For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen! 

ISAIAH 9:6-7 (NLT)

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One of the most contentious elections in American history is almost behind us. Petty squabbling continues. Juvenile behavior is everywhere on display.

Wouldn’t it be great if some grownups were in charge?

Christmas reminds us of how God writes his story, history we call it. There are long stretches of seeming inactivity and absence ripped open by unmistakable intervention. Each stage lays the groundwork for what is next.

A people whose sins grew so great and so obstinate that they refused to listen to the truth when they heard it clearly and unmistakably presented saw their nation fall into ruin. They were carried away into exile. Everything seemed lost.

In the darkness of institutional rot and government corruption, in the stench of avarice, greed, and intrigue even among neighbors and families, promises were made of great good news. A coming ruler will make all things new, right, just, and fair. Peace is not only possible, it will be the rule without exception.

The initiation of this kingdom began in a makeshift resting place and birthing room. And so God came to us. The incarnation, Immanuel, God with us, started something which will never end. It will grow, expand, and in due course, fill the whole world.

The fact that this is not yet consummated points ever toward the next horizon. Yonder lies a new day, a day we wistfully long for even when we do not know how to describe all that we feel within us. What we want is what God has promised.

Wonderful Counselor.
Mighty God.
Everlasting Father.
Prince of Peace.
Fairness and justice without end.

The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!

Christmas is the first stirring of universal revolution. A peaceful coup is coming. Healing and wholeness will be ours forever. He who was born a king is making it happen.

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I will welcome my king now and when he returns to make all things new.

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Our Father, thank you for working out your plans so patiently, so marvelously, so beautifully. Thank you for Jesus who came in such humble circumstances to such an ordinary family. Thank you that what he started will be completed with wonder we cannot even imagine. We bow in worship. Amen.