What we have been preparing for and thinking about is here. Christmas Day is upon us. The whole month of December is a celebration but Christmas day is the special day we set aside to celebrate the first coming of our Lord and Savior. I shared many things this month about who Jesus is – some of His names. Today I want to continue sharing about Who is for you. It has been a beautiful Christmas season and although we don’t keep the flare of December all year we are to keep Him and Who He is with us every moment of every day. Every day is the time to give, the time to share, the time to focus on others and love.
 
In the book of Luke we read about peace and the difference in the reactions of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, and Mary when they heard too-good-to-be true news for their lives. Zechariah doubted the news of a miracle and Mary said she would accept whatever the Lord had for her. John wanted a sign that he and Elizabeth would have a son at their age and Mary’s response was whatever you have for me, Father. “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you like a shining cloud; and the holy, pure, sinless Thing which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.” (Luke 1:35, 37)
 
“Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.” Luke 1:38 The Message Bible says it like this: “Yes, I see it all now; I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.”
 
I love these verses in Luke that tell us the heart of Mary, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”  Mary had a heart that trusted the Lord. She had peace in the whole situation. Belief brings peace. Trust brings peace. Faith brings peace. The opposite of peace is agitation, distress, fear, doubt. When any of us are agitated and distressed there is no peace in our life or our heart. There is little fruit. We are afraid to trust, afraid to believe, scared. PEACE IS A PROMISE!!! THE PRINCE OF PEACE DOES WHAT WE CANNOT DO FOR OURSELVES!!! He is true lasting Peace and He is there offering for us to partake of His Peace whenever we are distressed and agitated but so many times we choose not to let His peace work in our lives. As humans we lean toward fear so much of the time. People talk fear continuously. The media speaks death and fear daily. Jesus ALWAYS speaks and brings His peace.
 
Our world can become disrupted as had Zechariah’s and Mary’s. Their worlds would change and they had a choice to believe and receive what the angel was saying or doubt and be in fear. We like our safe, controlled worlds and even news of a miracle and answered prayer can disrupt what we want to be in control of. Instead of joy, peace, hope and faith Zechariah expressed agitation, distress and doubt. He wanted to KNOW how this could be instead of believing the miracle. Sometimes we want to know the reasons while Jesus emphasizes believe Me. We like to know why. Wanting to know the reason = no faith. We don’t always rest in Him and His promises. When life happens and makes a shift in another direction without Peace we cannot share Him with the world. Peace brings courage. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4
 
December 25 may not be the actual birth date of Jesus but for me it is a day I can set aside to celebrate His birth. I like that the day we take time to celebrate is at the end of one year and near the beginning of another year. For me it is a great way to close out 2017 and praise Him and celebrate everything He has given me and done for me. I make extra efforts to rejoice with others and honor Him and give Him all the glory. As I meditate on the Lord and all His goodness and love it makes me excited for the coming year. I know 2018 will be full of everything 2017 had and much more. Christmas prepares my heart to dream big in Him, see His visions for the year and to know no matter what He has for me this coming year - For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”  “Yes, I see it all now; I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” Luke 1:38 The Message Bible. You can personalize it like this –“Yes, I see it all now; I’m the Lord’s, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” I am excited for all the Lord has for me and I am enjoying this Christmas season knowing that He is with me. He is my Savior – my Lord – my Guide – my Answer – my best Friend – my Peace – my Joy – my Hope and He loves me and I can take all He is in me and share it with others. This Christmas and next year I want to be a forerunner going ahead sharing His unconditional love with others because my feet are shod with the Gospel of Peace. The good news of Peace that brings everlasting change to our hearts. Peace that causes us to believe and not doubt when we see our answered prayers. I desire to be like Mary and believe His too-good-to-be-true news when He tells me. I want to share the Prince of Peace with the world. These verses we meditated on in early December but I want to share them again today. His Word is powerful and never returns void. We can always meditate on His promises of peace.
 
