December 23rd - Isaiah's prophecy of the child born

-

 


Passages: 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…6 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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:2,3,6,7 NIVUK)

 

Ponder:

It would be remiss of me, if I didn’t also look at what also happened with the first coming of Jesus.

Notice the verses above, that the child born would be a prince…would reign…be on a throne….over his Kingdom. The Lord’s prayer says it well when we pray thy kingdom come. Jesus coming ushered in a kingdom of love, joy, peace and justice like no other. This was no earthly, temporal throne this was to be an everlasting throne. Luke tells us that this kingdom is within us. Jesus’ kingdom is primarily one of the allegiance of our hearts and minds. Who is your allegiance with?

Prayer:

Jesus, come by your Spirit to rule and reign in my life today. Thank you for the light of the gospel of your kingdom. Thank you, that although I once walked in darkness, I have seen a great light; on my heart that once was in darkness your light has dawned.  My allegiance is to you and extending your kingdom purposes.  Today, let me be an ambassador – a kingdom carrier - of your love, joy, peace and justice. Let your kingdom come, let your will be done in my life, as it is in heaven. Amen.

 

 Handel's Messiah - Isaiah 9:6

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZLXZ8cZhSU

 

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KEpSXxL4Nn4&feature=youtu.be

 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joy - The Third Sunday of Advent

-
Image
Tomorrow we continue the liturgical calendar, the Third Sunday of Advent. The four Sundays preceding Christmas, which is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, are recognized for four virtues. The candles on the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, joy and love. The Third Candle of Advent - Joy . Otherwise known as the " Shepherd Candle, " this third candle of Advent reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival, and through the salvation he has gifted us. It is also known as the Shepherd Candle to highlight the joy the shepherds experienced when they received the good news about Christ’s birth ( Luke 2:8-20 ). During the middle of the night, the darkest time, the shepherds encountered angels. During this third week of advent, this Sunday celebrates the passage  Philippians 4:4-5 , its verses extolling readers to “ rejoice ” for “indeed the Lord is near.”  Churches want to highlight the importance of joy in advent season. During a time
Read more

Mercy drops...thank you

-
I am so very thankful for the mercy and grace of God that we have experienced over these past three days.  "Holding on to the horns of the altar" is a Bible expression for appealing to God's mercy, as a literal place of asylum that people once ran to in times of trouble. Our wee family have been literally "holding on" crying "mercy Lord." This has been since our son Stephen ran in the Murcia Marathon and collapsed, around the eighteenth mile, with a life-threatening heat stroke.  John, in the book of Revelation, talks about 'the prayers of the saints' rising 'as incense, filling up a bowl of mercy' which is poured back out on earth* (Rev 5:8;8:4). This is not just a theology that is relegated to saints of a bygone era. I have found prayer in fact to be a really practical demonstration and release of the life-giving power of God moving today. I call it " kneeology ". People from all over, bowing an
Read more

Finishing strong

-
Usain Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 metres and 200 metres titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016). His speed earned him the nickname Lightning Bolt. Yet, paradoxically we learn that he was a slow starter as one of the slowest runners off the blocks. He had faith in his process though, and knew that he would gain speed in the latter stages of any race. Usain, as a slow starter, has left us with this lesson. Finishing strong makes up for shaky starts. I was reminded this week by a very public shaky start, as I witnessed the bookies favourite for the Open, our very own Rory McIlroy. Rory had a nightmare of a round on Thursday. This most uncharacteristic and unfortunate poor round of golf meant he was well out of contention scoring  8 over par. Friday was a different story though. Like a true champion he dusted himself down and scored an amazing 6 under par. Even though he just missed the cut, he demonstrated a resilient tenacity of spi
Read more