Advent's Wise Gifts Day 17

A star rises, a city shakes, and a few travelers choose joy over fear. We open Matthew 2:1–12 and trace the Magi’s long road to a small house in Bethlehem, where worship changes everything. Along the way, we sit with the tension between Herod’s grasping power and the quiet courage of those who follow a light they don’t fully understand yet.

We read the passage in full, then unpack the details that matter for a modern heart: how guidance often comes step by step, why information without surrender can harden us, and what it means to offer our best as worship instead of leverage. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh move from holiday trivia to a living pattern—honor the true King, draw near in prayer, and embrace a love strong enough to face suffering. The Magi’s final choice to return by another route becomes our invitation to live differently after encountering Jesus.

This Advent reflection is slow on purpose—space to breathe, listen, and renew your focus on hope that has come and hope that’s coming again. If your week feels crowded, let this reading simplify your next step: look for the light, bow where you find it, and take the wiser road home. We’d love to walk this journey with you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs encouragement today, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show.

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Chapters

• 1:17 Welcome And Advent Focus
• 1:54 Day 17 Begins
• 2:31 Reading Matthew 2:1–12
• 4:19 Closing Encouragement And Announcements
• 5:25 Urgent Call And Resources

Transcript

unknown: 0:52

Are you ready to go?

SPEAKER_00: 0:56

Hey, welcome to Renewed Mindsets. I'm Rick, and I'm so glad you're here. Now, this is something special. For the next 25 days, we're gonna slow down, we're gonna quiet our hearts, and we're gonna turn our eyes towards Jesus as we walk through Advent together. Now, every day we'll take a few minutes to breathe and reflect and remember the hope that came into the world and the hope that's coming again. Hey, welcome back to Renewed Mindsets for our Advent Bible reading. We're on day 17, and I am so excited today. Now that I finally have my voice back, I also have Ashton back. Yay! Hey Ashton is feeling a little under the weather, but I she missed doing yesterday's reading, which would have been perfect for her. So we're gonna give her the second best one, which is this one. And um, and I could just rattle on for hours, but I'm gonna let her take it.

SPEAKER_01: 2:06

Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12 of the New Living Translation, visitors from the East. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod. About that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him. King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, Where is the Messiah supposed to be born? In Bethlehem, in Judea, they said, for this is what the prophet wrote. And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you, who will be the shepherd for my people Israel. Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child, and when you find him, come back and tell me, so that I can go and worship him too. After this interview, the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chest and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

SPEAKER_00: 3:54

I knew you'd be perfect for this reading.

SPEAKER_01: 3:56

Why is that?

SPEAKER_00: 3:58

Because you've got the voice. You've got the voice. Sorry. I can't believe I just sang. All right. Tomorrow we got some more. Day 18. And uh I love you. Appreciate you being with us.

SPEAKER_01: 4:16

Bye, guys.

SPEAKER_00: 4:22

All right. Thanks for joining me today on Renewed Mindsets. As we walk through Advent, let's stay expectant. Let's stay watching, praying, and keeping our hearts ready for the one who came and the one who's coming again soon. I love you. Let's keep our minds renewed and our eyes on Jesus. The executive producer of Renewed Mindsets is Christy McCurry. That's all for today, but I'll be back with more unfiltered biblical truth and undeniable prophecy. The time to wake up is now. If today's episode challenged you, don't keep it to yourself. Tell someone, please. Text them a link. Share the truth while there's still time. Visit renewedmindsets.com to stay connected and to listen to past episodes. And check out our merch at renewedmindsets.store. Jesus is coming soon. Stay watchful. Stay holy. Stay renewed. Until next week. I'm Rick. Be an encourager, not a discourager. I love you. See ya. The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are You Ready by Floodgate. From the album Are You Ready? Copyright 2002 Offbeat Ministries Incorporated. Floodgate can be found on Apple Music and iTunes. Music used with permission.