“And God’s peace shall be yours - that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is - that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
 
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27
 
“And the effects of righteousness will be peace - internal and external - and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings and in quiet resting places.” Isaiah 33:17-18
 
“So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, without producing any effect, useless, but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:11-12
 
“You will guard me and keep me in perfect and constant peace because my mind, both its inclination and its character is stayed on You, because I commit myself to You, lean on You and hopes confidently in You. So I trust in You, commit myself to You, Lean on You, hope confidently in You forever; for You are an everlasting Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4
 
“For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 
 
“How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7   
 
“Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Luke 2:14
 
HAVE A WONDERFUL, BLESSED CHRISTMAS WITH YOUR HEARTS OVERFLOWING IN HIS POWERFUL PEACE!!!! Love to you all – Ed and Mona

The last few weeks I have been sharing about some of the names of Jesus as we celebrate Him and His birth this season. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4 The Lord impressed upon my heart how much power is in a name and knowing Him as my Wonderful Counselor, my Mighty God, my Everlasting Father and my Prince of Peace.

In November I read Matthew 1:23 in the Passion Translation. This is what it says: “Listen! A virgin will be pregnant! She will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “Emmanuel,” which means in Hebrew “God became one of us!” This part really stood out to me - Emmanuel, which means in Hebrew “God became one of us!” I have always read the translation, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23. That was powerful but “God became one of us” is even more powerful to me. As I shared before the meaning of a name was very significant in Bible times and still is for many people. “Joseph, one of the virtues of David, don’t hesitate to take Mary into your home as your wife, because the power of the Holy Spirit has conceived a child in her womb! She will give birth to a son and you are to name him, “Savior”, for he is destined to give his life to save people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 (Passion Bible) In other translations Savior is translated Jesus. “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus, The Lord is salvation, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Amplified Bible) In Hebrew Jesus – Yahweh means Salvation, Restoration and Deliverance or God saves, restores and delivers. He is Salvation, Restoration and Deliverance. That is so vital to grasp and understand in our hearts. He isn’t just about Salvation, restoration and deliverance. That is Who He is just like red doesn’t just mean a color but it is red, a color. He is Savior, Jesus. In our daily lives just knowing Who He is should bring us tremendous hope. We don’t have to wait to see if He wants to be that for you or beg for Him to save, restore and deliver you because He is that and if you have Him you are saved, restored and delivered already but you have to choose to receive it.

When I read the translation of Emmanuel in the Passion Bible I was so excited. Again, it means in Hebrew “God became one of us!” That is such a vital truth for our lives. If we believe that Jesus lived on earth as part man and part God we can never believe that He identities with us in our daily lives. When we have struggles and hard times we can know that “the Living Expression, Jesus Christ, became a man and lived among us! And we gazed upon the splendor of His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father overflowing with tender mercy and truth” John 1:14 He became a man – Emmanuel – became one of us.

In Hebrews 4 it says: Since all his “children” have flesh and blood, so Jesus became human to fully identify with us. He did this, so that he could experience death and annihilate the effects of the intimidating accuser who holds against us the power of death. For we have a magnificent King-Priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who rose into the heavenly realm for us, and now sympathizes with us in our frailty. He understands humanity, for as a Man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are, and conquered sin. So we now come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.” Hebrews 4:14-16

He understands humanity because He came as a man and lived among us. He is Emmanuel – one of us. He lived this life so He understands EVERY single thing that you and I go through and feel. Even though Jesus did not sin our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are, and conquered sin. He was tempted in every way. Wow! We can never say to Him that He doesn’t understand. He understands everything about us even when we are in the worst sin. He conquered sin because He knew His identity, His purpose, His Father. He had an intimate relationship with His Father and kept His eyes on Him and did what He did. That is the secret to not sinning – to being in disbelief. If our eyes were always on Him and His truths and we truly knew deep in our hearts just how much He loved us and is Salvation, Restoration and Deliverance we would be also be able to conqueror sin. Sin is not believing Who He is in us – in me and trying to earn and receive love and blessing through works and actions.

