“...His name shall be called...”

Isaiah 9:6 “For a Child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”.

 

We hear these words so often, especially around Christmas time. We sing them, we read them, we write them on our Christmas cards … but do we remember these words the rest of the year? When troubles come, where or who do we turn to for counsel? When anxiety sets in, where do we seek peace? Our family, friends, books, vacations, walks, talks, down time, phones…etc can so quickly become the first place we turn for comfort, peace and relaxation … When we turn to anything other than Christ, we are completely missing out on all the fullness that is found in Jesus. We don’t give Him the opportunity to be the WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, ALMIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE in our life. We think other people, things or our “best” will satisfy this time, even though they didn’t last time, but we forget so easily. Our hearts are so prone to wander from the simplicity and purity to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). We make the Christian life hard, we make it complicated, we try to insert our worldly ideals into it…but it truly is simple. Every moment of every day we have 2 options: choose Life, or choose death. The more we are in communion with Jesus, the more we come to understand that life with Him truly is simple and pure. It is everything else that is chaotic. We are called to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, & by faith obey Him with all of our heart and soul: “for this commandment which is commanded you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach” (Deut. 30:11). Why is it not too difficult? Because God sent His son as a baby to live, die, come back to life and indwell His life in us…not just to save us from our sins but to literally live the very life in us that He calls us to (Col 1:27). God places the demand on us and then goes on to live the very demand in us! What a miracle! What a gift! All we have to do is obey and respond to what the Lord is doing. There is simply nothing else to add. Not only is He enough, He truly is all that we need! Just as His names (Isaiah 9:6) indicate! We at A’del pray that you come to know true Life, Counsel, Joy, Rest and Peace that can only be found in Jesus Christ, not only during this Christmas season but for all of eternity!

 Merry Christmas!