“ . . . . Counselor . . . ” Isaiah 9:6


Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The month December is considered to be a joyous month for Christians all over the world. We know that it is celebrated as the month of the birth of Christ. All people, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, celebrate Christmas joyously remembering the birth of Christ in this world. The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Yes, it was an act of love on the part of God to send His Son Jesus Christ. He had a mission to redeem us from the punishment due to us. Jesus Christ died as a propitiation for our sins. We were created in the image of God, but we lost that glory because of sin. The Bible says, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). Christmas is only to celebrate the loving act of God sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to redeem us. We also think of the protection we have in Jesus Christ against the works of the devil so that the devil can do no harm to us. “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8). He came to deliver us from the wicked acts of the devil, to heal us and to protect us to live a life of real freedom. We think of all these and glory in His loving kindness and celebrate His birth.
Further, we read in Isaiah 25:8, “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.”. He came to wipe away tears from all faces. Now man is enabled in Him to overcome the acts of the devil. He came to transform man into a powerful creature by empowering Him with His fire. Jesus Christ says, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). For annihilating the works of the devils which fell from heaven and to live a wholesome life in Him, He brought the fire from heaven. This fire works with His children. The Lord Jesus Christ gives us this blessing through His counselling for our benefit.
THE COUNSEL OF JESUS CHRIST
1. To Walk in His Ways 
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” Psalm 32:8
Today when we are disturbed by what happens in our lives or in the lives of children, or in the work place or in the relationship between husband and wife, or in business and industry, or in financial transactions, we need counsel to overcome such situations. In crucial situations, He counsels us and guides us and takes us along. His counsels lead to peace and joy. When there is no such guidance, people fall a prey to the evil designs of the enemy. Proverbs 11:14 tells us: “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” So man needs counsel or advice.
His counsels are according to the norms of the Bible that would result in peace, joy and good fellowship. Being given to work according to His counsel, you would enjoy and experience many blessings. 
Once a woman shared with me her sorrows over the fact that she was separated from her husband. As she was well employed, she owned a house. I enquired where her husband was. She told me that he was living in the very same town. He was also well employed. He also owned a good house. I told her that she had the thought that she could live without him. She accepted that fact. I told her what the Bible teaches about family life. Women are said to be branches of a plant. When she is alone, she would creep on the floor and would be trodden by cattle and eaten by them. God teaches, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen. 3:16). Then she enquired what she should do. It is God’s appointed plan that the husband and wife should live together. But friends, parents, and relatives usually speak words that would please her and spoil her. I told her to think of the real problem that caused bitterness in their relationship and to realize her fault and to confess it to the Lord. I told her to feel sorry for that. After that she lived with her husband and started praising the Lord. The counsel of the Lord brought about the fellowship between the two and they lived together as a family.
2. Wonderful Counselor
“This also comes from the LORD of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.” Isaiah 28:29
The counsels of the Lord are wonderful. This we can realize in everyday life and also in the path of ministry. Through obeying His counsels, we have to win over the love and power of the Lord. We can accept Jesus Christ as our God. Without the counsel of the Lord, we very often make others stumble. 
Once a non-Christian family came for prayer for their daughter to be delivered from sickness. When we prayed for her, the Lord began to work. There was a miraculous deliverance. Then they enquired what they should do. I began to explain to them on the basis of the verse: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). They had another question concerning the vow they had made earlier. Then the Lord gave me counsel as to how I should respond to them. Accordingly, I counselled them. I asked them what they would do if the treatment given by the family doctor to their daughter did not give any desired relief. They immediately told me that they would take her to another specialist. Now I explained to them that they had come to Jesus Christ, a good specialist. So they should not take the prescriptions of the family doctor any longer. His prescriptions are useless and therefore should stop their traditional practices and not involve in them. They understood the fact. They began to seek the Lord and praise Him. That Wonderful Counselor is still alive. His counsels stabilized us in Christ and can influence the lives of others too. It will bring about a glorious transformation. When we submit ourselves to this Counselor and do according to His directions, He will lead us in a wonderful way.
3. Excellent Guidance 
“You are great in counsel and mighty in work...” Jeremiah 32:19
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). The Lord God who is in you will counsel you. As you live and obey according to His guidance, you will have the blessings of a victorious life. He counselled Joshua as to how he should wage the war. Jericho stood in their way. No one had been there. The Lord gave an idea to cross Jericho. He asked them to go around the city each day once for six days. On the seventh day they should march around it seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. The people should shout loudly when they heard the long blow of trumpets. They did as they were told and the walls of the city came down. They had great victory. The walls on which the inhabitants had great faith crumbled at the shout of praise and joy. The walls the enemies trusted broke down.