To me this translation was so powerful and changed my thinking. I knew Jesus came as a man so that we could identify with Him and He could identify with us but to know that is what Emmanuel means. If the world knew this truth I believe it would empower Believers to go so far from where they are now. I believe so many Christians haven’t grasped and understood in their hearts the truth that Jesus became one of us. They are waiting on Him to do something and begging Him to save, restore and deliver them from their situations and hurts. When they do not see any results they give up on His love or try harder and harder to get something they already have. If at Christmas time the message was “Listen! A virgin will be pregnant! She will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “Emmanuel,” which means in Hebrew “God became one of us!” I think many lives would be changed and be free from all the religious teachings of works, performance, begging, waiting – just plain bondage. I don’t know how to explain it but I know how this truth changed my life and my heart’s desire is to share the freedom of God became one of us so that others can know the freedom we have in Him because He understands and He has already done everything for us and all we have to do is believe and receive His unconditional love. That word unconditional is the key. We don’t grasp that because we tend to have conditional love and relationships.

Jesus understood rejection because He was rejected. He understand humility because He was humiliated. He understands sorrow. He understands you and He understands me.
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Be sure and take time for the Lord this next week. It’s the time of year “things” pile up on us and we can become overwhelmed and lose our purpose. He will bring you peace that passes all understanding. He will guide you in ways you never thought of. He multiplies your time, finances and great favor is yours in every situation. My life has been a bit of a whirl wind lately and yet I’ve found myself not stressing or being too concerned. I haven’t done much shopping for my family including my 22 grandchildren but I know the Lord has the perfect gift for them and preparing for Christmas this week will be light and easy. I questioned, “Am I walking in His peace or is it jet lag?” J. I’m believing it’s His peace that I saw in my heart in a whole different way while in Kenya. We give gifts because He is our gift. We give and receive and are thankful for Emmanuel who came on that day to become one of us. Each of you are precious in my life and I am thankful for you. My deepest desire is that you will understand just how much you are loved and accepted by Him and by us. We cherish our friends and look forward to all the ways He will lead us into sharing this wonderful message to others so that that the world can know this freedom and love that we are blessed to know. Have a wonderful week celebrating Emmanuel!!

