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A crown is a form of headwear worn by a monarch or by a deity. Traditionally, crowns have represented power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honor, and glory, as well as immortality, righteousness, and resurrection. Based on this description, it is no surprise that the prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as a glorious crown in the following passage.

In that day the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant of his people.
He will be a spirit of justice
to the one who sits in judgment,
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle at the gate (Isaiah 28:5-6)

Throughout the Bible, Jesus physically and figuratively wore several different crowns. Consider the significance of the following:

Crown of thorns

The crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’ head before his crucifixion symbolized Israel’s rejection of her King. To the Roman soldiers, the crown of thorns was meant to mock Jesus’ as the King of the Jews. In reality, it was truly a symbol of power. Only Jesus had the ability to ultimately conquer sin and death through his death, burial and resurrection.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:5-6).

Crown of glory and honor

Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He has been crowned with glory and honor as he sits the Father’s right hand.

The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool (Matthew 22:44).

Crowned of triumph

The final chapters of Revelation record Jesus’ return to earth and his final triumph over sin and death. Immortality.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:11-16).

Jesus Christ – glorious crown, King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s.

“Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne. Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns, All music but its own! Awake, my soul and sing, Of Him who died for thee, And hail Him as thy matchless King, Thro’ all eternity.”

Matthew Bridges (1851)

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Isaiah 40:28 “Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of all the Earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

Today’s name of Jesus is “Creator of all the Earth”.

This was great encouragement for me today! We are heading to Chicago on Friday for my husband to have a hip replacement. It’s hard to believe its finally here after months of pain and discomfort for him. We are SO ready to get this show on the road! Unfortunately one of our children was diagnosed with the flu today. Only one down so far but my mind jumps to 100 different scenarios all at varying degrees of probability. We have NO time for the flu! But do we ever have time for the negative things life has to bring? We can make all the plans we want and “God willing” they happen, but only God knows the twists and turns that will take us to our destination.  The above verse gave me peace as I remembered that I get to be in communication with the Creator of all the Earth. That means there is power in the one I pray to. He has seen ALL and created ALL. He knows more than I do.  Today I feel myself growing faint and weary with all of the what if’s but I’m taking them to God and asking Him to carry them because He will not grow faint or weary.

Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; He offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”.

I will wait on the Lord and be renewed each moment. This week I am praying for miraculous healing for my husbands hip and for the flu to go away! Whatever you are facing this week that was not expected remember that you have a direct line to the “Creator of all the Earth”. Lean that direction.

Shelly

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 9: 6

Whenever I hear or read Wonderful Counselor, I instinctively hear Handel’s Messiah,

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon^[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called^[e]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
– Isaiah 9:6

For several years, Jillian and I were in a professional choir and every year we would perform this portion of Handel’s Messiah, during the Christmas program.  Each time that we would sing “For Unto Us a Child Is Born”, I would be overjoyed and excited for the robust and glorious sound that the choir would make.  It is a proclamation that the turmoil and strife that the earth and we are experiencing would soon be delivered into something amazing and awesome. This CHILD that would be born to “us” would be something that would erase the darkness and usher in new life, light and hope.

Isaiah is presenting to Israel newness and transformational strength.  Several types of leaders had ruled Israel: prophets (Moses), soldiers and warriors (Joshua), judges (Othniel, {Ehud and Shamgar}, {Debora and Barak}, {Gideon, Tola, and Jair}, {Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon}, and Samson), and kings (Saul, David, and Solomon). Isaiah is announcing to the people that the new child would not only be the conquering warrior for Israel, but the complete and final leader that they would need.

The people of Israel over the span of hundreds of years since entering the promise land fell into a vicious cycle of: knowing God, forgetting God, repenting and remembering God, then forgetting God.  This theme seems somewhat familiar.  There have been times that I remember where I fall madly in love with God and search his word daily.  Then there are times I on occasion would remember to look at my daily devotional. Then there are times that the busyness of life overwhelms me and I do not get into the word for days to weeks. Then I am reminded of the goodness of God and then I start to revisit the scriptures.  This pattern is not by accident, but it is purposeful distractions that are presented to us from the adversary.  Unlike the people of Israel whom Isaiah is writing, we have a Wonderful counselor that will redirect our thoughts to reconnect and refocus our passion.

