So they came to see the new born King...travelling from the city to west of Penong....stopping off at Ceduna to see if the local leader could point them in the right direction.  But the local leader was busy building her own kingdom, her way and was threatened by the thought of another way, another one being born and all her work counting for nothing in the scheme of things.

Who were these seekers?

Many people travel through this part of the country - some head east, others head west - looking for new beginnings, hope, life.  Trying to find the next part of the plan - the plan for the abundant life.  They stop over and find a free bed, some free food, maybe a tank of fuel if they are lucky, before negotiating with Centrelink for an advance or a loan, to see them through in their search for the dream, their dream.

But these seekers were not like that.
They weren't seeking a better life for themselves.
They weren't looking for a food voucher, or a night at A1 cabins or a tank of fuel.
They weren't just passing through.
They weren't taking a holiday.

Yet their trip was just as arduous, fraught with heat, need and discomfort.
They travelled to see and to worship 
the One born to be King...
the One from God...
the One the star guided them to.

2013: 
Can we just join this search?
Can we make God's plan, our plan too?

They went home another way...their lives were different from this encounter.
Maybe our ministry will be different from our encounter with this One this year.
Maybe we will travel a different way too.