​Yesterday as we were flying home from Kenya so much was on my heart. This was an amazing trip, an easy trip as far as mission trips go with a small team. Simple travel was the result of a 4 member team. Yet this was a powerful team! Our trip was blessed but not without some challenges. Ed, I, Sam and Jennifer flowed well together in all we did. This was Jennifer’s first trip and she was faithful, available, teachable, flexible, relational, helpful, happy, loving and a great missionary. Sam was a huge blessing on this trip as on any trip he goes on. He has traveled with us enough that he knows the ins and outs of what we desire and he is always watching, always protecting, always praying, encouraging and helping. He knows what’s next and is always prepared. He is available, flexible and shares his heart of love and Jesus to all we minister to. Thank you both for making this trip a blessing to all.
          The first night on the trip we received a phone call at 3 am that my Mom’s husband, Dave, had a heart attack. He had actually stopped breathing and had to be revived. I talked to my Mom and she was handling it okay but this day was exactly 16 years since my Dad had heart attack and passed away. My brothers and their wives were on their way to be with Mom who is still recuperating from the stroke last January and can’t walk without a walker and is in a wheelchair much of the time. She doesn’t drive and couldn’t go with Dave to the hospital. She sat at home praying. I stayed awake the rest of the night praying for Mom and Dave and wondering if I should go home. By the time we were leaving London to Kenya Dave was doing better and ALIVE! My brothers and their families were with Mom so they told me I could go ahead with the trip. I was torn but had a peace to go. It was a hard decision since I felt like I put something else before family but God is faithful. Then Ed ended up with a cold and was very hoarse a few days but always had a voice when sharing the Lord. He also ended up with an eye infection but got it healed real fast. Situations back home kept trying to distract our team but we trusted the Lord, listened to His Word and His voice and guarded our hearts. The whole time we were all busy ministering every day. Lives were changed daily – including our. People were encouraged, including ourselves.  Prayers were answered, including ours and people healed, including our bodies and hearts. We all came home different and excited for the next trip.
          One thing that the Lord spoke to me one morning was that I was living my call. He took me back to when I was a little girl and played missionary all the time. I saw myself with little African children as I played. I haven’t always known if I was in the right place and if there was a real call to African children or just something I love to do. But that morning He took me back and let me see what I saw 58 years ago. I saw my fair skin amongst little dark African children. It is hard to see myself as I saw me back then but He told me I am living today what I believed I would be then. I prophesied over my life so many years ago. That word made my heart jump. He said this is the time where my vision and destiny become clear. He told me to take my place and live in Him and to begin to see myself as He sees me. As I am seated with Him I am able to see how He sees and what I see in my heart. What I remember seeing in my dreams all those years ago is what He sees and the children see today. Definitely humbled me and I so thankful He showed me that. It changed the heart of my trip.
          There were no Christmas lights up yet, no trees but they do that soon. It didn’t look or seem like Christmas except in the people’s hearts. One of the reasons I don’t like going to Kenya this time of year is because I love Christmas and don’t want to miss anything. But as I rested in Him daily and was seated with Him in the heavenly realm I saw the people differently. I want to say like He sees them but I don’t think so exactly. It was so amazing to care so much and see the Christmas Spirit in a way I probably wouldn’t see here because I would be caught up in the busyness of the season. I still have 2 weeks here and that sounds good. I have all my God moments and times to remember and ponder. Ed received the same revelation of being away this time of year and we didn’t realize it until we shared testimonies in London. So God!
          We were able to help in so many ways financially. Many of you were a part of that. Thank you for your giving as we gave to them.

• During breakfast one morning Ed felt compelled to give Bill money. Bill then told us he had just gotten off the phone with Lenah, who was still at the school preparing for a week long Youth Bible School. She had to replace the water tank. It cost almost the same amount we planned to give Bill and the $32 more dollars he needed came from our team.
• As a team we took an offering and came up with enough to send 4 of the Youth in the children’s home to the Bible camp this week. We will send more in April and August when they do more Youth Bible schools.
• We had finances come in so we could help Vincent and Alice send their 11 year old son to a good school for children with autism. Charles has it quite bad and this school will be a blessing. The school is $1000 for 1 year and we paid 1/3. We give Him honor and glory.
• We bought lots of food, left clothes, left extra money, bought the kids a Christmas cake and some bottled pop. What a treat that was.
• We blessed Alice with a money gift just for herself. How does a Mom of almost 70 kids get to do anything for themselves?! I’m believing she will.
• We are praying to help them with a solar system that will help save money and be helpful when the power goes out.
• Both families were blessed with phones, notebook – Kindle Fire, etc, a new laptop for Vincent and much more - thank you for your giving. They were all so excited.

 
We’ve been talking about the names of the Jesus this Christmas. On this trip so many of His names came alive in our situations. Healer – Provider – Shepherd – Peace – Refuge – Strength. He was always with us and always powerful in each situation.
 