An interesting part of the scripture is where Wonderful Counselor is placed.  It is the first name that is given in this context of the new child. Over the last several posts, I have seen that the particular placement of words and phrases has a profound effect and impact of the word of God. In the last post, the phrase that I had was the last words that were utter by Christ in the bible Revelation 22:16

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The phrase that we are presented with today is Isaiah 9:6 that is mentioned at the beginning of this post , it is the first name that Christ is given in Isaiah.  There is power in the placement of words.

Wonderful Counselor is a title that shows God has heard the cries of the children of Israel and will send a judge that would not have any of the flaws of the previous judges, but higher power and authority and will deliver the people forever. Jesus has the final say for the pain, hurt, despairs, and anguish that we all suffer.   This Wonderful Counselor creates and maintains wholeness for all that are in need of peace.  We have to know how to recognize and accept his peace.

 

Be Blessed.

 

 

What is it that you are waiting for?  I can think of things I wait for daily, such as: my coffee to finish brewing, my dog to do her business outside, waiting in drive—thru lines, waiting for my husband to get home from work, waiting for dinner to be ready, and waiting at night for my kids to get home before their curfew.  Those are not huge things that take over our thoughts, but what about waiting on things that make our hearts weary?  Waiting for healing, a restored relationship, a prayer to be answered, and many other heavy burdens that we face in this life.  Jesus tells us…

“In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

This leads us to our name of Jesus for today.  Jesus is the Consolation of Israel.  Consolation is another word for comfort.  The Jews had suffered much oppression from others and because of their own rebellion against God.  Because of this, they longed for comfort.  

Luke chapter two tells of us of a man named Simeon.  Simeon was a Jewish man who was waiting on the Consolation of Israel.  

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.  He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on Him.

Luke 2:25

It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  Day after day Simeon waited for the knowledge that the Messiah was here.  Finally, moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.  When he arrived he saw parents with a baby boy.  The parents brought the child to the temple because this was the custom that the Law required. Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations;  a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:29-32

I can only imagine the comfort and joy that flooded Simeon when he saw the baby Jesus and knew immediately that He was the fulfillment for all the longings the people of Israel had for many centuries.  

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

Isaiah 40:1 &2

Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel.  He was waiting for the Messiah.  Yet, Simeon did not realize that Jesus would die on a cross like a common criminal to  pay for the sins of all mankind.  On the third day He rose from the dead, defeating both sin and death.  Jesus would rule over all nations.  Jesus would defeat Israel’s true enemies, sin and death.  This is how Jesus represented the consolation of Israel, He showed the way of light and truth, the way of the Father.  He showed the way of eternal life, free of sin and death.  

Jesus is not just the consolation of Israel, He is the consolation of the whole world.  

…for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

1 John 5:4

How blessed are we that we no longer have to wait to be with Jesus?!!  We can commune with Him daily through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus, we have God’s consolation, his comfort, that we have been forgiven.  Let the consolation of Jesus dwell in your heart as you bring his comfort to the world around you.

Think about something you don’t have a lot of confidence in. Maybe it’s your old alarm clock that more and more occasionally seems to forget its job. Perhaps it’s your car that seems to break down at the most inopportune moments. Could be a coworker who spends a little too long on lunch breaks. Almost certainly the government, in one way or another. Whatever your thing may be, think about why you’re not confident in that; what brings us to depend on these things, when they’re guaranteed to reach a breaking point and fail in some way at some point?

People are, by the broken nature brought about by the fall of man, imperfect. The things we create, the tools we use, the responsibilities we hold, the organizations we take part in; all of these things take the imperfections of the human hands that put them into place. This can likewise be true on a personal scale – we can be confident in our own talents and abilities, the experience and intelligence and hard work we’ve spent our lives building up. But even small mistakes can overturn all of these and bring serious consequences. So how can we, as imperfect people, be confident in our ability to do… well, anything?

