His Name will be Called the Prince of Peace

Monday:

“For unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

His name will be called… Prince of Peace. Isa 9:6

 

Over 2,000 years after the birth of this child, the Prince of Peace, there is still no peace on earth. Why not? Because this verse speaks of both the First Coming of Christ and His Second Coming. With His First Coming as a child, He was born to rescue humanity from the eternal penalty of sin.

 

"For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and 

transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, 

who purchased our freedom 

and forgave our sins." 

Colossians 1:13, 14 NLT

“He was pierced for our rebellion, 

crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could whole”.

Isa 53:5 NLT

In His first coming, He paid the penalty for the sins of those who come to Him.  After His Ascension, 10 days later, He poured out His Holy Spirit to those willing to receive. By abiding in Christ, in His Holy Spirit, He enables us to transcend evil, as we walk in His Spirit. The fruits of His Spirit are revealed in His true followers. They are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control. This promise remains until this day for lovers of God. As His people, we must lean into Him, be continually filled with His Spirit so that we can be seen as lights in a very dark world. The world Jesus was born into was very dark. There was a lot of division as the Romans ruled over the Jewish people. John says of Jesus: 

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

And the Light shines in the Darkness, 

and the darkness did not comprehend it." 

 John 1:4, 5 NKJ

The darkness did not understand the light, nor was it unwilling to receive the light. However the darkness could not quench nor extinguish the light. Even though they crucified Him; the light of His Spirit moved across the whole world through his followers. So today the darkness seems to be pressing harder than I have ever seen. It is time for us to rise up, lean deeper into His Spirit than ever before. In that we will reveal His Light shining in us across our nation and world.

And the second coming? There will come a day when Jesus Christ will return as the Prince of Peace and there will be true, everlasting peace. 

“His government and it’s peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice

from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.”

Isaiah 9:7 NLT

Until that time when Christ returns, sin still reigns upon the earth. The government of people past and present still rests up on the shoulders of various rulers. Yet, through His Spirit and His Scriptures; we can aspire to His government and it’s peace through fairness and justice. We do this by seeking God for a changed heart. If the people in our Country could aspire to live according to even two passages that Jesus spoke in The Sermon on the Mount; the strife in our nation would calm down. 

"Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. 

This is the essence of all that is taught in the low and the prophets." 

Matthew 7:12 NLT

"You have heard the law that says, 

'Love you neighbor and hate your enemies!" 

The hatred in our country right now is epic. But gentle loving Jesus says: 

"Love your enemies! 

Pray for those who persecute you! 

In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." 

Matthew 5:43,44 NLT

I am speaking to myself in this post, as well as you dear readers in the verses above. Don't we all need to be on our knees in prayer for all the people of our nation?

Tomorrow we will explore how the founders of our country aspired to a country of peace, fairness and justice as well as how America became a nation.