Jesus - The Wonderful Counselor

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Old Testament prophets foretold the birth and life of Christ. One such prophet was Isaiah. In his prophetic writings, we are given a glimpse of the person of Jesus Christ by the names he called Jesus. One of those names is Wonderful Counselor.

Jesus Christ is our Wonderful Counselor. As such He is always close for He promised never to forsake us and accessible and we can communicate with Him by means of prayer. He is a confidential counselor. Therefore the most intimate matters can be taken to Him in complete confidence. The writer of Hebrews also tells that Jesus is “not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” [4:15] He is a compassionate counselor.

Because Jesus is God manifest in flesh [John 1:14], he is cognizant of our needs and knows what is the best solution for us in our moments of difficulty. He is a capable counselor having all the resources of heaven and earth at His disposal. No problem, no difficulty is beyond His ability to resolve. As our counselor He communicates with us through His “counselor’s manual,” the Bible.

If Jesus as our Wonderful Counsel is a close, confidential, compassionate, cognizant and capable counselor, why are so many of His follower’s lives in such a mess? I will answer that question is the next post.

Being Thankful

As I look back over the past year, I am able to count my blessings. They far outweigh my trials and difficulties. In those times of difficulty, I found the best cure for discouragement was being able to focus on all the blessings God had bestowed upon me.

I would suggest you take a few moments this Thanksgiving season [no it is not Turkey Day as people would have you believe] and make a list of all the blessing God has given you. It will surprise you like it did me to realize my blessings far outweighed my difficulties. In 1897 Johnson Oatman, Jr wrote the following:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The Psalmist said, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truthh endureth to all generations." [Psalm 100:4, 5]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Christianity and Islam

Differences between Christianity and Islam are:

Islam teaches that the Bible is corrupt and that the New Testament does not contain the actual words of Jesus but other people’s words about Jesus. Jesus original words were thus corrupt [Surah 2:75, 78, 79]

Christianity believes that the Bible is inspired by God [2imothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:21] and has been accurately transmitted to the present day by thousands of manuscript copies. The Bible is the final authority for faith and practice and it contains God’s final revelation to man.

Islam teaches that Allah is the one true God and is an absolute unity. He can have no son and no partner and to say God could have a son is blasphemous because it implies some sexual generation. Islam does not view God as “the Father.” [Surah 19:88 –92; 112:3]

Christianity believes there is one true God [Deuteronomy 6:4] and He is a Trinity [Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 1314]. In the unity of the one God, there are three co-equal and co-eternal persons the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God is both transcendent, above and beyond us, and immanent, near to us [Jeremiah 23:23, 24].

Islam teaches that man is composed of body and soul and basically has a good nature. His duty is to obey and serve Allah.

Christianity believes man is composed of body, soul and spirit and is born with a sinful nature [Romans 3:9 – 20; 5:19]. Salvation not by works but through faith in Jesus Christ [Ephesians 2:8, 9; Acts 4:12] and the chief purpose of man is to glorify God.

Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross but rather ascended directly into heaven. Judas was crucified in His place. It would be unthinkable that Allah would allow one of his prophets to be crucified. The crucifixion of Christ is viewed as a disrespectful doctrine. [Surah 4:171, 172]

Christianity believes that Jesus did die on the cross for our sins [Matthew 20:28; 2Corinthians 5:21]. He “gave himself as a ransom for all men” [1 Timothy 2:6] and that He rose bodily from the dead appearing on various occasions to individual including over 500 at one time [1 Corinthians 15:6]. Jesus ascended into heaven and is now our Mediator [Hebrews 3:14 –16; 7:25]. He has also been given a name above every name [Philippians 2:8 – 11].

For a more comprehensive study of the difference between Christianity and Islam, go to www.hopetriumphant.com/free_literature.htm for free bookets on this subject and one on the Trinity.

Does Anybody Care?

“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. [Psalm 30:5]

When I see a person with tears running down their cheeks it invokes in me both painful and joyous memories. Tears can be tears of sorrow expressing grief over loved one’s death and at other times anguish over sin committed. Then there are the tears of pain, loneliness, compassion and yes, even joy.

How often have you found yourself in circumstances like the Psalmist who said, “I am weary with my groaning; all the night [or every night] make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears”[1] wondering if our difficulties will every come to an end. Maybe your tears like those of the Psalmist reflected inner doubts as they “continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”[2] On other occasions your tears may have come as the result of “comforters” that instead of comforting us acted as judge and jury in their condemnation. No one understood what that was like more than Job. He cried out, “my friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.”[3]

When it comes to those moments that evoke tears, no one understands us more than our Savior. John tells us that our Savior wept over the death of Lazarus and the writer of Hebrews reminds us that as our great high priest Jesus is able to comfort and encourage us because He was touch with the feeling of our infirmities. When it comes to pain and suffering, our Savior’s knowledge goes beyond intellectual knowledge. He experienced all the physical pain suffering brings. Jesus’ knowledge went even further. He experienced all the feelings that normally accompany pain and suffering.

