Week Three:
E V E R L A S T I N G   F A T H E R

Devotions written by Julie Hammer

Monday
Isaiah 9:6-7

When our boys were born, it seemed Clint and I could watch them for hours. We studied their features; we watched their expressions. Who would they look like? What would they become? Seven hundred years before the coming of Christ, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, looking through the lens of prophecy, Isaiah describes the coming Messiah. For the first readers of this text, those who spoke Hebrew, name defined character—who and what the individual was at their core. Thus, new names were given to indicate character change; for example, Abram, [God is] “Exalted Father” became Abraham, the “father of many nations.”

This text, typically read at Christmastime, isn’t just flowery language that looks pretty on a Christmas card. It has real-life implications for Christ-followers every day. Join us in gazing again at the Messiah in the manger, the Everlasting Father. Ask God to help you carve out moments during this busy time of year to do just this.