Christmas Meditation

This was sent to me by Karen Fox to share with the church. I wish I could have shared this on Sunday, but just received it yesterday.

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I was meditating on Isaiah 9:6-7. In the Message Bible, I wanted to read to the congregation the following verses:

For a child has been born – for us!
The gift of a son – for us!
He'll take over the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always.

(the bold section is verses 6 and 7, and where I concentrated my meditation)

This passage brought some perspective to how I would like to experience Christmas this year. I want my focus to be on Jesus and the purpose for his coming, just like Pastor Paul mentioned a couple Sundays ago. And I want my heart to be right with God.

What I appreciate the most in this passage is that I can rely on one God, the true God, to be the ruler of my heart and my life. I like that I have only one ruling authority in my life, ultimately one to be accountable to (although, we as the Body of Christ are accountable to one another as well, which is an act of obedience to our God). I was thinking how having one God to worship and obey really does simplify things.

The Scriptures say that there are no limits to the wholeness Christ brings to our lives. At this time of year, many people can feel rather fragmented and harried with the additional tasks that the Christmas season brings. I just wanted to encourage everyone with this passage of hope. If you start to feel frazzled or disillusioned by the hussle and bussle of Christmas, think on the ruling authority in your lives, remind yourselves of the reason for Jesus Christ's birth and His purpose to restore us back to wholeness and purity, and allow yourselves to rest in the limitless peace He wants you to experience at this time of year and into the next.

Our hope is secure because we know that His authority will grow in this world, that all people will eventually end up bowing to Him, and that the power of sin has been conquered by Christ's death so that we as believers can be restored to wholeness.

The passage really encouraged me to reclaim a sense of peace this Christmas, a peace without limits, and allow God to sustain it, knowing that His rule and His will is occurring right now on earth and will last forever. Our peace never needs to end when we trust in God's rule and take on Christ's righteousness.

Be blessed this holiday season.