Thursday, January 6, 2011
Epiphany Day
Matthew 2:1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in 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 in the east and have come to worship him."
DRAW US TO YOU, LORD: FOR ONLY YOU ARE ABLE
Have you ever wanted to know what God is thinking? How does the Father in heaven feel about you? If you want to know what God is thinking you can find out, but you must be close to Jesus. You must hear His communication to you. You must be in touch with His words and come to know them well. Then you will know the Father.
There is, however, this reality: We cannot bring ourselves to Christ. We cannot on our own decide to listen to Him. Instead, God must draw us to Himself. He must baptize us into His name. He must show us the Savior's words and persuade our hearts to accept them in faith. It is by God's power and God's power alone that we are brought to our Savior.
The lesson for Epiphany can help illustrate this for us. Look at the actions of King Herod. They reveal the natural human thought process when it comes to Christ. Herod pretended to the wise men that he wanted to worship Jesus, but we know that in his heart he had no intention of kneeling before the Child. He was concerned with one thing and one thing only: keeping his own power as ruler in Judea. He had no desire to move even one step toward the Lord.
Now look at the wise men in contrast to Herod. They came to Jerusalem and went on further to Bethlehem with great joy and with tremendous excitement. Through the words of the prophets they knew of the Savior. When they saw the star, they knew the King had been born. The Father was active in drawing their hearts and their feet to His Son. The wise men would not even have begun to saddle their camels without divine intervention.
With might of ours, nothing can be done. But God's might has led us to the Lord Jesus Christ -- led us to trust in Him as the One who died for our sins on the cross. He has led us without any merit or worthiness on our part. What a magnificent blessing!