The answer is, of course, where our confidence comes from. As Psalm 71:5 says, “You have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” The accumulation of all disappointments that come from human things can be overwhelming – how uplifting and gratifying it is to have this one thing, in all our days, we will never lose confidence in! We can confide in our Lord 100% of the time, all of our days. This is where our confidence must come from – not in our own fragile nature, but in a  righteous and rock-steady God. We can be confident that God will protect us and deliver us from evil when we come to Him.

In Phillipians, Paul describes his distrust in the flesh and where, in his trials and jailing, his confidence comes from. Phillipians 3:3 says: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh”, then goes on to say in the same verses 8-9: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order than I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

We Christians know there is nothing we could own or do that could surpass Christ. We know that salvation does not come from the things we own, or the groups we join, or our own rule-abidance, but in a God who pours out His righteousness and love. When we suffer, when we are persecuted for our faith, when our lives seem to start crumbling around us – know the Lord will be there always. Abide in the comfort and confidence today of knowing a righteous God will always have your back. You will always be able to run to Him, of that you can be sure. As Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

 

 

Joshua 5:15

When I think about armies, all I am familiar with is the US Army. I am embarrassed to say that my knowledge of the US Army is very elementary. I’ve read books, seen movies and known a few people who have served so I have a basic understanding of some of the training a person must go through to become a part of the Army, but I can’t list the order of ranks properly without using Google. I do know that each rank requires individuals to know and accomplish a list of criteria before they can be considered for the next rank. Each rank brings more respect because more skill, training, discipline and experience are required to earn the next rank.

In our verse today, Joshua is the leader, the commander of Israel. The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for 40 years, being cared for and fed by God. As the time arrived for them to go into the new land that God had promised them 40 years earlier, God had them celebrate Passover together. The very next day, the Israelites began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the promised land. No manna appeared on that first day and it was never seen again. Joshua was so filled with awe for God after these events that he fell face down to the ground in reverence and said to God, “ I am at your command, what do you want your servant to do?” Joshua 5:15 says, “The Commander of the Lord’s Army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. (Removing one’s shoes was a cultural way of showing respect)

Joshua had a high earthly rank. He was the leader of an entire country. He had tough orders and was assigned a long tour of duty. He was supposed to keep God’s people faithful to God’s ways while they were wondering through a desert without homes or regular food, basically waiting for a generation of Israelites to die off. Joshua was faithful in leading God’s people for over 40 years in extremely hard conditions. He accomplished his mission. Even though Joshua was Israel’s leader, he was outranked by God. God was and is the absolute leader! Joshua recognized this and was so overcome with awe and respect for God that he fell on his face before God. Have you ever been there? Have you ever literally fallen on your face before God because of who He is?

The Commander of the Lord’s Army, the ultimate and absolute leader of every living thing deserves all of our respect, reverence and awe. In our attitudes and actions we should be recognizing God’s power, authority and His deep love for us. Our response to God should be like Joshua’s, “I am yours, what do You want me to do?”  I am wondering today if you can think back over your life and remember a time where God undeniably changed your personal circumstances. Can you name a time when He intervened and caused the outcome to change for you? See, I think we have to be looking for His work in our lives. If we aren’t paying attention, we can miss His handy-work. He loves us and wants His best for us. He is willing to enter our lives to protect and rescue us, and sometimes to change, shape and mold us to be more like Him. Some of His work doesn’t feel fun or even productive at the time, but as we walk through the teaching and get to the other side of His shaping we can see that He is building our character, growing us and making us look more like He does.  The best part is that His work is perfection! He will never aim us in the wrong direction or lead us to something that is not good for us. He is perfectly trustworthy and completely looking out for our good. We can find this nowhere else in life. Even those who love us best will miss direct or guide with ulterior motives every now and again. I am in awe of God’s love, perfection, trustworthiness, and willingness to work in my messy heart. I’m asking Him to help me stay willing to “be His and seek out what he wants me to do”.