“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4 
 
So what does Mighty God and Everlasting Father mean? As I studied this out I found that Mighty God in this text means “strong man, a leader, a chief” because this is the general sense in which the Jews viewed the coming Messiah. He would be a strong leader like Moses, or Abraham, or David in their eyes. For us the name Mighty God means He is our leader, our strength, our protector, our shield. He is mighty in all His ways and always there for us.
Everlasting Father- means Jesus is forever. Christ has no beginning and has no end. He is the source of time, space and creation. He is everlasting – eternal – always and forever. For me, that is so valuable and important in my life. To know that no matter what He is there with me, never leaves me, will never end no matter what is happening around me. This truly brings peace in my heart. I don’t worry about traveling other places if He called me to go because He is with me. I am listening to Him instead of the media. I know it should be a given that He is my Everlasting Father but there are definitely moments and times in my life that I don’t think, act, talk or seem to believe He is Everlasting Father. I get into fear, doubt and try doing things on my own especially when I listen to other voices filled with fear. If I listen to the media or look at world situations I could wonder – as much of the world wonders – where is Jesus and why has He forsaken us now? I know He hasn’t but sometimes my thoughts and reactions to things could make others think I don’t believe. It can be easy to get caught up in the doubt and fear but on trips we know that guarding our hearts to the distractions and listening to Him is the greatest thing we can do. The enemy’s only weapon is to lie and deceive us into thinking that Jesus did not come as our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
I hope this makes sense to you. Sometimes it is hard for me to write in words what I am feeling in my heart. I just want you to take time to meditate on Who Jesus is in your life every moment of every day. Mediate and ponder His name and what it really means. There is power in the name of Jesus. Not just the name “Jesus” but in every part of Who He is and what each part of His name represents.
Enjoy this season of love and be seated next to Him in heavenly places and see the season and people from His heart and everything around you that distracts will be gone. Blessings and thank you again for helping us take the Good News to Kenya!

​          It is the Christmas season. There is no way to avoid it with all the movies, songs and decorated stores. For me – I love it. I am one of those that start watching the Hallmark movies right away and listen to Christmas music from the beginning of October. I don’t get my shopping done early or my cardsJ. These are my December projects and many times I wish I would have tried to do more before. Instead, I go the other way. I am still celebrating, sending cards and giving gifts in January and sometimes February especially when we are out of the country in December. I usually get it done just not on anyone else’s time schedule. Each year I like to find a different perspective to look at Christmas from. I want each year to be special and unique. I know there is so much to experience in my heavenly Father and Jesus that each year I can know Him in a deeper and richer way than before. As I prayed about this year He showed me to consecrate on His Name. This verse speaks so much to me. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4 I love to know the meaning of names. As Ed has said many times he calls me his Cute Slave Monkey because that is what Mona means in different languages. Cute in Spanish – Slave in Russian – Monkey in Venezuelan Spanish and also Noble in Irish. Now days people are named by whatever their parents liked the sound of and not so much by meaning. In Bible times names always had meanings and the name was thought out according to that meaning. It was prophesied in Isaiah the Jesus’ name would be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He has many other names too. In the Book of Matthew it says “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23.
According to the dictionary one definition of name is: “A combination of words by which a person, place, thing, body or class, object of thought is designated, called or known”. There is power in the combination of words that designate a person, place or thing. Our given names at birth have more power than we know. I think it is important for parents to know the meaning of the name they are giving their child. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1  “A good name is better than precious perfume.”  Ecclesiastes 7:1   Names in the ancient world carried more significance than they do in these modern times. Names would distinguish the nature and character of a person. This is particularly true regarding the many Names of God and Jesus that are recorded in the Scriptures. To know His Name is to enjoy Him in a very intimate way. When His Names were revealed to mankind He was making Himself accessible and vulnerable. When the Bible says to not take God’s Name in vain – it isn’t talking about swearing and cussing. When you don’t believe Who He is by the character of His Name – you are taking His Name in vain. The names of Jesus reveal His true nature to us.
Isaiah says, “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.”  I read this description of Wonderful Counselor in a devotion by James MacDonald: “He’s not the angry counselor, the gruff counselor, or the disconnected counselor. He understands what we’re going through and can advise us while He accompanies us through whatever we are facing. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). You may be surprised to discover the Hebrew word for wonderful is “pela” which actually means wonder or miracle. So the “wonderful” in Wonderful Counselor doesn’t just mean delightful and pleasing but also miraculous. He is a miracle-working Counselor who does what no one else can do for you. The title Counselor means the wisdom of Jesus Christ applied to your life is like nothing else. It’s supernaturally insightful. You can’t get it from any other source. You cannot afford to be making decisions without a guiding word from the Miraculous Counselor. And you can’t call Him Wonderful Counselor if you don’t embrace His wisdom for your salvation, your family, your finances, your future—everything. When it comes to the term counselor, the idea in Scripture is not primarily a person who listens. That’s a secular understanding. The biblical idea of counsel involves both careful listening and clear advising. It describes someone who is wise; someone who really knows how to live and will share that knowledge.”
Isaiah was writing nearly 800 years before Christ. Isaiah’s prophecy gave the people of God a hope they so desperately needed: a Child would be born and He would bear the titles “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The word wonderful in this verse literally means “incomprehensible.” The Messiah will cause us to be “full of wonder.” The word is much deeper than the way it’s used in normal conversation today—we say things are “wonderful” in place of pleasant, lovely, or the least bit likable. Jesus is wonderful in a way that is incomprehensible to the mind. The word counselor means a wise king like Solomon who gave wise guidance. Jesus as our Wonderful Counselor means we can trust Him to listen to our problems and guide us in the right direction. He listens. He cares because He loves us. His love is so wide and deep and wonderful that we cannot really comprehend it.
Wonderful counselor. I am so thankful that Jesus is that for me – for everyone. He is a miraculous, beyond my imagination, full of wonder Friend who listens, cares, gives wisdom beyond my understanding because He loves me deeper than I can comprehend. Our world is full of evil and evil things happen daily. It is easy to think we are living in the worst of times but as I read history I find that there has always been evil happenings. The Old Testament is full of evil doings and the people didn’t have what we have today. They didn’t have a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. They did not have miraculous Wisdom to guide them through in the same way we do. Jesus, incomprehensible Wisdom, can to live in our hearts over 2000 years ago and still we make the decision to make our own decisions and lean on our own understanding. When you think about it that is probably the most incomprehensible thing I can think of. He has given it all to anyone that would choose to accept His love and yet we turn from the Wonderful Counselor and make decisions that we like and what make sense to us and keep us comfortable. Wow. That is something to ponder.
Here are a couple more names of Jesus. His name are hope, peace, joy, love. This Christmas season meditate on Who He is for you and all He has for you. You are the reason He came to earth. You are the reason He is a Wonderful Counselor. It is all for you, Receive all He is for you. I will share more next week.
 
