Today is Epiphany on the Church Calendar. This year Epiphany Sunday actually falls on January 6th the date that is traditionally celebrated as the coming of the Wise Men.

The Wise Men were on a journey that took them hundreds of miles from their homes. They were following a star. Matthew says they traveled about 2 years to get there.

We don't know much about them, their occupations, status in life, or even the native languages they spoke, but we do know that they had seen something happen in the stars and knew it was a signal that an important child, maybe the Son of a King, most likely the King of Israel had been born.

They went following that star for all those miles hoping to find the one whose birth was marked by the appearance of this mighty star.

Traveling mostly on clear nights, they finally arrived at Jerusalem, only to be told that they had to journey on to Bethlehem, about 6 miles further.

When they got there they found the star stopped over the house where they found Mary and Jesus.

Finally their eyes beheld the little child they hearts had so longed to see. There before them was the Child whose birth was marked in the stars. The scripture tells us they were "overjoyed".

The Wise Men believed that the stars were set on their courses since the beginning of time. When things happened in the stars it was the culmination of a plan made from the beginning.

They were there at that moment to witness what God had arranged all those ages ago. They believed God intended for them to witness this event.

When God created the earth and all that is in it, God also marked the very time when he would enter the human race and become its Savior.

They believed it was no accident that this happened as it did. They believed they were the ones who had to get there to find the One was to be born the King of the Jews.

The appearance of that Star kept them focused on finding what God was calling them to find. All this was orchestrated by God and now it was coming to pass right before their eyes.

Friends some times we get the feeling that we are kind of stumbling, bumbling and fumbling our way through life. Some things are clear, most things are kind of foggy and we pretty much just travel the path of least resistance.

We go with whatever seems the easiest at the time, so we can just get on with the next thing.

Did you ever consider that God called you into being? From your particular set of ancestors, God saw this person who is sitting in your chair today and decided from all the possibilities to draw your DNA into the person you are today, sitting right here?

Those who study the stars say there is the evidence for God having created all things and set them in motion. The path of the planets, and the order of this universe and beyond just could not have happened without a Designer.

You and I are no accident. God knew exactly what he would need in our generation to move his kingdom forward, so he made you and me.

You with all your bumps and lumps, with all your brains, and all your ignorance, with all your likes and dislikes, God made you for God's purpose.

You and I are a part of what God is doing. God has given us all the health and all the wealth, all the interest and all the brains we need to accomplish what God has for us to do.

Now you may say, you thought that you would be someone greater by now. Maybe you don't like where you are, and you think you could use some improvement. Maybe you don't think you are all you could be.

Well that is good, that means that you are aware the God is still creating you, but God is creating you not for yourself, for self can never bring peace to our hearts...
God is creating you for God. God is working on you to become the best kind of person possible for God's purpose.

When you think, "I need to lose weight, or I need to look better, or I need to take some courses so I can get better at something"...if you do it for yourself you will never be satisfied when you have finished whatever it is you have set out to do.

But if you are aware that God is creating you into the person who can best fit into what God is doing... then you will have the motivation to keep becoming, continue listening, and keep learning to become what God calls you to be.

If you just lose weight for yourself, or for your spouse, or because your Mom says you should, you may be motivated for a while, but if you think the changes you want to make will make you closer to what God is creating you to be, then you will stick to it, you will find strength to accomplish it and you will find peace in achieving it.

If you think you should take a few courses because it will improve your chances at getting a raise at work, the time will come when you will find the course load is not worth all the hard work it takes, and you will grow discouraged, but if you are doing it to become the person God is calling you to be equipped to do what God has called you to do, then learning will be a joy.

You are not an accident. God has designed you. But God won't make you into the person you are designed to be against your will. If God has called you and you refuse that call, then you miss out on the joy of doing your part for God's kingdom.

Friends, God has never designed a loser. God has never designed a drug addict, or a thief, or one who cheats on another.
God has a plan for every person's success. God has a plan for every person's peace of mind. God has designed every marriage to be a good one, every family to be a happy one. God has designed each of us to be a great student, and a willing worker.

God has created us to make choices and when we choose to step outside what God has designed we grow more and more upset and discontented.

We try life on our own. We think we can do better. We may think God often takes too long to get things done. We know the short-cuts. We know how to get good grades and not do the home work. We know how to get what we want and not pay for it. We know how to find happiness by grabbing it for ourselves, or grabbing it away from someone else.

Doing things God's way takes too much time. It is boring. There is just not enough adventure to it. I want it now!

God has done something unbelievable. God chose a moment in time send his Son to become a human in the form of a Baby. God chose to experience life from our view point, and that Child would grow up to be the One who would experience death, as the payment for our wanting and doing things our own way.

God's love has covered all your bad choices and loves you into considering once again what and who God created you to be.

Our God did that so you and I could have a fresh start, a new day, a clean slate. Today, on this Epiphany 2008 you have the opportunity for a fresh start.

Maybe your life is not yet what God has designed it to be. That is between you and God. If you think your life has too much of you in it and your doing things your way and getting things really messed up, then this is your day.

You and I can admit to God that we have been following the wrong voice in our choices We can admit that we are far from what God wants us to be and has designed us to be, and we can make the difficult decision to ask God to help us start over.

You are no accident. God has chosen for you to be born and to be here in this place at this moment.
God believes you can be exactly the person you were designed to be. You can be the success at what God has for you to do, and although that may not put your name up in lights, maybe that won't make you rich and famous, it will bring peace in your heart.

Perhaps you ask, "How do I know if I am doing what God has designed me to do? How do I know I am the person God designed me to be?
Where is the star God has designed for me to follow? What should be my focus?

Philippians 3: 12: The Apostle Paul wrote these words..."I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be."

He understood that God is still in the process of creating and as long as we are alive, our greatest joy is to become the person God has designed us to be.

In this New Year everyone's life needs some direction. Today, we are going to pass out some little yellow stars. You won't know which word is on the star until you turn it over. Take the top star and let that word help guide you into your continued quest to become the person God has made you to be.

You may want to argue with the word and think it surely isn't for you, but I hope you will take it and ponder how that word can fit into what and who God is calling you to be. Through the years when we have done this on Epiphany Sunday, I have heard some stories about how individuals argued with the word and decided they needed a different star, but later realized that it fit their life exactly and was indeed one way God was speaking to their hearts.

Before us is a New Year. God has some exciting things ahead for each of us, and it is up to us to continue making choices that are in tune with becoming the person God has in mind. If that is our focus, we will not only have the joy we need to experience God's goodness we will have the strength to face the challenges as well.

Let's sing our closing song, as we receive a star that will help guide us....

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
(From the New International Version of the Bible.)

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