Now that Christmas is past and Epiphany is over, as far as the calendar is concerned, people begin to settle in for the long winter and normal routines of life. However, I wish to remind us all that the message of Immanuel becoming like us and continually being with us should never lose its sentimental glow, spiritual vitality, or evangelistic fervor.
Epiphany celebrates the wise men finding "Jesus' star" and following its Light till they found the Object of worship that satifies all our cravings. We should daily follow the Light of His revelation and find time to worship the King with the daily giving of our treasures of gold (finances), incense (prayer and praise), and myrrh (sacrifices and sorrows).
Recently, I was blessed by some thoughts from Jill Carratini, who writes a daily email devotion for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (www.rzim.org), called "Slice of Infinity". In this article she expressed the difference of the original meaning of the old Christmas hymn, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman", with its modern understanding. Firstly, note that the title has a comma, or stopping point, giving pause for our reflection. Second, the idea behind the writers' understanding of the English language 150 years ago meant something entirely different from our "modern" understanding.
When we sing the song nowdays, we think of God helping dignified men to be happy in light of Jesus' coming to earth. But the original meaning conveyed the idea of God coming to make us "rest", completely trusting His strength to win and to secure our salvation, thus also making us strong in His might! Thus, we can sing, praise, pray, work, serve, and live with Immanuel, confident that " The Joy of the Lord is our strength"!
Blessings,
Pastor Ogre
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