The most important facet of our tears is that they do not go unnoticed by God. David said, “thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”[4] Elsewhere he cried, “depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.”[5]

In moments of emotional crisis we need to remind ourselves of what we know to be true. We know the following to be true:

God knows when we are hurting;
God cares for us;[6]
God never leaves us alone. We may feel lonely in our times of pain and sorrow but we are never alone;[7]
God does hear our prayers;[8] and
Our pain and suffering is temporary. Even if it lasts for a lifetime, it is still temporary when we consider the eternal suffering of all those who enter into eternity with Christ. In contrast the believer will spend eternity in heaven where there will be no more tears because all those things that produced pain and suffering here on earth will be gone.[9]

We often deal with the pain and suffering of others by overlooking it and focusing on the “benefits.” We talk about God’s purpose for allowing a person’s pain and suffering. About how a person will grow and mature as a result or how it will better able us to minister to others. That’s true and should never be left out of the equation. If in reaching out to others that is or entire focus, we are miserable comforters. People need someone to recognize their pain and to help wipe away the tears. It’s not so much finding the right things to say or giving them a handkerchief but providing a silent shoulder on which they can cry. In the recesses of our hearts during our moments of pain and suffering, we know God cares for us. We need to now if anybody else really cares.

[1] Psalm 6:6
[2] Psalm 42:3
[3] Job 16:20
[4] Psalm 56:8
[5] Psalm 6:8
[6] 1 Peter 5:7
[7] Hebrews 13:5
[8] Isaiah 38:5
[9] Revelation 7:17; 21:14: Isaiah 25:8

Hope

"And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD...This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope...The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him...It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD...He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope." [Lamentations 3:18, 21, 24, 26, 29]

Five times the writer Jeremiah refers to his hope during the darkest days of his life. No matter how difficult our circumstances, we can still have hope. I would like to suggest that you read the following two books.

Hope Again by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishers

Hope Grows in Winter by Woodrow Kroll and George D. Miller III, Kregel Publications

The Bible's message is one of hope. In the Psalms the writers speak of hope more than in any other book of the Bible. As you read through the Psalms make special notions of the times hope or words of hope are found. It will do you good for in future days of dificulty to be able to go back and note the passages of hope you have marked.

No Longer Thankful

Our family is scattered around the country. Last year we were unable to travel to be with family, we decided to go to a local restaurant for Thanksgiving Dinner. We arrived at the restaurant and were promptly seated. As the waitress approached the table she said, "Happy Turkey Day!" I thought it a little strange since the restaurant marquee advertised for a Thanksgiving Buffet. We finished our meal and headed home. On the way we made a brief stop for a couple of necessities. As we were checking out the cashier said, "I hope you're having a nice Turkey Day."

Time doesn't let me go into the history of Thanksgiving Day but what's this "Turkey Day" thing? As I pondered the question, I realized for someone to say "Happy Thanksgiving" implied there is Someone to whom we are to be thankful. When a person says "Happy Turkey Day", it removes the idea of a God to whom we are to be thankful and and the necessity to be thankful.

Changing the day to "Turkey Day" betrays our history, denies the existence of God and infers the lack of gratitude. In this year when the emphasis on morals is on the rise, here is an insidious attack on the source of all morals and values. The next time someone say to you "Happy Turkey Day" take a moment to remind them its a day of Thanksgiving to God for all the blessing we receive everyday.

In the Bible we read: "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands...Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [Psalm 100:1, 4] 'Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing." [Psalm 107:22] "I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD." [Psalm 116:17]

The Apostle Paul in Romans said, "because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened [1:21]. He goes on to say in the first chapter of Romans to show the progression from knowing God to a totally godless, immoral society. It all begins with the man's unwillingness to be thankful to his creator. Why? Other scriptures tell us that thanksgiving is a "sacrifice of praise." Man is not willing to sacrifice his glory to give glory to God. Man is not willing to turn the attention away from self and focus on God. The result is "Happy Turkey Day!" Stand up and be counted, tell the next person who says that to you "it's not Turkey Day but Thanksgiving Day." I feel sorry for people who have nothing for which to be thankful.

The Manner and Implications of Evangelism

Roland Allen was an Anglican missionary in China from 1895 to 1903. After which time he spent the next forty years writing on missionary principles and practices. Consider his thoughts on the method of evangelism and the benefits for the individual Christian involved in evangelism. The thoughts recorded here are from his book, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962.

"Spontaneous expansion begins with the individual effort of the individual Christian to assist his fellow, when common experience, common difficulties, common toil have first brought the two together. It is this equality and community of experience which makes the one deliver his message in terms which the other can understand, and makes the hearer approach the subject with sympathy and confidence—with sympathy because the common experience makes approach easy and natural, with confidence, because the one is accustomed to understand what the other says and expects to under¬stand him now..."

"Upon the speaker, too, the effort to express his truth exercises a profound effect. The expression of his experience intensifies it; it renews it, it repeats it; it enlightens it. In speaking of it he goes through it again; in setting it before another he sets it before himself in a new light. He gets a deeper sense of its reality and power and meaning. In speaking of it he pledges himself to the conduct and life winch it involves. He proclaims himself bound by it, and every time I hat his speech produces an effect upon another, that effect reacts upon himself, making his hold upon his truth surer and stronger."

"But this only if his speech is voluntary and spontaneous. If he is a paid agent both speaker and hearer are affected that fact...He finds out his own ignorance of many aspects of his truth, and he is generally eager to learn, and to inquire further for himself...He is forced to think over and over again what are the implications of his truth; he has few ready-made stereotyped answers. As he goes on, no doubt, these tend to multiply, but they cannot multiply at first without much real experience. Thus the voluntary spontaneous expression of truth experienced advances the speaker."

When we follow Roland Allen's advice, we find our faith strengthened, our knowledge of the truth grows and we mature in the faith. I believe the reason we have so many weak and immature believers today is the result of their failure to be spontaneous witnesses of their faith to those they meet in events of everyday life.