Christian Life


LWML CNH CHRISTIAN LIFE LINE January 2020 LaVada Terrell – VP, Christian Life

AN EPIPHANY DEVOTION

Based on Matthew 2:1-12

Brightest and best of the stars of the morning, Dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid.

Star of the east, the horizon adorning, Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

Shall we not yield him, in costly devotion,  Fragrance of Edom and off’rings divine,

Gems of the mountain and pearls of the oceans, Myrrh from the forest or gold from the mine?

LW 86; text: Reginald Heber; Tune: James P. Harding, CCLI#648557

The Wise Men had spent many hours in study and research before they set out on their long journey. They came from a distant land and traveled a difficult, dangerous way in order to find the King whose star they had seen in the East. So may the light of God’s Word shine in our hearts and be our guide, a well-lit path for all our days of joy as well as our days of sorrow.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

The Wise Men rejoiced when they saw the star that would lead them to Jesus. So, too, God’s Word will lift our spirits, give us strength and brighten our lives. May the joy found in His promises of forgiveness, redemption and glory be evident in each of us.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

When the Wise Men at last came to Jesus, they knelt down and worshiped Him. They had found the Savior and the first Gentiles to come to faith in the Savior. They presented Him with their most precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. This is the meaning of Epiphany – God has sent His Son to all people. So we are reminded that our gifts – which include our mites – will bring word of that Savior to all people everywhere.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2:13-16

After the Wise Men had worshiped Jesus, they were warned not to return to Herod, so they returned home another way.  God’s Word is the source of hope and wisdom for our lives.  From His Word, we are called to repent of trusting in ourselves or despairing; His Word shows His faithfulness, that we may then cast our anxieties on the Lord.  From God, the wise men had but a vision for their safety, and they believed.   How much more have we received from the Lord for our eternal safety.  O Holy Spirit, put our feet on this other way, the path of trust.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” 1 Peter 1:23-25

As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star  behold As with joy they hailed its light,

Leading onward, beaming bright; So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led by thee.

As they offered gifts most rare At thy cradle, rude and bare, So may we with holy joy,

Pure and free from sin’s alloy, All our costliest treasures bring, Christ to thee, our heav’nly king.

Holy Jesus, ev’ry day Keep us in the narrow way; And when earthly things are past,

Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds thy glory hide.

LW75; Text: William C. Dix; Tune: Conrad Kocher; CCLI#648557

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for sending Your Son into the world as both True Man and True God. Please open our eyes to see that Light of Jesus and continue to seek to know Him and serve Him. Help us to keep Epiphany foremost in our hearts and minds so that others will see this Light and come to know Jesus as their Savior. In Your Son’s most precious name we pray. Amen.

[Devotion adapted from 2005 LWML #59250]

MAY GOD BLESS YOU IN THE NEW YEAR

AS YOU SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS!!

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