 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His own life for His sheep. ..I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me - Even as the Father knows Me and I also know the Father – and I am giving My life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep.” John 10:11,14-15
 
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him shall bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciples.” John 15:5, 7-8
 
Lord, this is my prayer today - “For my determined purpose is that I may know You, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of Your Person more strongly and more clearly..” (Philippians 3:10) To me, that is what this season and this unity with You is all about – knowing You. The more I become deeply and intimately acquainted with You the more I know who I am in You. Knowing You gives me the joy, peace and love to go and share You with everyone who is lost without hope. Your determined purpose is that all come to truly know You and Who You are not just who man says You are. I can only know You as I spend time perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of Your Person more strongly and more clearly. You have not hidden Yourself from me or anyone else. You have made Yourself known and now I must choose to listen to You words and receive Your love. You are my Savior and I will exalt and praise Your Name for You have done great and mighty things and Your Name will stand forever. Amen

December 3, 2017
The last week I have shared about some of the names of Jesus in relation to this Christmas season. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4 Prince of Peace. What a name! How does Who He is as the Prince of Peace work into our lives? I look up some definitions and thoughts from a commentary on Prince of Peace.
This is what it said: The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, is often used in reference to an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations. The Greek word eirene means “unity and accord”; Paul uses eirene to describe the objective of the New Testament church. But the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is “the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.”
God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to restore a relationship behind the Father and His children, us. We were created to have an intimate relationship with God the Father and when sin came into the world that close bond could not be the same. God sent Jesus as a baby. He did not come as some great leader as the people in those days were looking for. Jesus gave up His deity and left it in heaven to come as a baby human that would live a life just as man does. He was tempted in every way as man and choose to keep His eyes on His Father and not give in to any of the temptations. If He would have come in any other way but as one of us He could not relate to us and we would not believe He truly understood us. Yes, He would have understood because He was God but that would give each person a reason to not draw near to Him since He would seem to be too out of reach. God knew what He was doing when He sent His Son as a baby over 2000 years ago. Then when Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose again He made peace between God and man. Man no longer has to work for a relationship with God but man has a relationship because if Jesus is in the heart of man – that man can come to God through Jesus the Son. It is hard for me to put it into words that are easy to understand but I am so thankful that I can have an intimate relationship with my heavenly Father because of Jesus. Jesus came as the Prince of Peace – Prince means “chief man of the state”. Jesus came as the chief man of the state of peace. Or chief man of unity and accord and the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God. He came as the chief way – the only way to have restoration with God. To me, that is so powerful. He is the only way and He is near and desires for us to live in Him. I like this part of Romans 5:1 – “let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God and the joy of reconciliation with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed.”

