had perfect devotions for this last week of December and the year
but the one on Christmas Day spoke such truth
"Christmas Day Can Be Every Day"
in this devotional every day ended with
Today's Rx and a Prayer
the one for this one
"On this Christmas Day, do what you can to help someone else."
so that's what I have been doing all week
which I hoped might bring some "healing"
but from what just happened as I was typing this
to "no avail" and I'll leave it at that
and share the prayer for Christmas Day
"Lord, Thank You for Christmas Day and the joy of this season.
May I always praise the King of kings and be grateful
for how You sent Your precious Son, Immanuel,
to this earth."
The one for December 31st is
"God's Supply is Unlimited"
with the Rx being
"it only takes a sip of living water for us to never thirst again"
{i believeHis Supply would include "healing" also}
so I'm taking a sip a little bit ahead of time for
2018
hoping to remedy as much as I can of the
"... to no avail..."
situation
with my day set aside
to draw closer
to
God
once again
I learned a great deal about "healing" this year, mostly others, yet I really have no words of wisdom to summarize God's healing and how much healing I believe or have seen happen in me and those closest to me, yet it's a continual work in progress. I have gathered and read many healing scripture verses and some really wonderful books - and I guess the best word that I have, is part of my blog title ...
Miracles!
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I was also hoping to get a book review in this week,
as I just found out that it's already been released,
when I thought it was going to be in January 2018
so I'll be late again, yet it's one book that will last forever
and help us alot, even with healing -
whenever I get around to reviewing it and you're able
to get a copy for yourself
{it's on "praying scriptures" for your children}
and the author has written others: one for teens,
children, but this particular one is for
our adult children and us
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I have not finished with my
One Word of HEALING for 2017
but I already know my new One Word
and i believe it goes well with continuing this healing process
meanwhile
I'll be listening to the new album that this video is from
I'm pretty sure in years past, here and in actual Christmas cards, I had one that looks exactly like that blue image above and also partly why every year, I have chosen "The Cutest Blog on the Block' background with the 'magi', but my header also use to have that silhouetted manger scene because that is where the Star leads us to search and find our precious Savior that we celebrate each Christmas Day, His Birth into this world and into our hearts and lives as our Lord, our Messiah
- the One who takes all our "messes" and turns them into a message of His Redeeming Love; the rich blessing of His salvation born in us, the true "miracle" possible in everyone's life that He makes a way for us through the many "mazes" in our journey to arrive at that place where the Prince of Peace bestows His aMazing Grace; His Love, Joy, Hope and Peace.
This is my Christmas wish for you and your families as you spend time together; that JESUS be the center of this season and indeed the very reason we live and breathe to bring Him front and center, all the glory, honor and praise, He so deserves, as we surrender to His way all of our ways and await the glorious reign with Him in eternity, where we shall rest in final Peace ... Shalom and a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! ~ Peggy
the
PRESENCE
of
Jesus
is found in
His
Peace
May you be found and delight
in His Presence
every day
and
may
the Peace that
passes all understanding
be yours when it isn't
so easy
that
we cling to
His promises and power
given us in
His Word
His Peace
His Presence
* if you need more names of Jesus for the rest of this week, you may want to check out this devotional/blog or Love God Greatly or this wonderful, resourceful blog and prayer journal or Bible Resources; actually there is an abundance of resources on Jesus' Names ... even the Name of God Bible available at Bible Gateway as one of the versions...
"For to us a child is born, to usa 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." (ESV)
If you've been following along with me since Advent began 3 weeks ago, you'll realize that I am not doing them in the traditional order of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love (or whatever order you are familiar with as tradition), but I am doing these to coincide with the above verse in Isaiah 9:6, so this week I am presenting:
LOVE
with
EVERLASTING FATHER
{the preposition in between those two words could be many different ones} such as:
... for some of us, this is contrary, or a conflict with our earthly father, who may not have represented our Everlasting Father, at all as love or loving or even fatherly and perhaps not even there, so we have no earthly comparison ... and/or he fails in comparison; then there are some of us, who have been blessed by loving, earthly fathers and it helps to understand better the love of our Everlasting Father. Truthfully, there is no reason to compare but not having that love might impair or (a)skew our perspective of Father ... and Love.
