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God Protects Us No Matter What

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(Matthew 2:14-15)

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

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Christmas is a day when Jesus, our God, came to this world to save us.

But King Herod, who was ruling during that time, did not think that Jesus came to save us.

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One day, King Herod heard some very surprising news.

The Magi from the East told King Herod that a new King was born.

Herod thought that the new born King would take away his place.

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So he said to the Magi.

"Go to Bethlehem and search for the new born King. After you worship him, come back to me and tell me where the new King is. I will also go and worship him."

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But if the Magi from the East returned and told him where the new king was, King Herod was going to send his soldiers to kill the baby. So King Herod was waiting for the Magi to return.

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The Magi were able to find Jesus and worship him.

They even brought gifts and offered them to Jesus.
They were so happy.

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That night, as the Magi were sleeping peacefully, they had a strange dream.

In their dream, an angel of God appeared and ordered them by saying,
"Do not return back to Herod."

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The next morning, the Magi did not return to Herod.

They listened to God's words and went back to their country by a different direction. The Magi showed faith in obeying God's words than that of King Herod's.

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On the other side, King Herod was eagerly waiting for the Magi.

King Herod was ready to send soldiers to kill the new born King so he eagerly waited for the Magi to come back.

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But when the Magi had not returned after a long time King Herod could not wait anymore. He counted the time told by the Magi. Then, he gave a very terrible order to the soldiers.

"Go to Bethlehem and kill all the boy babies that are under 2 years old."

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That night, God appeared in Joseph's dream and said,

"Wake up! Bring the baby and the mother to Egypt. Herod is trying to kill the baby so don't come back until I tell you and stay in Egypt."

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At midnight, Joseph, Mary and Jesus began on their way to Egypt.

They followed God's words and went to Egypt. If God had not told them, Jesus might have been killed by the soldiers of King Herod.

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Soon after Jesus left Bethlehem, the soldiers of Herod came.

They went house to house and killed all of the boy babies that were under the age of 2. Bethlehem became filled with the sad mourning of the mothers who had lost their children.

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King Herod did this evil thing because he thought his place might be taken away. Just like this, if people's hearts are filled with greed, they can commit such terrible sins. So we should take control of the greed inside of our hearts.

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God protected Jesus from this evil plan of King Herod. With the protection of God, Jesus safely arrived at Egypt. Then, God protected Jesus to stay in that place well. Jesus lived in that place until King Herod's death.

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Even today, God is protecting us, the children of God, from many unexpected difficulties. Satan is always trying to make many plans to do evil things to us but God stops those plans and protects us safely. Until now, God has led us and has protected us. So we should not be afraid of Satan. Believe in Jesus and be faithful to bravely win over this world.