Relationship

Advent Thoughts

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God-

children born not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 1:12-13 (NIV)

“. . . to all . . .” Jesus came for all mankind, the poorest, as well as the richest, the most vile, as well as the kindest.

. . .  who received him. . .”  He left heaven to bring us closer to the Father. God sent His Son to earth so that we may learn of His ways and get to know God better. We receive Jesus when we prayer the sinners prayer.

“. . . believed in his name. . .” When we allow Jesus into our hearts, we give Him full reign over our lives. We learn that He can be trusted for everything. 

“. . . he gave the right. . . . ” God granted us the status He wanted us to have- He willingly gave us a place in His family.

“. . . to become children of God. . .” God established a relationship between us. He calls us ‘son’ or ‘daughter’. He desires us to be in close relationship with us. We are His children. He loves us unconditionally.

“ . . . born of God.” We know that God creates us. He molds us to His image. The longer we walk with Him, the more we resemble our heavenly Father.

Wonderful Counselor, part 3

                                                                    

Advent Thoughts  
                                                                                        

“Your Statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.”

 Psalm 119:24 (NIV) 

”Your Statutes. . .”The psalmist speaks to God about His Laws. As a child I heard a teacher explain that we had to have rules, aka laws. We have rules in our daily lives; certain professions have codes of conduct.

” . . . my delight.” The writer felt joy from having God’s Law govern his life. Laws in our nation are for the common good. The traffic laws are for our protection; likewise, the law for cars to be insured and the overseeing agency having that information.

” . . . my counselors.” The psalmist carries this thought further by stating God’s Laws guide him. God’s Law educates us on how to live for Him, how to respond to those who taunt us, and how to pray.

In the book of James we read,” If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt. . . .” Have you ever had someone approach you and seek advice about an issue and then, right after you tell them your thoughts, he or she tells you they are going to do what they thought all along? Many times, I found myself angry about this. Can you imagine how God feels when we do that to Him? 

Wonderful Counselor,part 2

Advent Thoughts

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

 The spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

 the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD-

“Isaiah 11:1-2 (NIV)

”A shoot. . . “The prophet Isaiah tells the people of Israel about the new life to come from one of their own. This new life is described as being tender-a sprig, something easily broken off. (MH)* A few verses earlier, those against God’s church have been described as a strong bough.  But Isaiah describes Jesus as a new life who, although a sprig, shall be victorious over them. (MH)

“. . . from the stump of Jesse. . .” Jesse was an obscure man, who lived in poverty. “The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ’s birth.” (MH) Joseph and Mary were very poor and unknown to those living beyond their village. 

” . . . a Branch will bear fruit.” This branch would blossom (grow) and generate God’s wisdom to the people in Israel and to lands beyond.

”The spirit of the LORD will rest on him . . .” He shall have {all} the fullness of the Godhead resting on Him. This spirit is so great that it is immeasurable. He began his preaching with ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon me.’ (Luke 6:18) (MH) Can we imagine what could be done in our world if God’s Spirit fell on us?

”the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding . . .”This offshoot would have God’s wisdom and the ability to understand all that He sees. In the Psalms (3:5) we are told not to lean on our own understanding. Ours is incomplete-we only see a small part of what is happening; God sees it all. We only know a very miniscule part of how things operate. God put all things into motion.

” . . . the Spirit of counsel and of power. . .” God is omniscient-all knowing. He knows everything about us and our lives. He gave this Spirit to Jesus. God is omnipotent-all powerful. He has the power to perform any task imaginable. He shared that power with His only son.

*MH=Mathew Henry commentary

Prince of Peace

Advent Thoughts

“For unto us a child is born, to us a child is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

I first heard this verse quoted at a school Christmas program when I was in the fifth grade. Each time I hear it read or quoted, I find myself loving each name given to the child ‘born to us’.

“. . . Wonderful Counselor . . .” Jesus is a source of wonder, a miracle. Who would have come from the glories of heaven as a child born into a poor family but God Himself? He has wisdom to guide us through all the circumstances we face in life.

 “. . .  Mighty God . . . “       God possesses all the might to do for us all we need.

 “. . . Everlasting Father . . .” the child is one who protects us always. He encircles us with His great arms of love and keeps the enemy from inflicting harm on us, His children.

 “. . . Prince of Peace” A friend posted a picture on Facebook that said: “Peace is not the absence of problems; Peace is the presence of Christ. (Sheila Walsh) Jesus gives us HIS peace, not the peace the world gives.  The peace of Christ lasts forever.

Everlasting Father, Father

Advent Thoughts

     John 3:16, 36 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (36) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

“. . . eternal Life” We sometimes get the wrong idea about life. As pre-Christians, we lived our lives as if there were no tomorrow. The motto of our lives became “Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow you die.” We lived for the moment, not thinking about the next day, week or year. Then we heard about Jesus and what He gives us. The most precious gift He bestows upon His children is eternal life with Him. If he gives us this gift, then He is everlasting. Before a person can give a gift, he or she must have it himself.

“Whoever believes in the Son . . .” The way we can receive eternal, everlasting life is to believe on Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. Jesus, who came to earth to save us from our sin, invites us to believe in Him and to share His love.

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of

human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

John 1:12-13 (NIV)

When we reflect on what God has done for us, we have to think about His role as our heavenly Father.

An earthly father may or may not nurture his children- show those offspring how to perform the basic steps of taking care of oneself, how to manage to live, how to make good choices to help them through daily living.

Our heavenly Father does the same things but also so much more. He comforts us when we are ill-no matter what type of illness we have. He guides us through the pitfalls of life, no matter how we happen to fall into them.

He guides us through some very tenuous times-serious illness of family members or our own. He comforts us when we hurt. Our heavenly Father is there for us forever- no matter what the need, any time day or night.

Mighty God

Advent Thoughts

“’And He said to them, ‘What things?’ So they said to Him,

‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and

word before God and all the people.’” Luke 24:19 (NKJV)

Our Lord met two people on the road to Emmaus. The two talked dejectedly between themselves. Jesus asked them what they were talking about. Their response told the Lord, and those who would read this accounting, what these two among others thought of Jesus.

” . . . who was a Prophet. . . . “ Jesus spoke of things not envisioned by the people of Israel.

(John 7: 37-40)

” . . . mighty in deed . . . “In Luke 4: 17-21, when Jesus went to the temple and read from the scrolls He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. All the deeds- preaching to the poor, proclaiming freedom to the prisoners, and healing the blind- had not been done before. At the beginning of the passage in Isaiah, the prophecy reads “The LORD has anointed me.” When a person is anointed by God, he or she is set apart for very special Kingdom service.

“ . . . and word before God. . . “We have scriptural evidence of Jesus speaking words that brought healing to those who stood before Him. He restored the ear of the High Priest’s Servant in Gethsemane. (Luke 22:47-52) He called the many demons from the man in the region of the Gerasenes. (Mark 5:1-20)

Jesus Our Wonderful Counselor

Advent Thoughts

“All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel

 and magnificent in wisdom.” Isaiah 28:29 (NIV)

At different times in our lives we have needed to seek advice from a person more knowledgeable than we. This advice may come from a doctor, a lawyer, a therapist, an expert on rearing children.

Spiritually speaking, we have an adviser who watches over us every day of our lives. He has watched over us since we were formed Psalm 139:13-16. We call on Him when we have problems or illness in our lives. We worship and praise Him when our lives run smoothly.

His name is Jesus. His role in our lives is that of counselor. Isaiah describes Him as “wonderful counselor; what does that mean to us? Have you had a time in your life where you sought God’s counsel over the advice of earthly friends or worldly ‘experts’?