When I look at the words in Isaiah, of our Father ... I focus mostly on the 'Ever' and the 'lasting' part as the best compound adjective to precede our Heavenly Father, who loves us all beyond inexplicable measures. 'Ever' means "at any time, at all times, always, increasingly and constantly" - now that most definitely describes our Heavenly Father, who is available to us ALWAYS ... and 'lasting' (without even looking this one up) means forever ... enduring or able to endure over a long period of time - that's our God! We put those two words together and see a Father that lasts forever, which is eternity ... HE is eternal!
So we can look forward to an eternity with an enduring love and a Father that is able to love forever. Now, this is our God! and the most beautiful part of this Christmas season from this Child born to us ... Immanuel, God with us ... truly aMazing! Isn't this why this following song, we can sing and sing over and over, or it comes to us, right when we need Him or this reminder the most?
Casting Crowns {they were just in Mpls., MN for their Christmas tour}
For the previous weeks, we have been
"UNWRAPPING
the Names of Jesus"
according to the Advent devotional book with that title
however, what I hope you really are doing is
focusing on
JESUS
unwrapping
more of His Presence and
all HE truly is as we receive Him
as we prepare our hearts and lives for
MORE
LOVE
found in
... Good Shepherd (John 10:11) ... Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) ... Son of Man (Mark 10:45); Son of God (Matthew 2:15); Son of David (Matthew 1:1); Son of the Highest (Luke 1:32) ... Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3) ... Lamb of God (John 1:29) Lamb (Revelation 13:8)
email 12/18/17 from Word Ministries - Prayers that Avail Much
Everlasting Father, I thank You for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for the marvelous changes in our lives – for transforming us into the image of Your dear Son. Almighty God, You have made us more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. I thank You that Your love abounds more and more in each of us as we fellowship this season with family and friends, in the name of Jesus. Amen. I Corinthians 15:57;Romans 8:37for Family and Friends
*this is a link to a great article by Spurgeon on "His Name -- the Everlasting Father"
"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."... (MSG)
JOY
{not the traditional 2nd week but I have changed the order to somewhat correspond with the Names and Attributes of Jesus as found in Isaiah 9:6}
MIGHTY GOD
Perhaps you (as I) are wondering how does Joy line up with Mighty God. Truthfully, I just ended up putting these two together because the other ones did fit and this was left ... but as I reflect on Joy (or not really finding much Joy as I should at this time of year) I realize that if I reflect on God (in Jesus) and Him being Mighty ... it really does stir up some Joy in the assurance that no matter what we face, our God is Mighty and Jesus certainly showed us this along with the humility of coming to us as a man, a babe in a manger ... Jesus, in all His power and might.
Last week, I looked at Jesus as the “Wonderful Counselor”... "the one who would show us the Father and lead us to the truth about ourselves and about life" {and I certainly do understand looking at that name as "Wonderful" and "Counselor" separately as well} and bring us Hope, as we look forward with expectation to what is to come (somewhat hard to do as we see so much devastation going on around us and our own personal trials). This week I am focusing on the title, “Mighty God”. "The Hebrew for God in this title is the simple word “el”. It denotes a mighty power that can be found only in deity. When we understand that the word for God means “Mighty Power” then we can see that this title really means the “Mighty Mighty Deity”. In other words, Jesus is set apart from all other powers, deities and spirit beings. His power is seen as far superior to anyone else." The "Miracles" of Jesus definitely show His power and His authority, the way He endured temptation and most definitively the events of His death followed by His Resurrection (and my, oh, my ... the benefits of His Power and claiming and proclaiming them with His promises - and the completion of them, especially the promise of salvation). So there are two reasons why this title of Jesus (Mighty God) should bring Joy:
Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift. And even now, with tiny features and dewy hair, He is great. The power of leadership, and the weight of authority, will rest on His shoulders. His name? His name
we’ll know in many ways— He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Dear Father everlasting,ever-present never-failing, Master of Wholeness,Prince of Peace.
