What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Let's Not Forget about "Epiphany"

 (Previous Post from 2019, UPDATED)

January 6, is the day that the church "liturgical calendar"  celebrates or recognizes "Epiphany", or the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child....






Epiphany definition:

1.   The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
1.1  The festival commemorating the Epiphany on 6th of January.
1.2  A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
2.   A  moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.

Here is a link to some info on "Epiphany"https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/epiphany

Many churches, mostly the more liturgical churches do recognize Epiphany, or "Twelfth Night".  In my home growing up we never took down our Christmas tree until Jan. 6th, which was also my mother's birthday.  I always assumed it was because that was her birthday, and that is what they did in her home as she was growing up.  It wasn't until later years that I understood that Jan. 6th was "Epiphany", and many traditional churches recognize the visit of the Magi (The Wise Men) on that day. That doesn't necessarily mean that was the date they actually visited the baby Jesus. There are many discussions on that, mostly that it was anywhere from several months up to a year or more before the Wise Men actually arrived to present their gifts.  We just know that it wasn't on Christmas day.  They had followed the Star from their lands starting on the day Christ was born, and it led them to the Christ Child (read Matthew chapter 2).  

So whether or not you or your particular church recognize Epiphany as an actual event is not the most important aspect of this.  It's just another beautiful way to close out the Christmas/Advent season and recognize the significance of the gifts of the Magi...Gifts that actually may have helped the "Holy Family" to make their escape to Egypt when King Herod ordered all the baby boys two years old and younger to be slaughtered...just some things to ponder as you put away your Christmas things and your Nativity Scene...

And so yesterday (January 6, 2019) in our church our Pastor gave us some things to think about regarding the journey of the Wise Men.  I will summarize the main points here:

When the Wise Men saw the star shining they knew that the "King of the Jews" had been born. (see Matthew 2:1-12)  They had studied the stars and knew this star was significant.  And so they "put feet to their faith" and started off on their journey to find the newborn King.  

What can WE learn from the Wise Men?
  • Be constantly alert---stop, look and listen...
  • Be willing to act...
  • When God presents us with a new opportunity, are WE willing to get up and start that journey of faith?
  • What is God calling us to be doing?
  • The Magi found Jesus and worshipped Him.  They presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But their greatest gift was to get down on their knees and worship Him.
  • When God asks us to do something, somehow we have to put our feet to our faith
  • Rise up and follow
It's a New Year...time for a new fresh start...time to stand up and put our feet to work to serve God.
  • Where is the Light of the Star leading you now?
  • Prepare your hearts for action...don't get too comfortable
  • Put action to your faith
  • What will YOU do with that star?

The following passage is a prophecy concerning the epiphany of the Light being given to the Gentiles...The Wise Men seeing that star was the fulfillment of the Light of God's salvation, Jesus Christ, being made manifest to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews...so there was a lot more significance to the Wise Men's journey to see Christ than just a few kings traveling to see a newborn king...


Isaiah 60:1-6
1.  "Arise, shine;
for your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2.  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you.
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3.  The Gentiles shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4.  Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5.  Then you shall see and become radiant,
and your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6.  The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come'
They shall bring GOLD and INCENSE.
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord."

Question to consider:

How does the Presence of the Holy One manifest itself in our life today? And how will we, when He is revealed to us, like the Wise Men, express our joy at seeing that "star"?  


Sermon Notes from FUMC Interlachen, FL., Pastor A.C. Myers, 1/6/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

21 comments:

  1. I wonder if today our world will have a "sudden and great revelation or realization."

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    1. Oh, I pray so, I pray so...especially if it comes from God. Amen?

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  2. While I'd always heard the term 'Epiphany', not until a few years ago was its meaning ever absorbed. I love these bullet points; particularly the 4 challenges. I'm ready to put feet to my faith!

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    1. Oh, wonderful, Myra! I am so glad this spoke to you today. I just felt it needed to be shared again and I hoped someone would take notice of the complete message! I was glad to review it again myself, and take "notes". Blessings to you today my friend.

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  3. Hi Pamela, I enjoyed your post today. I have one Nativity wreath still up that will come down tonight. Happy Birthday to your mom.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. You are ahead of me. I still have my tree and everything up. I just haven't had the energy or time to take it all down yet, and so I am still enjoying it. It's not hurting anything and I am still happy to see the lights and and delighted in it all! But it will probably start coming down this weekend. Maybe. lOL.