Sunday: “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,  Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:4 Jesus, You are my peace. Because You are the Prince of Peace and You gave up Your life for everyone at the cross and was buried and rose again to Life, there is now peace between my heavenly Father and man. I know longer have to fight and work for a relationship with my Father. Peace means that there is a state of rest, quietness and calmness. It is perfect wellness. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased.” Luke 2:14 I praise You always and choose to walk in the peace that is already in me because You are in me. Amen
 
Monday:  Father, thank You for this word of truth -“And God’s peace shall be yours - that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is - that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 What a promise to see and hold close when in my own understanding nothing makes sense. I worship You always. Amen
 
Tuesday: “And the effects of righteousness will be peace - internal and external - and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings and in quiet resting places.” Isaiah 33:17-18 Lord, when I choose to throw away my peace there is no quietness in my heart. When I do that I am hurting myself physically and emotionally. It is a bad choice that hurts me in more ways than I realize. This time of year is especially easy to get into hecticness and forget what Your coming was really all about. Thank You for being my peace and providing peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings and quiet resting places. “But those who wait for the Lord - who expect, look for and hope in Him -  shall renew their strength and power. They shall mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” Isaiah 40:31   Amen
 
Wednesday: “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:11-12 Hallelujah! You are leading me in peace and joy. Thank You for showing me that all creation knows Your peace and are rejoicing in Your love. Your Word always leads me and I thank You that Your Word never returns without producing and accomplishing what it was purposed to do. You are my Lord and my Savior and I love You. Amen
 
Thursday: “You will guard me and keep me in perfect and constant peace because my mind, both its inclination and its character is stayed on You, because I commit myself to You, lean on You and hopes confidently in You. So I trust in You, commit myself to You, Lean on You, hope confidently in You forever; for You are an everlasting Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 Thank You and Amen  (written in 1st person)
 
Friday: “And let the peace from Christ rule in your hearts..” Colossians 3:15 Today, Lord, I choose to let Your peace guard and protect my heart. Without Your peace my heart would be hard, sick and full of fear. Your love surpasses everything and guards me as I am growing, learning and trusting You. “For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10  Thank You that Your love and peace are NEVER taken from me no matter what. Just knowing You are there for me and with me makes all the difference and brings me unbelievable peace. Praise You always. Amen
 
Saturday:  “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7    Father, You tell me over and over the value, importance and power of Your peace. Your peace will change the world the nations, this country, my family. As I know, live and experience Your peace in my daily life others around me will see it and desire to experience it also. That is what I want. I desire that Your peace is so overflowing from my heart that it is evident in every part of my life and that there is no one, no situation, no circumstance, no storm that could make me give up my peace I have in You. Peace will change the world – not the peace the world talks about but Your peace. Peace heals bodies, relationships and hearts. This Christmas I will shout from the rooftops or the mountains that the Savior is born and the same peace I experience by announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace I want to share with all around me. Thank You that every minute of each day of this Christmas season can be peaceful, loving and full of sharing You as the Prince of Peace.  I choose today to walk in Your Peace and rejoice in all things. Glory to God!!!! Amen