value. There was a

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Speaker 1: rock that I was convinced was valuable and rare. There

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Speaker 1: was a friendship bracelet from a sleepover, and a letter

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Speaker 1: from my grandma. None of it was worth anything, but

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Speaker 1: to me, every piece held a precious memory. It was

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Speaker 1: my way of saying, these things matter, They're important. Advent

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Speaker 1: has a way of revealing we still carry treasure boxes

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Speaker 1: even as adults. Ours look a little bit different. Now

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Speaker 1: there are plans, our time, our routines, our comfort, and

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Speaker 1: our dreams. These are the things we guard and label important.

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Speaker 1: We tuck them away, hoping nothing ruffles them. When the

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Speaker 1: wise men reached Jesus in Matthew chapter two, verse eleven,

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Speaker 1: they didn't just kneel. They opened their treasure chests. They

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Speaker 1: laid down what was costly, meaningful, and symbolic. Their worship

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Speaker 1: meant letting go and opening what was precious. That's the

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Speaker 1: invitation of Advent, to open our treasure boxes, to invite

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Speaker 1: Jesus not only into the easy parts of our lives,

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Speaker 1: but into the precious and protected ones, to let Christ

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Speaker 1: reorder what matters most. Advent isn't just about waiting for

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Speaker 1: a savior to come. It's about preparing room in our hearts.

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Speaker 1: For the last four weeks, our team is focused their

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Speaker 1: episodes on the relationship God longs to have with us

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Speaker 1: through his son Jesus. At the end of this episode,

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Speaker 1: there will be an opportunity for you to step into

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Speaker 1: a relationship with Jesus. We've explored the Christmas story this

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Speaker 1: Advent season and celebrated with Mary and the Shepherds. Today

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Speaker 1: we turn our eyes to the magi or Wise Men

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Speaker 1: from the East. This large company of scholars who specialized

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Speaker 1: in natural science, medicine, and astrology, arrived in Jerusalem looking

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Speaker 1: for the King of the Jews. They were familiar with

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Speaker 1: a historian from Rome named Setonius, who wrote of the

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Speaker 1: old and established belief that the fates declared a man

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Speaker 1: would come from Judaea to rule the world. It's also

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Speaker 1: possible that these men may have been among the Jews

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Speaker 1: who were exiled from Israel and Judas centuries before. They

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Speaker 1: may have assimilated into the Persian culture and way of life,

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Speaker 1: but still knew about the promised Messiah. We may not

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Speaker 1: know exactly how or why they followed the star, but

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Speaker 1: we do know they arrived in Jerusalem looking to honor

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Speaker 1: the King of the Jews. Jesus is worthy of royal

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Speaker 1: honor from mankind. He came for both the Jews and

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Speaker 1: the Gentiles, to bring all people back to a relationship

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Speaker 1: with God. The Wise Men were not satisfied with just

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Speaker 1: looking at the are. They did something about it and

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Speaker 1: persevered in their search. They did not grow discouraged by

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Speaker 1: doubtful religious leaders. Then, when they arrived in Bethlehem and

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Speaker 1: found Jesus, they entered they did not stay on the

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Speaker 1: outside looking in. They went in and worshiped. Not only

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Speaker 1: did they worship with empty handed adoration, but they gave

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Speaker 1: costly gifts. That gold spoke of royalty, and the frankincense

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Speaker 1: spoke of divinity, and mr spoke of death. These gifts

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Speaker 1: reflect Jesus as fully man and fully God, with one

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Speaker 1: end in mind, death on a cross to make a

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Speaker 1: way for us to be restored to a right relationship

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Speaker 1: with God. In Deuteronomy chapter thirty, verse nineteen, Moses presented

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Speaker 1: the people with two choices. He said, I have set

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Speaker 1: before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose

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Speaker 1: life that you and your children may live. At this

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Speaker 1: point you might be asking, well, Jessica, what do I

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Speaker 1: have to do? And the Bible tells us how to

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Speaker 1: choose life. First, we need to admit our need, for

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Speaker 1: everyone has sinned and fall short of God's glorious standard.

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Speaker 1: Is what Paul says in Book of Romans, chapter three,

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Speaker 1: verse twenty three. So first we admit admit your need. Second,

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Speaker 1: believe in Jesus Christ. Acts sixteen, verse thirty one states

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Speaker 1: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

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Speaker 1: So first admit your need. Second, believe in Jesus Christ. Third,

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Speaker 1: commit yourself to Christ. Romans Chapter ten, Verses nine and

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Speaker 1: ten declare. If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord,

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Speaker 1: and believe in your heart that God raised him from

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Speaker 1: the dead, you will be saved. For it is with

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Speaker 1: your heart that you believe and are justified, and it

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Speaker 1: is with your mouth that you profess your faith and

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Speaker 1: are saved. So first, admit your need. Second, believe in

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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. Third commit yourself. If you want to follow

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Speaker 1: Jesus for the first time, or if you're desiring to

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Speaker 1: recommit your life to him, repeat this prayer after me.

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Speaker 1: Holy God, thank you for making a way for me

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Speaker 1: to know you as Lord and Savior. God. I admit

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Speaker 1: that I am a sinner. I admit that I cannot

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Speaker 1: live right without your help. God. I believe in Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 1: I believe that he is the Son of God and

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Speaker 1: that he is come to restore me to a right

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Speaker 1: relationship with you. God. I commit myself to you. I

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Speaker 1: give you my heart. I choose to live for you.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for this peace, Thank you for this grace.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for your love In Jesus' name Amen. If

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Speaker 1: you responded to today's podcast, please email me at Jessica

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Speaker 1: at Welcomegrace dot com or one of our other hosts

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Speaker 1: so that we can rejoice with you. Then I'm going

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Speaker 1: to encourage you to find a Bible preaching church to

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Speaker 1: attend so you can grow in your faith in Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas