Today's Focus: Rejection Is Not Proof of Failure   When you are trying to share some important information with someone, but they refuse to listen or perhaps totally reject what you are saying, it feels like you have failed. This is especially true when someone rejects the gospel! This week's epiphany is that rejection is not proof of failure. When someone rejects God's Word (including us), that rejection is proof that God's Word powerfully cuts straight to the heart of mankind's biggest problem--sin. Yet, what causes Jesus' words to hurt is what gives them power to heal. That reality encourages us to receive God's Word with joy and to proclaim it boldly to others.

Today's Focus: God Delivers More than We Ask, Not Less   It is easy for us to assume that if God says "no" to a request, we are getting less than we wanted. We need to have an epiphany moment, seeing the reality--that God always wants more for us than we want from him. So, when God says "no" to our request, we can be assured it is because he wants to give us more. God's love for us is like that of a groom for his bride. His love for us exceeds all expectation and understanding. In that love, God always delivers more than we ask, not less.

Today's Focus: Baptism Is the Cure for an Identity Crisis  "Who is Jesus?" People thought he was "Mary and Joseph's son" or "a carpenter from Nazareth." While true, those answers do not adequately describe Jesus. But when Jesus was baptized, God the Father spoke, declaring Jesus' true identity. Jesus was the dearly loved Son of God, chosen to be the Savior of the world. "Who are you?" someone asks. To answer that question, we must look to our baptism. There, just like he did with Jesus, our Father declares us to be his dearly loved child. May God grant us this epiphany moment!

Today's Focus: God's Gift to All People   Today we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. When the Savior was born, he was first revealed to Israelites; the shepherds, Simeon, Anna. But today, the Lord miraculously guides foreigners across countless miles, so the Savior could be revealed to them as well. How did the magi respond? "They were overjoyed" (Matthew 2:10). The Festival of Epiphany is sometimes known as "The Gentiles' Christmas." We Gentiles (non-Jews) rejoice in the good news that this Jewish baby is not just a gift for the Jews. He is a gift for all people--the Savior of the world.