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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“For to us a
Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His
shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there
will be no end.”
“The zeal of the
Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7a, 7b
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
A sign from God
would be given to His people in the way of a virgin giving birth to a son named
Immanuel.
and
God would send a
light into the world that would come to break through the darkness His people
were living in.
These were the
first two predictions found in the Book of Isaiah and highlighted in the first
devotions of this four devotion series. Today, we look at prediction number
three and start by looking at these verses from Isaiah, Chapter 9:
“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and
the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of
His government and peace there will be no end.”
“The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish
this.” Isaiah 9:6-7a, 7b
In Isaiah 7, God
promised the Israelites that a son would be born to a virgin and although the
boy’s name would say almost everything about Him, there was still more that
defined Him. For yes, Jesus was (and is) Immanuel or God with us but as we see
in our today’s passage, He also came to bring so much more to a people in need.
Let’s examine those other qualities of Jesus that the scriptures predicted one
at a time.
1. Jesus would
have the government on His shoulders.
“…the government will be on His shoulders.”
The government is in charge, dictating laws
and establishing societal mores, but a government does not exist without
someone to govern. When it comes to creation and the government of it as a
whole, there is only one true Leader who holds all government on His shoulders
and that is Jesus. Everyone and everything are subordinate to Him. Period.
2. Jesus would be
the Wonderful Counselor.
“And He will be called Wonderful Counselor…”
Why do people go
to a counselor?
Often they need
some guidance as to how to proceed through a certain situation. Academic
counselors help people work through their educational challenges. Transition
counselors help people go from one job or career to another one. Marriage
counselors help couples work through relationship problems with the hope of
healing them.
Still other
times, people go to counselors to just be able to talk about the way they are
feeling. The counselor becomes a sounding board, actively listening to their
client and allowing them an opportunity to express themselves, often helping
them gain comfort and a sense of being cared for and valued while helping them
sort through their feelings.
In Jesus, we have
all this and more, a perfect source of direction and wisdom as well as a
loving, caring, compassionate advisor who is always ready to listen and is invested
in what is best for us. He is indeed our Wonderful Counselor.
3. Jesus would be
the Mighty God.
“…He will be called…Mighty God…”
Jesus was
Immanuel (God with us) and so He was fully God while being fully man while
bring born into the world and walking upon it for 33 years. And since He was
fully God then He possessed the same power and might of His Father, a power and
might He never hesitated to put on display as He worked miracle after miracle
during His ministry.
4. Jesus would be
the Everlasting Father.
“…He will be called…Everlasting Father…”
As mentioned, Jesus
was fully God. He and the Father were one (John 10:30). He was God’s own Son
and so everything of God was in Jesus’ DNA. He was just like His Father during
His time of earthly ministry, He’s just like His Father today, and He will be
just like His Father forever because He is the Everlasting Father.
And the good news
of the Gospel is that through a belief and trust in Jesus as Savior, we get to
live and everlasting life with our everlasting Father.
5. Jesus would be
the Prince of Peace.
“…He will be called…Prince of Peace.”
When Jesus
arrived, the Israelites’ world was marked by great turmoil. They were under
Roman rule and oppression like so many other places and the people therein.
Conflict and tension were always present and people yearned for a day when they
could be liberated from the tyranny they were under. They needed a Prince of
Peace and although Jesus did not come to be a mighty, Roman-conquering warrior
as they thought, He did bring to them a chance to be at peace in life. For no
matter the circumstances, Jesus brought a salvation promise to all mankind, His
death being the atoning sacrifice for all sins.
Today, we still
live in a world filled with turmoil, hardship, war, and evil acts manifested
against people, especially through terrorism. It would be easy to be uneasy
over it all but we always need to be reminded that we have Jesus, the Prince of
Peace, who will one day return to set everything straight and usher His
faithful, beloved followers into a life with Him and God forever, a life where
there will only be peace and light and love.
So to sum up this
third major prediction about Jesus from the Old Testament, He will have the
government on His shoulders as He comes as our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In the end translation, we would be
nothing but lost without Him but with Him, there is nothing we can’t do
(Philippians 4:13) and our eternal future is secured (John 3:16).
Tomorrow, we will
look at the final prediction, one that will reveal where Jesus will enter the
world to bring God’s presence to earth, the place where light would dawn upon
man’s darkness, the place where all mankind would be brought eternal hope by
way of the truth that through Jesus, we have found our way to God the Father
forever (John 14:6).
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to
leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by
it.
Send any prayer
requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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