Prince of Peace
How can we adore Jesus today?
Verse of the Day
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Today’s Devotional
Merry Christmas to you. Happy birthday, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for this day that the world stops, even for a moment, and many people acknowledge Your birth.
Silent night. Holy night.
Son of God, love’s pure light.
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace.
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.
Jesus was given TO US. He was born for us. He was born for a purpose bigger than we can wrap our brains around.
The part about government was confusing for me. But as I have studied, I think I am starting to understand. The Scripture isn’t referring to a human government. Not a political king. Not a democrat or republican, or whatever political parties were battling during the birth and life of Jesus. This is (in my opinion) referring to THE governing authorities of the seen and unseen world. Jesus is the King of everything. And the responsibility of governing both the physical and spiritual world is His. That’s a big job. A job He has always had, but that we get to begin witnessing on that first silent night. He wasn’t born and THEN grew into our Lord and Savior as He matured. He was Lord at birth. He has always ruled and always will.
He is a Wonderful Counselor, which means that He is here to guide us into a better existence. He is a Mighty God, a beautiful part of our Triune God. He is our Everlasting Father, because He always was, always is and always will be. He is the Prince of Peace. His goal is our peaceful reunification with the Father. The way He achieved that did not feel peaceful to His physical body, but His goal is our peace. We have more to be grateful for than we can even imagine.
O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Do you adore Him? Do you behold him? Are you joyful and triumphant? My prayer today is Ephesians 3:17. That Christ will make His home in my heart as I trust in Him, that my roots will grow down into God’s love and keep me strong. May each day of my life be as focused on Jesus as the world is today.
O come let us adore Him.
Do you believe in Jesus? As you spend time adoring Him today, I’m including the account of His birth from Luke 2. Merry Christmas.
“At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.” (Luke 2:1-20
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What does it look like to truly adore Jesus with your life?
How would that be different from what your life looks like now?
How can you offer your thoughts, words, and actions as a gift to Jesus today?