Here are some thoughts to ponder during this holy season I've borrowed from other writers and all of the credit goes to these wonderful authors:
12/5- "Stepping from the throne, he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin: pignmented, human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark wet womb. He who angels worship nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow's hay." - Max Lucado (In the Grip of Grace)
12/6- "Christ's inimitable meekness and patience never once forsook Him in a vexatious, ungrateful, cruel sphere. He never stepped out of the humble sphere in which He was brought up; He does not seem to have ever possessed for Himself so much as the smallest coin, and when He died had no means for providing for His mother, and could only commend her to one of His disciples. Yet, His life was infinitely superior to all others. If Jesus were no more that a man or a hero, why are there not more men like Him? What God did for one man, God would certainly do for others. It is unaccountable that it has never been done. The incarnation, when Jesus came as "the Mighty God," alone helps us us to the solution of such an enigma." -J.B. Figgis (Emmanuel)
12/7 & 8- "Blessed are you, O Adonai! How could we approach you as you were in heaven-The Eternal Light, God's Son-so lofty and holy and beyond ourselves! Before this day our minds could not grasp you!"
Mary's explanation tumbled out. "I've thought about it a lot. The why of it all. I knew the minute I saw his sweet face, looked in his eyes. He came to earth the same way we all have come. He came so you and I can see him and hear his voice and, yes, love him. He came to live in our family so we can learn how a family is meant to live. So we can care for his needs for a while and love him as our own child and let him love us-mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, and cousins-his family, you know? And I think he will show us how to forgive one another too. He came to us like this so we can rock him gently in our arms and sing to him. And you will carry him on your shoulders and never, never be afraid of him again." - Bodie & Brock Thoene,(The Sixth Covenant)
12/9 & 10-"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given....And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor."- Isaiah 9:6
"Wonderful." The Hebrew word pala indicates "something uncommon our out of the ordinary." It reflects "a phenomenon lying outside the realm of human explanation; that which is separated from the normal course of events; something that cannot be explained...It is something miraculous! The problem is that we have a low view of the miraculous, and therefore a limited sense of wonder."
"Counselor." From our point in history we can see that Jesus is the very wisdom of God. When you take all that we know about Christ, it adds up to a marvelous truth-He is the God who is, and who is called, a "Wonder of a Counselor."..He is the Son of God who offers to bring people of all nations to His Father, and who invites all who trust Him to be part of His family forever.-RBC Ministries(Jesus Who Is This Man Who Says He's God?)
12/11 -13 -..."Unto Us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given...And His name will be called Mighty God."
"God."The name "Mighty God" is an Old Testament title here applied to the coming Messiah. It is the compound Hebrew El Gibbor...The first part of the title is El, which is used in the Old Testament to refer to the one true God (though on occasion it is used of mighty heroes, or even false gods). It is the singular form of the word Elohim...That Isaiah 9:6 was predicting One who woud be far more than a man is indicated not only by the third name "Everlasting Father" and by other prophetic references such as Isa. 2:1-4, but by the New Testament record of Christ. The Christ who walked on water, died voluntarily for our sin, and then rose bodily from the dead is the One who also said, "Before Abraham was, I am" (Jn.8:58)
"Mighty." The other part of the name is Gibbor, which means "strength, power, hero."..."The focus of Isaiah's prophecy is El Gibbor, the Mighty God who is our true hero. Look at the way Jesus showed His right to be recognized as the Mighty God that Isaiah predicted. He demonstrated power over nature (Lk.5:1-11), power over disease (Mt. 9:18-26), power over demons (Lk. 8:26-39), power over sin (Mk. 2:3-12), and power over death (I Cor. 15:1-19).
Truly, He is "the Son of God with power" (Rom. 1:4 and "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:24) -RBC Ministries (Jesus Who Is This
Man Who Says He's God?)
12/14-15- "His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never by destroyed." -Daniel 7:14
Could this ever be said of one who is merely a man?"..." Every other covenant involved a man. But men fail, so the covenant is incomplete. Avraham could not perfectly keep it. Mosheh could not. David could not. But King Messiah-the God-Man, born of the virgin-he will perfectly mediate the covenant between the Almighty and his children. He will deliver us, all who bow before him, from the power of evil...forever."
-Bodie & Brock Thoene,(The Sixth Covenant)
12/16-18- "So, the good news of Messiah's birth had reached the distant boundaries of the world. Yosef understood at last the quote from the prophet Isaias. He restated it now in a reverent whisper: "Nations will come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your dawn. I will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." Isa. 42:6..."Addressing himself to the infant, Gaspar saluted and cried, "Hail, you whose name is Wonderful."
Kagba: "Hail, Yeshua! Divine Counselor."
Perroz: "Hail, Yeshua! Mighty God."
Old Balthasar: "Hail, Yeshua! Everlasting Father."
Melchior and the others: "Hail, Yeshua! Prince of Peace."-
(The Sixth Covenant)
12/19-20 ..."Unto Us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given...And His name will be called....Everlasting Father."- The symbolic use of the word father was an ancient Hebraism for "possessor of." Notice that Isaiah 9:6 the Messiah is described as both a Son ("unto us a Son is given") and a Father ("His name will be called...Everlasting Father"). He became a child in time (through the incarnation), but He is the Father (and possessor) of eternity...In Exodus 3 we find the name "I Am." This name describes and defines the God who is. He is totally independent of His creation, and totally independent of time. He is the God who is Alpha and Omega, the God of the eternal present tense...
In Jn. 8:58, Jesus made the most amazing statement of all. he said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." -RBC Ministries (Jesus Who Is This Man Who Says He's God?)
12/21-23 ..."Unto Us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given...And His name will be called....Prince of Peace."- The name "Prince of Peace" is the Hebrew Shar Shalom, which means "the one who removes all peace-disturbing factors and secures the peace." This automatically sets Him apart from most human rulers whose reigns often depend on bloody conquest. His rule rest on a bloody sacrifice!
The New Testament claims that the first phase of His coming was to establish a basis for peace with God and to offer it to individuals of all nations. The New Testament also claims that He will come a second time to bring peace to the earth."... "Those who trust Christ as their Mediator and Savior are given by God an assurance that flows out of a right relationship with Him. Once we are in Christ, the Prince of Peace shows us that He can bring peace wherever He rules."-RBC Ministries (Jesus Who Is This Man Who Says He's God?)
May your CHRISTmas be filled with love, joy and peace as you worship JESUS, our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace!
