Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 6, 2024 by under
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Devotion
Sometimes people get confused about “predestination”. But the confusion usually comes from missing the point of the concept. Predestination is about God’s will, not ours! Man wants to make God conform to our understanding. If we are to understand predestination properly, we must submit in faith to the idea that God’s will is perfectly holy, and His wisdom is far beyond ours. That is why He taught us to pray, “…Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Predestination is about accepting that Almighty God knows and does that which is good, and thanking Him for blessing us with it!
Christmas and Epiphany are seasons that remind us that God makes His will happen among us, and that we simply need to believe and give thanks for His mercies. We did not make Him become a baby, nor could we compel Him to live and sacrifice Himself for us. And even though sinful men tried to dictate the terms by which He should reveal His glory, He alone decided how to show His glory and power among us. His will and works are done for us so that we may be blessed with wisdom and power according to the grace manifested in our Savior Jesus Christ. For all His holy blessings we should say “Amen, and thanks be to God!”, whether or not we understand all the details.
Collect: O God, Who by the leading of a star didst manifest Thine Only-begotten Son to the Gentiles: Mercifully grant, that we, who know Thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of Thy glorious Godhead; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
