The light will shine on them.

Isaiah 9 Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

² The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
³ You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
⁵ For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
⁶ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah declares:  A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us.  Indeed today is the day that we celebrate the birth of that child, Jesus, born to us 2000 years ago. He was more though than just the son of Mary and Joseph. Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. He was given to us not so that we would have a day to celebrate and remember His birth, but rather as John 3:16 says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.   He was born; He was given to us so that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.

Isaiah declares:  The government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.   Many governments and many in governments do not believe or follow Jesus. Yet every government is subject to His rule. There will be no end to the increase of His government. Even as those in power on earth try to eliminate God and His Son from our everyday lives, the power and influence of Christ and His rule continues to increase. In truth, often the greatest increases in His influence are in the places which try to restrict, remove and forbid Him the most. No human institution can hinder what God, in His zeal has established. In Isaiah 55:11, the prophet declares God’s words saying:  My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.    Jesus is: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  Nothing any human institution can do can change or hinder that.

In verse 2 Isaiah declares:  The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.  Some on this Christmas day will remember the light of the star that shined over Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Some will remember the great light of the host of angels which appeared to the shepherds tending their flocks. Luke 2:8-14 says:  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”   Those lights shined in the darkness of that time. But, as John 8:12 says:  Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  Jesus is the eternal light that forever shines in the darkness. He is the light which shines for every person that they might walk in darkness no more; that they will have the Light of life.

My prayer today is that even in the midst of all the lights and glow of this day; in the midst of all the giving and receiving of gifts, that those who are in darkness, those whose lives are without the Light of life, would see the great light.  I pray for each and everyone, that today would be the day they receive and believe the greatest gift ever given. That gift did not come wrapped in shiny paper. It did not come with a bow or in an envelope. The greatest gift ever given was and is:  a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  Jesus Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to His government and His rule, but today, may it be the day it begins.

Joy to the world
Joy to the world
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

Joy to the world
Joy to the world
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy

Joy to the world, now we sing
Let the earth receive her king
Joy to the world, now we sing
Let the angel voices ring
Joy to the world, now we sing
Let men their songs employ
Joy to the world, now we sing
Repeat the sounding joy

Oh oh 
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The light of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders, of His love
And wonders, wonders, of His love

Joy to the world, now we sing
Let the earth receive her king
Joy to the world, now we sing
Let the angel voices ring   Amen. 

Merry Christmas!