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CHRISTmas is Coming!

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where what seemed like a complete coincidence had actually been carefully planned out ahead of time?  Maybe it was a set-up by friends with someone they wanted you to date, maybe it was a surprise party or celebration, maybe even a coach getting a technical foul that would inspire his team to play harder, or maybe you found yourself the victim of being "punked."  Sometimes the coincidences we think we see in life aren't coincidences at all, they are a part of God's larger plan for His world and our life.

Christmas, and Jesus' birth, is certainly no different.  This was far from an unplanned pregnancy.  Christ's birth had been foretold many years before.  One scientist actually calculated the odds of 8 prophecies of Jesus being fulfilled in one person at being 1 in 100 quadrillion.  We literally have better odds of winning the lottery (1 in 175 million) multiple times than that Jesus Christ would have fulfilled these prophecies in a random world if it weren't for the sovereignty of God.

Here's Your Sign
In Isaiah 7:10-14, the Lord told Ahaz to ask for a sign from God.  But Ahaz replied that he would not test the lord.  So God responded through Isaiah telling him that he would send a sign anyway, "See the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel."

Let's picture this - in the midst of a war, God told Ahaz to ask for a sign.  He didn't say if you need reassurance call me.  He specifically commanded him to ask for a sign.  But Ahaz in his false humility placed his trust in a treaty with neighboring countries instead of the Lord.  It also led to him failing to obey an order from God.  But God being God, said okay, I'm going to give you and the people a sign anyway.

This prophecy, like many prophetic passages, carried multiple meanings:
1.  For the people living then, it gave them comfort and hope that God had not abandoned them.  They didn't know who the mother and child were, but they knew that Immanuel meant, "God with us."

2.  For us, it meant that Jesus' birth had been foretold hundreds of years prior.  "See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated 'God with us.'" - Matthew 1:23

Jesus gave up his rightful place next to God to come to earth to feel hunger, pain, scorn, and hate and to be the perfect human sacrifice for our sins.

What's in a name?
In Isaiah 9:6-7, we learn more about who Christ will be.  The weight of the government, the burden of ruling and watching over people, would be on His shoulders.  He is given several names here that reveal to us more who He truly is.

Wonderful Counselor:  "Since His name is Wonderful, nothing would be dull about His reign!  As Counselor, He has the wisdom to rule effectively."

Might God:  Mighty served as a reminder that He would have the power, strength, and abilities to execute His Father's plans.

Eternal Father:  This refers to Jesus' relationship to time, to being one with the Father.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - John 1:1

Prince of Peace:  To officially be a prince, you must be the son of a king.  Jesus was in fact that, He was the Son of the One true God.  "God's peace is the inner spiritual harmony we experience by being rightly related to God."

Don't Call it a Comeback
In Isaiah 11:1-5, we continue to get a clearer picture of the coming Messiah.  It is foretold here that He will be a shoot coming from the stump of Jesse.  It doesn't sound like something coming from a stump (a tree that has died or been cut down) would have much chance of surviving, much less thriving.  But that's exactly what happened.  The line of King David was fading out and Assyria (Ahaz's ally) was being cut down as well.  Judah was left behind as a mere stump, but it is from that stump that the Messiah would come up as shoot that would bear fruit.

Isaiah showed us three ways that the Messiah would reign:
1.  He rules by the Spirit of the Lord.  God's Spirit would rest on the Messiah giving Him the wisdom and understanding that He would need in order to rule effectively.

2.  He judges rightly.  Jesus would not judge merely on what He could see and hear, but by his supernatural means and perception bestowed on Him by the Lord.

3.  He wears a belt of righteousness.  In Isaiah's time, when a man was preparing for a lot of activity, he would use a belt to hold his loose clothing in place.  The Messiah's righteousness would also hold Him to the perfect standard necessary to pay our sin debt and to ensure that everything He does is right, true, and just.

The birth of Jesus wasn't a mere coincidence thousands of years ago.  It was all part of a well thought out and detailed plan designed by God.  Let's allow the excitement and fulfillment of Jesus' birth and God's plan fill our hearts and minds this Christmas season.

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