| Wonderful Counselor - article by Joel Hempel I know a thing or two about wonderful counselors. As someone who taught spiritual care and counseling, I had to be in counseling. Over the course of 45+ years, I had a variety of counselors, including an excellent one, a terrible one, and a completely unorthodox one who read his mail during our sessions.1 And now, like you, I have a Wonderful One. One of the most meaningful Advent-Christmas passages is from Isaiah 9:6: To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Because I did what I did as my calling, the first of Jesus’ titles from Isaiah has had a profound impact on me. But the four inseparable titles are offered as a package, a gift for our every need. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to memorize the four descriptive titles for Jesus and keep them near your heart. Call on the Jesus you need. Isaiah prophesied that the government shall be upon his shoulder. In a democracy like the United States, the government is the established system with its elected officials who oversee and protect our rights and well-being. Consider the service our Lord stepped up to take on: The well-being of the world and each of its 8.3 billion residents. There’s no way even a mayor of a small, rural town can care for every one of its citizens. So, Jesus has a massive job that, thank God, only God can do, IF he has help.2 It’s admittedly strange to refer to God as dependent. But such is the case of our Mighty God, who has chosen to limit himself by commissioning and empowering us as his primary emissaries to carry out his commands to love, testify to God’s gifts of grace, and live the life of Jesus-followers. The world is nowhere near what God desires. The Father exalted his Son above all others and gave him the name Jesus (The Lord Saves) with the intent that every knee of all people of all nations at the name of Jesus should bow.3 The church universal and the church at GLC have a lot of work to do! And for that work and all things needed, we look to: Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 1. An exceptional counselor, one who not only has the skills but also knows intuitively how to counsel, is worth far more than their fee. 2. John 20:19-23; John 14:12; Matthew 28:18-20. 3. Philippians 2:8-11; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Colossians 2:9-10; Revelation 17:14. | 
