Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. I'm James Banks, and I titled our reading, The Christmas Star.

If you find that star, you can always find your way home. Those were my father's words when he taught me how to locate the North Star as a child.

Dad had served in the armed forces during wartime,

and there were moments when his life depended on being able to navigate by the night sky.

So he made sure I knew the names and locations of several constellations,

but it was being able to find Polaris

that mattered most of all. Knowing that star's location meant I could gain a sense of direction

wherever I was, and find where I was supposed to be. Scripture tells of another star of vital

importance.

Magi from the East, learned men from an area encompassed by Iran and Iraq today,

had been watching for signs in the sky of the birth of the one who was to be God's king for his people.

They came to Jerusalem asking,

Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

Astronomers don't know what caused the star of Bethlehem to appear,

but the Bible reveals that God created it to point the world to Jesus,

the bright morning star.

Christ came to save us from our sins and guide us back to God.

Follow him, and you'll find your way home.

Today's our daily bread devotional scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 to 5, and 7 to 12.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,

Where is the one who has been born

King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this,

...