Today’s Christmas Devotion

December 12, 2024

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:6 & 1 John 2:18-27

To further identify the child “called wonderful,” Isaiah informs us that He will also be called “Counsellor.” All the counsel that humanity needs is provided by Him. This explains why the Apostle John identifies Christ as the “true light” who “gives light to everyone” in the world (John 1:9). His counsel is not only verbally expressed, but also exemplarily modeled; as the Apostle Peter puts it, Christ provided us with a perfect “example” so that we should “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

In 1 John 2:27, the Apostle John writes, “But you have .........

Today's Christmas Devotion

December 11, 2024

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7 & Revelation 19:11-12

To what should we attribute the prophet's predicted coming Light, along with all of its accompanying attributes? According to Isaiah, we should attribute it to the birth of a Child—“For unto us a child is born, [and] unto us a son is given.”

Who is this extraordinary child? He is the “child…born” in Bethlehem and lain in a manger. He is the “son…given” on Calvary and hung on a cross. He is the babe that was born to die that men might be born again to live forever.

Though born in a stable, lain in a manger and hung on a tree, this child is destined for .........

Today’s Christmas Devotion

December 10, 2024

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:4-5, Romans 6:6-7 & Romans 5:1 

Two other accompanying consequences to the Prophet Isaiah’s predicted coming Light were freedom and peace. How especially welcomed both would be in Galilee, a land long subjected to its enemies and often ravaged by war. 

The freedom predicted would prove to be liberation from the world’s most cruel taskmaster—sin. Though the Jews mistook it for the breaking of the yoke of the Gentiles, in particularly the yoke of the Romans during the days of Christ, the Light of the World would actually come to liberate men from sin.

Christ came to liberate us from both the penalty and power...

Today’s Christmas Devotion

December 9, 2024

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:3 & 1 John 1:1-4

Not only did Isaiah predict that Galilee would be transformed one day from a place of distress and darkness into a place of deliverance and light, but he also predicted that it would be transformed from a place of sorrow into a place of joy.

The word “happy” comes from the word “happenstance.” It is dependent upon our circumstances. If our circumstances are good, we are happy; if our circumstances are bad, we are sad. Therefore, happiness is something that not only comes and goes, but also ebbs and flows. Sometimes we’re happy and sometimes we’re not. It all depends upon our circumstances at ...

Day 5 of 22 Days of Christmas Devotions

Bible Reading: “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:5 NLT)

December 8, 2024

According to the Prophet Isaiah, the unexpected light that would suddenly appear in the land of darkness—“Galilee of the nations”—would also be inextinguishable (Isaiah 9:1-2). Contrary to popular opinion, darkness does not overcome light, but light overcomes darkness. All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the tiniest little light. No wonder the Apostle John portrayed Christ—the Light of the World—as not only piercing the darkness, but also as being impervious to it (John 1:5).

As the army of God, ...

Day 4 of 22 Days Of Christmas Devotions

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:1-2 & Matthew 4:12-17

December 7, 2024  

The king of Assyria, Tiglath-pilesser, took Galilee away from Israel in the year 733 B.C. The road across Galilee was transformed into a highway for Assyrian caravans, and Galilee itself derisively dubbed “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Through no fault of their own, the Galileans found themselves disdained by their fellow countrymen for dwelling among the heathen, a disdain still evident in the days of our Lord (John 1:46; 7:52). 

According to the ancient Prophet Isaiah, Galilee, a place of great distress in his day, would one day be the place from which deliverance would come. This place of ...

Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic promise in the Bible. It is also the first shot fired in the Battle of the Ages. From this point forward the Bible tells the tale of conflict between the serpent and the seed of the woman.

The serpent is obviously Satan, as Scripture makes abundantly clear (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). The seed of the woman, however, is a curious distinction that demands explanation. 

Everyone with a rudimentary understanding of basic biology knows that the man provides the seed in human reproduction. The woman provides the egg. Yet, the promised seed of Genesis 3:15 is designated as the seed of the woman rather than the seed of the man. What possible explanation can there be for such an inexplicable and.........

Day 2 of 22 Days of Christmas Devotions

Bible Reading: 1 John 4:13-17

December 5, 2024

There is a flip side to the doctrine of the Incarnation. Unfortunately, it is little known and seldom taught. If God lived among men in the man Christ Jesus, then, it must be possible for God to live in men. The doctrine of the Incarnation not only teaches us that God became a man in Christ, but also of the possibility of God living in Christians.

Having once lived in this world in the physical body of Christ, God now lives in this world in the spiritual body of Christ. The spiritual body of Christ is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). The church is comprised of all Spirit indwelt, born again believers. God lives in the world today .........

If I was an unbeliever—someone unconvinced by divine revelation of the absolute truth of the Christian faith—the greatest doctrinal stumbling block for me would undoubtedly be the doctrine of the Incarnation. The Incarnation is to me the most astonishing truth in all of Scripture. The Creator we read about at the beginning of the Old Testament is the baby that we read about at the beginning of the New Testament. 

At the heart of the Gospel is this astounding truth: God became a man in the man Christ Jesus.  Although I readily admit the difficulty of getting one’s head around this incredible doctrine, I spurn the world’s reproach of Christians for embracing it. After all, what right does this world ...

In no way is this Wilderness Voice intended to serve as a character witness for Matt Gaetz. I don’t know Mr. Gaetz, and like most Americans, all I know about him is what I’ve heard from his numerous detractors on both sides of the political aisle, as well as from our unscrupulous mainstream media, which presently has the credibility of Bernie Madoff at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Yet, as always, there are certain facts that can be gleaned from the political fray and a fictitious press that can prove to be most informative. Indeed, in this case—the curious case of Matt Gaetz—they serve as a forewarning of the fierce fight looming between the incoming Trump Administration and its government imbedded RINO resisters. ...