Devotions

“Wonderful Counsellor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father.”

This One to come, our Messiah, our Christ, is the One who ushers in Eternal Life. He is “everlasting.”

“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” [Col 1:16-17]

He is everlasting and the source, purpose and sustainer of all things. And He is Father. A father not only sparks life, a father protects.

I remember once when Bob and I took our kids to Southern California on a fun vacation at all the theme parks and fun places we could fit in our schedule.  While there we went to visit a friend in San Diego. Our friend wanted to take us to the border and into Tijuana. It seemed like a good idea at first. But some things came up and delayed our friend so that by the time we got to the border, parked, and walked across, it was getting dark and late. On the other side we went about two blocks and Bob said, enough. He thought it was too dark, and too dangerous a location and insisted our friend turn around and go back.

A father protects.  Our Everlasting Father is revealed to us in Jesus, His Son. He is our provider of eternal life, and He is our protector.

“Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.”

Have you noticed the movies and video games that are out now? Notice a theme that runs through almost all of them?  It may be defined by one word – POWER.

Our culture is hungry for someone that has power, real power…the kind of power that makes things right. We don’t have it in our politics. We don’t have it in our educational systems. And sadly, we often don’t have it in our churches. So, what does that leave? Hollywood steps in and provides imaginary, powerful, mighty superheroes on the screen, on television and in video games.

When Isaiah foretold of the character and nature of the Messiah to come, his second title was “Mighty God.” “His name will be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God….”

 This one to come will be “mighty.” The shortened version of the word is “gibbor (ghib-bore) and it means powerful. It describes a warrior, champion, or chief who is mighty, strong and valiant.

Not only will He be “mighty,” He will be “God.” The Hebrew word is “El” and it is used only of Jehovah God. The One to come is God Himself, Mighty, Strong, and Valiant.  God is not some impersonal force, He is not distant or uninterested in us. As John says, “The Word was God …. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  [John 1:1, 14]

 Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. The Word, God Himself, came to us in flesh and blood and dwelt with us. He is Mighty God. There is no power like His power. Hollywood can have their make-believe superheroes, I’ll take the real, eternal power – our Mighty God!

“Wonderful counselor, Mighty God.”

I have been thinking a lot about the name given to the Son, the Child, foretold by Isaiah 9:6. “His name shall be called,” the prophet said. Isaiah was giving us not just a name as we think of a name but giving us the character and nature of this One given by God. “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.”

The Child, the Son given, was fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth, born to Mary by the miraculous power of God, and entrusted into the care of a simple carpenter. This “Wonderful Counselor” came and imparted the deep things of God to us. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “My purpose is that [you] may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that [you] may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that [you] may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” 

When Paul said that all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge were hidden, he didn’t mean that they remain hidden. He meant that those deep things of God which were a mystery down through the ages are now revealed to us in the nature and character of our Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ.

Christ Jesus now counsels us about what life is all about, He tells us about true love, love from God, love for God, and love for each other.  It is in this “Wonderful Counselor” that we find the answers to all life’s questions.

What joy it is, not just at this time of year, but throughout all of life, to know that if we but turn to God and listen, He will reveal to us love and life. The problem is not with God’s revelation (He’s done His part), the problem is with us when we fail to ask or fail to heed and obey.

He is Christ Jesus, our “Wonderful Counselor!”

I remember taking a course in psychology in college. I really enjoyed it because the way we humans think and deal with emotions always intrigues me.  I like studying what makes us tick. Anyway, back to that course. At one class the professor showed us a film of a “counselor” counselling. The “counselor” sat with a pen and notebook in hand, leaning in toward a woman. After every few thoughts expressed by her, he would nod his heat up and down while he repeated, “Aha, aha, aha.” Always three “aha’s” in a row. By the end of the film practically everyone in the class was nodding their heads and saying, “Aha, aha, aha” with him.

I can’t remember if that was supposed to be good or bad counselling technique.  To me, it was worthless counselling technique.

The prophet Isaiah told us that God was going to give us a child, a son, and that He would bear many names that would describe His nature and character. The first was “Wonderful Counselor.”

Wonderful means just that, full of wonder, a marvelous thing. Counselors in the Old Testament weren’t like that modern day “Aha” wonder we saw on film. They were men who were wise in the ways of God. They were often older men, experienced in knowing and following God. They would give good counsel to kings and tell them of God’s principles, opening the way of God to them.  1 Chronicles 27:32 describes Jonathan, David’s uncle, as a counselor who was “a man of insight.”

The Son, Jesus, given to us, is our Wonderful Counselor. He opened to us the fullness of God. When we see Him, when we hear Him speak, we gain insight to know our Heavenly Father.  He is “Wonderful Counselor!”

Isaiah 41:10:  “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

I’ve heard that there are 364 references to “Do not fear” in the Bible, so one for each day of the year. I haven’t looked up every one of them, and I do suppose a lot depends on your translation, still I think that message is one of God’s primary ones. “Do not fear.” “Don’t be afraid.” “Fear not.”

In the Christmas story alone, there are four very noticeable “Do not be afraid” announcements. In Luke 1 and 2, the angels that appeared to Zechariah, Mary and then the shepherds told them “Do not be afraid.” And in Matthew 1, God told Joseph in a dream, “Do not be afraid.”

Jesus warned many times that we are not to be afraid. He told us not to fear those who can kill the body but then have no more they can do to us. He told us not to be afraid because it was our Father’s desire to give us the kingdom. And He told us He was giving us His peace, so we were not to be afraid.

And still, we are afraid. Afraid when our circumstances change, afraid when we lose our jobs or our homes or our health. We fear sometimes what evil others might force upon us, or sometimes even the evil in our own hearts.

