Dear Friend,

            January 6^th is the Day of Epiphany on the Christian calendar.  As Christmas Day is celebrated for the birth of Christ, the Day of Epiphany is celebrated as the time when the wisemen visited Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. 

            Their story is told in the second chapter of Matthew.  They came a great distance based on the special star they had seen.  King Herod was alarmed and inquired from his legal experts where the Messiah was to be born.  Bethlehem .  Herod then told the wisemen to report the child’s location to him after their visit.  However, the wisemen were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. 

            The word “Epiphany” meads ‘sudden realization, to make known, to reveal.’    Certainly, when the wisemen brought their gifts to Jesus, their actions ‘revealed’ Jesus as Lord and Savior. We realize that God was doing something awesome here for all people through this birth – this is the Savior sent to the world.

            Sometimes God has surprise conversations with us.  For example we may hear or read a devotional and some thought jumps out to us that reveals something we needed to know concerning God’s will for us. In the New Testament, Saul, a Pharisee, was on his way to Damascus to oppose the Christians who were there.  But along the way he encountered a bright light which turned out to be Jesus the Messiah.  It made a profound difference in Saul (later known as Paul), who became a Christian.  From that sudden encounter with Christ, his epiphany, Paul found new direction in his life.  Be watchful for sudden messages from God that can make a profound difference in your life.

                                      -- Rev. R. Walworth