Tag Archive for Epiphany

Christ the Light

2016-01-03 Devotional with Hymn No comments

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12, NASB)

We walk every day through the darkness of this world,
in the shadow of
our ignorance,
our weakness, and
our mortality.

But Jesus Christ is the Light.
As we walk in Him,
our steps are certain,
our strength is sufficient, and
our life is full and forever.

We are bathed in God’s presence.
We are guided by His wisdom.
We are supported by His power.
We are cradled by His love.

As we follow Christ,
we never walk in darkness.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Jesus, the Light of the World
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

The Christ of Epiphany

2014-12-15 Devotional with Hymn No comments

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2, NIV) 

During Epiphany, Jesus is the Light of the Father, drawing all people to Himself.

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
(Isaiah 60:1-3, NASB)

Among the very first people to be told of Messiah’s coming,
among His very first worshipers,
were visitors from a far away land and a different religion.
Jesus did not come as just the Jewish Messiah or the Christian Savior,
but as the Light of the World.

I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
(Isaiah 49:6, NASB)

Jesus is the knowledge of our universal God shining out to
every people and culture, to
every individual, for
every human need.
He is understanding in our profound ignorance.
He is wisdom in our foolishness.
He is God’s glory in our darkness and shame.
He is pure, beautiful, living truth.

During Epiphany, Jesus is the Light of the Father.
Come to the Light.
Walk in the Light.
Lift the light so that
all can see Him for all He is.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Light of Every Nation
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

A Christ-centered Year

2013-12-31 Devotional No comments

During Advent, Jesus is the Promise of the Father.

During Christmas, He is the Gift of the Father. He is all the fullness of God embodied in a human infant.

During Epiphany, Jesus is the Light of the Father, drawing all people to Himself.

During Lent, He is the Father’s Servant, leading us on the path of obedience and trust.

During Holy Week, Jesus is the Love of the Father, humbly submitting to death on the cross.

During Easter, He is the Life of the Father, overcoming death and sin forever.

On Ascension Day, Jesus is at the Father’s right hand, reigning as Sovereign Lord and King.

On Pentecost, He pours out the Promise of the Father, baptizing every believer in the Holy Spirit of God.

During Ordinary Time, Jesus helps us order our lives by His teaching and example. He gives us His Spirit as a down-payment while we eagerly await His promised Advent.

Brothers and sisters, let’s constantly celebrate all God has done for us in Jesus Christ! Let’s make this year a Christ-centered year.

The Light of the World

2013-12-29 Devotional with Hymn No comments

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
(Luke 2:22, 25-32, NIV)

Jesus is not just the central figure of Christianity.
He is the central figure of all history,
of earth and heaven.
He is the Creator, the Sustainer of all that is,
seen and unseen,
the Sovereign Word of the Sovereign God.
He is not just the wisest person who ever lived.
In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
He is not just the leader of one group, culture, or movement.
He is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. 

“See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.” (Isaiah 60:2, NIV)
Jesus is the Light of the World, and
as He is lifted up,
all nations, all peoples will come to Him.

We know what the holy and wise of all ages
have longed to discover.
We see Jesus Christ.
How very blessed we are!

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Light of Every Nation
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

A Life Framed with Love

2013-12-15 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, [the Magi] returned to their country by another route. 

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 

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.” 

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
(Matthew 2:12-18, NIV)

Jesus was born as He would die.
He would die as He was born.
The birth and death of the Light of the World
were shrouded in darkness.
His trusted companions were the lowly and powerless.
Jealous leaders pursued Him with murderous hearts
while humble women gently cared for His needs.
His helpless body was wrapped in cloth and laid in borrowed quarters.
Coming and going from this world,
He was immersed in suffering, shame, and desperate circumstances.

Jesus is a portrait of God our Father,
framed with tenderness, mercy, and sacrificial love.

Father, I look at the life of your Son, and
I see the full extent of Your love
etched on every page.
Throughout His birth, His life, and His death,
He drank our shame and suffering full strength.
Father, I bow in silence.
How can I respond to You?
How can I live my love for You?

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: One with Us
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

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