God has promised that He is our God. He has promised he will strengthen us and help us. He has promised to uphold us with His righteous right hand (He will always do what is right). If you notice in His promises, He doesn’t limit them to just some situations and abandon us in others. He will always do what is right, He will always be our God. He will always strengthen, help, uphold those who love and honor Him.

Praise Him today for His promises to you – no matter your situation or circumstances.

A few weeks ago, my wonderful son-in-law and daughter came by with boxes of LED lights. They changed out the lights in our kitchen, dining area, laundry and living areas. They had previously replaced all the outside lights. All I can say is wow, what a difference!

The upside is that my house is ablaze with light. The downside is that with all that light, I can really see the dirt, smudges, dust, fingerprints, cat fur, and other miscellaneous items. Before, when it was dark, I never noticed those things. Now I need to get to work and clean.

Matthew 4:15-16:  “Galilee of the Gentiles- the people living in darkness have seen a great light.” 

John 1:4:  “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

The one thing about light is that it reveals, sometimes reveals stuff we would prefer to remain hidden. As Paul says in Romans 5:9, light makes everything visible.

Jesus is the great light that has come to us as we were in darkness. His life is our light. He makes visible the dark deeds of our dark hearts. It isn’t comfortable. It isn’t easy. Many choose to remain in darkness. But when we heed the light, when we embrace the life Christ urges us to live in abundantly, everything changes in us. Now we are not only hosts to the light, we become bearers of it.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” [Matt 5:14-16]

Matt 1:20-23:  “’Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’-which means, ‘God with us.’”

The prophet the angel referred to was Isaiah. He lived about seven centuries before and foretold of the birth of Christ Jesus. “The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son.”

That alone is miraculous, but then Isaiah said something even more miraculous … “they will call him Immanuel.”

Immanuel means God with us. One author called that “The Glorious Impossible.”

God with us. Of all the names of God, this one may be the most amazing. God with us. The Almighty, Holy, Uncontainable, All-Knowing God, the Great I Am, set aside His Glory and Godly Prerogatives, and “contained” Himself in the body of a baby, totally dependent upon a teenage mother for life and a simple village carpenter for protection.

How? That’s the part that cannot be completely understood and must be accepted by faith. Why? Because He loved us and was not willing to see His creation condemned and separated from Him.

God with us, Immanuel. He came to be with us. He has never left us. He is God with us, Immanuel.

Last Sunday evening I had the privilege of being the MC at the 4^th Annual Middleton Community Christmas Concert. It was an evening of music exalting the birth of the Christ Child. There were singers, musicians, pastors from many of the Middleton churches (including United Methodist, Nazarene, Latter Day Saints, Church of God, Adventist, Evangelical, Cowboy Sanctuary and Assembly of God), along with a community choir and children’s choir.  It was a delightful evening. I was the “fill-in” whenever a group needed time to exit or set up.

I don’t think they realized how risky that was! Giving a microphone to a preacher, a woman preacher, a Pentecostal woman preacher in front of a large audience and telling her to “fill in” is a truly dangerous proposition.

I shared two things, two things which I have shared repeated with my own congregation and with anyone who has read these devotions for any length of time. You might say that everything I say flows from these two “passions.”

One, how much God loves us!  You can discern that from the high price He was willing to offer for you – the life of His own Son, whose birth we celebrate during this season. It never ceases to overwhelm me when I think of how much God loves me.

The second “passion?” That there is more that brings us together than separates us. Our God cannot be contained in any doctrinal box. Our doctrines are merely a finite attempt to describe the indescribable, explain the unexplainable and contain the uncontainable. Our God is wild and holy and dangerous. And if His Spirit lives in us … and He does if we have come to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior … then we are more alike than we realize. Our doctrines do not contain the Spirit of God, we do.

I thank God for that opportunity to share my passions briefly last Sunday night. I thank God for the opportunity to share my passions with you every day. God bless!

Hark the herald angels sing “Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” 

“The angel said to [the shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  [Luke 2:10-12]

The first thing the angel said was “Do not be afraid.” He had to say that, Scripture records that the shepherds were terrified when the angel appeared and the glory of the LORD shown all around them. It must have been something because I don’t think shepherds scared all that easily. They were used to predators that came in the night to attack their flocks. But this was something far different than what they were used to—angels, bright lights in the night, heavenly choirs.

And as glorious were the things that accompanied the announcement, it was the announcement itself that really energized them.  A Savior had been born in the town of David, Bethlehem. This was indeed good news of great joy for all people of all the ages. It means “God and sinners would now be reconciled.”

These shepherds heeded the message of the angel and left their sheep to go find and worship this Savior, the newborn King. Perhaps they understood more than we give them credit for…after all, they were the very ones who were keeping and guarding the lambs that would soon become the Passover sacrifices.

Beloved, we’ve been reconciled with God!

“O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine.”

I am sure you recognized immediately the wonderful carol, “O Holy Night,” written in 1847 by French composer, Adolphe Adam. The original lyrics were written by a French Poet, the English by John Sullivan Dwight, a minister.

I get chills every I hear this song, every time. Doesn’t seem to matter who is singing it. I just love this song. Perhaps it is that one line that makes my soul soar—the one that reminds me, “’Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.”

I’ve often told the story, and even included it in many a devotion, about buying a Walter Payton rookie football card for my son’s 18^th birthday. But I will tell it again. I wanted to get him something special and Payton was his favorite Chicago Bear. When I asked the store’s owner if he had one, he told me he did. I asked him what it was worth, and he said words that have remained with me.  He said, “It’s worth what you are willing to pay for it.”

“’Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.” What are you worth?

You are worth what God was willing to pay for you. You are worth the precious life of His Only Son. That should give all of us “a thrill of hope!”

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