Isaiah 9:5-6
For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Beloved,
My aim for the next few days is to help us understand the reason why we celebrate Christmas by examining one of the names of Jesus as shown to us in the Bible. The culture today has commercialized the event and if we are not careful and intentional in our approach to celebrating this season, we will find ourselves following this culture mindlessly.
We owe the next generation the need to be taught the original. This will help them identify and shut down counterfeits in life immediately. It will also help them understand why we do what we do, in this case, why we celebrate Christmas. They need to know that anything of the kingdom is superior, more to be desired, more enticing, and more fun than any other option or alternative.
In the text above, while a situation, in this case, a war is happening out there, unto us, something entirely different is our experience. Luke 2:11 says for there is born to you this day…a Savior. This is why salvation is personal; this is why the encounters that change the lives of men will always be personal. There is a dimension of Jesus being revealed to the general public (us) and there is a dimension of a personal encounter (you).
Beloved, how personal is Christ to you? Will he continue to be Jesus the Savior of the world or Jesus my Savior and my Lord? Our journey to serious encounters in the kingdom is going to start from this first personal encounter.
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
I call you BLESSED. I call you NATIONS.
