In his prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah gives four names for the coming Messiah that describe what His ministry would be about. Each of these names is significant. They talk about Jesus' ministry while He was on earth and the way He ministers to us till today.
Prince of Peace
Jesus is the ultimate bringer of peace. Not necessarily the kid of peace we always think of and often wish for. Jesus doesn't come to remove all conflict and trials from our lives. He comes to bring us peace in the midst of those things. He came so that even when life is hard around us, we can still have the confidence that we will get through it because Jesus is our Prince of Peace.
How do we allow Jesus to be our Prince of Peace?
We take all our worries and concerns to Him. Over and over in the New Testament, the writers encourage us to take our worries and concerns to God.
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus also talks about the foolishness of worry. And points us to God in the midst of everything.
Jesus is our Prince of Peace.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Everlasting Father
In his prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah gives four names for the coming Messiah that describe what His ministry would be about. Each of these names is significant. They talk about Jesus' ministry while He was on earth and the way He ministers to us till today.
Everlasting Father
Earthly relationships will always have issues and challenges. They will break down. And they will be far from perfect. But they are glimpses of what Jesus was coming to be as the Messiah and still is today for us.
Jesus is the One who will always be there to care for us and to protect us from destruction by our enemy. He will never fail us. The prophet Isaiah was telling us this when he spoke of the coming Messiah.
The challenging part of seeing Jesus as everlasting Father, is that we get it mixed up with the sometimes challenging reality of our earthly relationships. Because we take our mixed up human relationships and see our relationship with God as being the same way.
But, Jesus wants to come and transform our view of God as Father. When we look at Jesus' relationship with His Father, we see an example of what our relationship with God as Father should be like. We have to allow Jesus to come in and transform our understanding of God as Father, because this descriptor of God given by Isaiah is just as important as all the others.
Everlasting Father
Earthly relationships will always have issues and challenges. They will break down. And they will be far from perfect. But they are glimpses of what Jesus was coming to be as the Messiah and still is today for us.
Jesus is the One who will always be there to care for us and to protect us from destruction by our enemy. He will never fail us. The prophet Isaiah was telling us this when he spoke of the coming Messiah.
The challenging part of seeing Jesus as everlasting Father, is that we get it mixed up with the sometimes challenging reality of our earthly relationships. Because we take our mixed up human relationships and see our relationship with God as being the same way.
But, Jesus wants to come and transform our view of God as Father. When we look at Jesus' relationship with His Father, we see an example of what our relationship with God as Father should be like. We have to allow Jesus to come in and transform our understanding of God as Father, because this descriptor of God given by Isaiah is just as important as all the others.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Mighty God
In his prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah gives four names for the coming Messiah that describe what His ministry would be about. Each of these names is significant. They talk about Jesus' ministry while He was on earth and the way He ministers to us till today.
Mighty God
Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth. His power was undeniable, even though people tried to attribute it to other things. He was accused of doing things by the power of the devil, when that would not have made any sense. For Jesus to do what He did while He was on earth, He would have to be a mighty God.
Mighty:
1. having, characterized by, or showing superior power or strength
2. of great size
3. great in amount, extent, degree, or importance; exceptional
If those are definitions of the word mighty, I would say they all apply when we're speaking of Jesus.
A mighty God can step in and act on our behalf for our good: Jesus came to do that for us. He was coming to as the Messiah to restore relationship with God and that meant He would step in on behalf of His people - both then and now.
Mighty God
Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth. His power was undeniable, even though people tried to attribute it to other things. He was accused of doing things by the power of the devil, when that would not have made any sense. For Jesus to do what He did while He was on earth, He would have to be a mighty God.
Mighty:
1. having, characterized by, or showing superior power or strength
2. of great size
3. great in amount, extent, degree, or importance; exceptional
If those are definitions of the word mighty, I would say they all apply when we're speaking of Jesus.
A mighty God can step in and act on our behalf for our good: Jesus came to do that for us. He was coming to as the Messiah to restore relationship with God and that meant He would step in on behalf of His people - both then and now.
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