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  4. Love this post! Being my mother;s daughter our tree is still up. MOm was born on January 4th but she always told us to leave the tree up through January 6th. We had a big snowstorm come in. Now I wonder how will we get it back to the shed?? So much cold and snow but grateful for it. I love your word. My daughter Noelle made a Minestrone soup without beans hahaha. I said it looks delightful. She gave her dad a container of it on his way to work the other day and he said it was good. I said you mean delightful! Your word is in my head. Love to you for this beautiful post. I felt guily missing so much in the blog world but I felt called to pray so I spend more daytime hours in prayer and study. I hope you have a beautiful day. HUGS & LOVE

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    1. I appreciate you coming to visit my posts, and I hope to get caught up with you as well. It's been a busy time, and I don't know if I'm coming or going some days. The minestrone soup with or w/o beans is always good! Delightful even!! I am glad you have found "delight" in my One Word, Delight! It does kind of stick in your head, doesn't it, and we start seeing more and more delightful things everywhere we look! God is so good, and He delights in you and me as well!! Hugs and love to you as well!

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  5. I didn't grow up in the Church and all the keeping of days is new to me. *grin* Didn't know what the Epiphany was or is until recently.
    A little interesting note too is the Supreme Court is meeting today or this week to decide if mandates & forced vax's are legal (they're NOT legal but it's up to the Court to say so to save our Liberty's). I would suggest prayer about that as we reflect on what God has done for us.
    Blessings. xx

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    1. I pray our Supreme Court has an "epiphany", and the LIGHT shines in their hearts and minds as they weigh these all important issues. Thank you for this reminder to pray for them. By all means! I know most churches don't really talk a lot about "Epiphany" or keep up with the "liturgical calendar". But I personally like to follow this just because it helps us to remember these important events in the life of Christ from the beginning to end, although there IS NO END! He is The Alpha and Omega, The beginning and the end...and He is Eternal, Immortal, and will ever be interceding on our behalf...even to the Supreme Court of Heaven! Amen? God is in control, no matter what. And He will take care of us no matter what. So we cannot lose.

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  6. A thoughtful post. We have much to learn from the wise men.

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  7. The wise men were wise, indeed!! A wonderful part of the Christmas story! xo

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    1. Thank you, Terri. Yes, they were very wise men. They followed the star and obeyed the leading of God to do what they were told to do. We need to always seek to do the same!

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  8. Even though a lot of people in this area used to talk about "Hunky (Hungarian) Christmas" and "Little Christmas", I never knew what it was about until a few years ago. The churches I grew up in didn't really talk about it. I always assumed it was a disagreement about the timing of Christmas. I finally learned about it when I worked at the Hungarian nursing home. I got to be friends with the Hungarian (actually Transylvanian) minister there and we had a lot of great discussions and he explained it to me. He was a brilliant man who had studied in Jerusalem and spoke at least 6 languages including Hebrew. Now that I know, it is another opportunity to appreciate and marvel at God's provision. Thank you for the reminder!

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    1. Yes, I believe every story in the Bible has significance, and we need to pay attention to the "rest of the story" and not just read the ones we like and forget about the others. God has put the Wise Men's journey to see Jesus in there for us to know about and understand the significance of that journey, and their obedience to the voice of God leading them to not go back to Herod. They were wise men indeed.

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  9. So true about what will strike sparks from each heart hearing the same sermon or reading the same passage. It will be different for each. As a Roman Catholic, we pay strict attention to the liturgical calendar and it really opens my eyes. My understanding is so much less than that of the priests, of course. But something always hits me "right in the feels" as the Gen Z's say. What a gorgeous Nativity you have, a real beauty.

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    1. Thank you, Holly. I love how God reaches and teaches each of us from His Word, but in various and different ways. I believe every bit of scripture is valuable for instructing us in the way we should live and serve God, and I am thankful for the "wise men" and women in my life who have listened to the voice of God and followed Him so that they could teach and reach me.

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  10. I love the question to consider, Pam.

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    1. Thank you, Aritha. It is truly a good question to ponder in this New Year and every year. I'm so glad you came to visit.

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  11. Pam: Your questions are very thought-provoking. There will always be some who will express awe and respect when they see Jesus. The Presence of the Holy One manifests itself today by giving us gifts that we really don't deserve. By keeping us safe in the face of danger and by showing His love to us. Peace and blessings.

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