Isaiah 25:1 (NIV)
1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
Isaiah 29:14 (NIV)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
Revelation 15:1a,3-4 (NIV)
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign:...they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
Psalm 40:5 (NIV)
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
In ways that go beyond our comprehension we find it difficult to use words that express something amazing. "Wow", "Awesome" come to mind from my generation. There are a lot of other words, different words, that come from different generations. What we're trying to say at times is that something has occurred that is extraordinary. Scripture uses the word "wonder" to describe things God is about.
Isaiah's famous passage is Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
You note he is not called a wonderful counselor, he is called "wonderful", etc...
When C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe he told the story of a place called Narnia, where it was always winter, and the difference between the good of Aslan and the evil of the White Witch was the "deeper magic" of Aslan's sacrifice. The deeper magic of Aslan breaks the curse of the Witch's hold. Clearly this is Lewis fictionalizing the story of the Gospel of Jesus.
Christmas is the "deeper magic" of the Word becoming flesh and through his humanity forever destroyed the curse of the Fallen mankind.
Advent leads us to Christmas and this "wonder", this "marvelous", yes, let me use the word, "magical" time of the year. Why is it that we can use the words of kids and not let the words sink deeply into our own soul.
The wonder of God is that all along he knew exactly what the world needed and "in the fullness of time" he sent his son to deal with that need.
NOW...since he did that for the world and "worked his magic" then...why can't we believe that he continues to do that in our world today?
The "magic" of God that walked in Galilee and Judea 2000 years ago is still at work in our own villages and cities today.
Jesus is not a magician...he is God, full of wonder, marvelous, glorious in majesty and the one who turns the curse around.
Remember the carol "Joy to the World"...the Lord has come, let earth receive her King... Vs. 3 says it this way:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
This is the magic, the wonder of Christmas
Peace
1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
Isaiah 29:14 (NIV)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
Revelation 15:1a,3-4 (NIV)
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign:...they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
Psalm 40:5 (NIV)
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
In ways that go beyond our comprehension we find it difficult to use words that express something amazing. "Wow", "Awesome" come to mind from my generation. There are a lot of other words, different words, that come from different generations. What we're trying to say at times is that something has occurred that is extraordinary. Scripture uses the word "wonder" to describe things God is about.
Isaiah's famous passage is Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
You note he is not called a wonderful counselor, he is called "wonderful", etc...
When C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe he told the story of a place called Narnia, where it was always winter, and the difference between the good of Aslan and the evil of the White Witch was the "deeper magic" of Aslan's sacrifice. The deeper magic of Aslan breaks the curse of the Witch's hold. Clearly this is Lewis fictionalizing the story of the Gospel of Jesus.
Christmas is the "deeper magic" of the Word becoming flesh and through his humanity forever destroyed the curse of the Fallen mankind.
Advent leads us to Christmas and this "wonder", this "marvelous", yes, let me use the word, "magical" time of the year. Why is it that we can use the words of kids and not let the words sink deeply into our own soul.
The wonder of God is that all along he knew exactly what the world needed and "in the fullness of time" he sent his son to deal with that need.
NOW...since he did that for the world and "worked his magic" then...why can't we believe that he continues to do that in our world today?
The "magic" of God that walked in Galilee and Judea 2000 years ago is still at work in our own villages and cities today.
Jesus is not a magician...he is God, full of wonder, marvelous, glorious in majesty and the one who turns the curse around.
Remember the carol "Joy to the World"...the Lord has come, let earth receive her King... Vs. 3 says it this way:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
This is the magic, the wonder of Christmas
Peace
Comments