JESUS
the Child, a Son
Wonderful Counselor
our *(Hope)
Mighty God
our *(Joy)
Everlasting Father
our *(Love)
Prince of Peace
our *(Peace)
attributes and names
of
JESUS
<>
*the traditional focus of each candle, each week
- not necessarily in this order -
corresponds with the liturgical year and virtues of Jesus
I have put them in this order to correspond
with the scripture verse only
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I have "hemmed and hawed"; browsed and searched; considered and contemplated my plan to prepare my heart for JESUS, with JESUS, for the celebration of JESUS - His first coming and His second coming, this Advent until Christmas; I've looked at books and Advent reading plans, purchased some new ones and perused through some old ones, then started reading, but I keep coming back to this scripture verse and focusing on:
... JESUS ...
these particular names and attributes
found in Isaiah 9:6
Love God Greatly (LGG) is doing "His Name is ..." and one of the books that I acquired because of the wonderful You Version plan "All is Calm: Receiving Jesus Rest this Christmas" - 5 days just baited me more and more to get the author's book, so I did {btw, I thought of "unwrapping" long before I knew of this book} ... ever since I began this blog, I have looked and listed the names of Jesus and God (from studies and reading ofAnn Spangler's books andNames of God Bible) with a deep desire to know Jesus more personally through His names and attributes.
This past fall, I began my mornings and ended my evenings with the Holy Spirit (through 2 beautiful devotional books) and time with Him after completing Bonnie Gray's "Whispers of Rest", and I really enjoyed His presence and finding "rest" in Him. This is why that You Version plan caught my attention with that "rest" once again which leads to the "peace" I long to fully experience, not just this season, but daily living with the Prince of Peace, that I have had the Joy of knowing, the Hope of believing, and the immense Love of my Lord and Savior, for most of this life journey with Jesus.
So, as I walk through this season and ending my year with the One Word - Healing, I've decided to really focus on the presence (presents) of JESUS by unwrapping the gift of Jesus, one name and attribute at a time, using the resources to guide me, but mainly the names in Isaiah, as I've outlined for each week on SONday and daily specific names that go with the theme focus and that Name ... also praying the names of Jesus. Worshiping Jesus ... with carols and contemporary songs or just being still.
Advent starts the 4th Sunday before Christmas, which is Dec. 3rd this year but I actually began reading on Dec. 1st my devos
This week on:
HOPE
with our
WONDERFUL
COUNSELOR
Jesus
Pondering how Jesus is truly a "wonderful counselor" who brings and is Hope to many of us, who need healing ... who need Godly wisdom ... who have beheld His wonderful - in awe of His wonder and being filled with gratitude as we try to take in the immeasurable amount of His love shown to us. The wonder we sense in His magnificent presence. The wonder of coming to know Him better, more intimately and letting Him change us from the inside out as He continually gives us one more ounce of "hope" as we hang on and anchor our faith in Christ Jesus.
My words are inadequate to express how "wonderful" He is and
how much of a "wonderful counselor" His Spirit becomes in us through His Word, so it is through His Word we find this Hope and hold on to the Hope we have, in believing in Him and believing Him. Allowing Him to be my "wonderful counselor" in my everyday situations and living, listening for His prompting, leaning in to hear His advice, staying close in and through His Word, checking whatever as it lines up with what He says in God's Word - the Bible, His love letter and basic instruction to us
[Let's see if any are the ones I choose to focus on each day this week]
Light the first candle of
Hope
as you ponder with me about
Jesus
(Matthew 1:21)
Christ
(Luke 9:20)
Messiah
(Daniel 9:25)
King of kings, Lord of lords
(1 Timothy 6:15)
the Resurrection and the Life
(John 11:25, John 14:6)
the Light of the world
(John 8:12)
Yes, LGG and Billy Graham, I agree
a beacon of
HOPE
and
of course
Wonderful Counselor
with our verse Isaiah 9:6
You could take each one of those names of Jesus like I'm doing one for each day this week then truly worship Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor, our anchor or beacon of Hope ...