Dear Brother/ Sister, today you may be upset with difficulties and barriers on your way. As Joshua was told, begin to praise the Lord daily. All barriers will be broken down by the Lord. Are there any hurdles to your marriage or to your child getting employed? Is there delay in selling or buying your land or house or in building your house? Do you find hurdles in getting your visa approved? Have you got problems in your health? Whatever be the delay or hurdles, the Lord will do a miracle and you will keep praising God like Elijah saying, “The Lord, He is God.”
Once a young man was highly disturbed. He had no job, but his friends kept inviting him for their marriages or house-warming ceremonies. He was very much worried about his being unemployed. I counselled him speaking about the Lord “Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.” I asked him to think of all the good things in his life and to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for about an hour every day. I also assured him that on the seventh day there would happen a wonder. He also accepted my suggestion and began to praise the Lord. On the fifth day he told me that he had been chosen for a job in a big company in the first round and asked me to continue to pray for him. The next day he told me that he was chosen in the next round also and on the seventh day he was given the appointment order. His salary was five times higher than what he received. The Lord is really wonderful in counsel and He will do greater things than what we expect. 
4. Counsel That Stands
“...My counsel shall stand,and I will do all My pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10
The Lord gives counsel to guide us in the way we should take. His counsels are wonderful and great. Once a Brother asked me to pray for him as he was about to go abroad. I told him to drop the plan as he would come back. This suggestion was bitter to him. He went abroad according to the suggestion of another person. But he had to come back immediately as the situation was so. 
We should find out whether the counsel is from the Lord. Only the plan of the Lord would stand. So we should discern whether the idea is from the Lord. The Lord will fulfil all His counsel, whether it is small or big. It never fails. His counsels stand.
BLESSINGS OF COUNSELLING
1. Safety
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14
 Today we approach doctors known to us for remedies from diseases, seeking their advice. We want to have medical advice for fast relief. In this situation of doctors and clinics, if we want to seek the Lord for remedy, the world would call us insane. Jeremiah questions: “Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?”(8:22). From this it is clear that even in those days, there was medical treatment available. 
In this context of medical discoveries and developments, people are sceptic to believe in the Lord God who can protect and preserve us in safety. Only when we taste and see that the Lord is good, there is goodness in His counsel. We also have peace, comfort and safety in Him. A person who was affected by diabetes accepted Jesus Christ, but the gangrene caused by diabetes was so dangerous that he was admitted to a hospital. The doctors who examined him suggested that a part of his leg should be immediately removed to save him. They sought his consent and a form was given to him for his signature. But he refused to sign on it saying that the Lord had given him his body. He refused to accept removing a part of his God-given body. That cannot be the solution or medical treatment. The doctors told him that he would die soon and left the place. A servant of God took me with him to meet him and pray for him. He told me his decision to stop eating anything and to praise the Lord. We also counselled him to do that and left him. Then he started praising and thanking God. On the third day, the doctor who examined him was surprised. He asked him how the healing happened. He told the doctor his testimony. Today medically it may be reported that there are several diseases in our bodies. Whatever be the medical treatment given, the Lord Jesus Christ alone can heal us. He alone bore our weaknesses on the cross. By His stripes we are healed. He lives today. He is the counselor. He sends His words to heal us. He will rescue us from destruction. He healed and heals. He heals us not only in the body but also in our soul and spirit by the counselling He gives through His word.
2. Shortage Made Good
“Jesus said to them, “fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.” John 2:7-9
The first miracle of Jesus Christ took place in a wedding house in Cana.  To this wedding Jesus Christ, His disciples and His mother Mary had been invited. Knowing that there was shortage of wine, His mother brought it to the notice of Jesus. But He was not willing to act on it and said that His time had not then come. She could not do anything about it, but instructed the servants to do according to His instruction. Accordingly, the servants of the house acted as per His instructions. He asked them to fill the water-pots there with water. They filled them. Then He asked them to take it to the master of the feast. He tasted it and was surprised to find that it was better than what was supplied first. He called the bridegroom and praised him for the latter wine.
Dear Brother/ Sister, Jesus Christ is faithful to remove all your shortages. His counsels can transform ordinary ones into extraordinary ones. He does that through His power of counselling. As He had been invited to the wedding house of Cana, you should invite Him into your house. You should report to Him all your needs, and act according to His instructions. Whatever be your problem, He will perform a miracle. It may be your financial problem. You may have nothing to invest in your industry and may be shedding tears. You may be worried over the fact that you have no child. You may be sad that you have no wisdom. He will remedy the defects in your life through His words of counselling. He will carry out His promise that you will not be in debt. Even as you seek Jesus Christ, there would be miracles.
In my life I lost my health and was depressed. I had seen victories in training students of 12th class and winning football matches. But in my life, I was in tears and sorrow. I used to take others on my vehicle. But now the situation turned to be different. I was to be taken in the vehicles of others. It was a miserable situation. I was returning home with a broken heart. I saw a man selling mangoes on a tricycle pushing it along. The vehicle slipped and fell into a groove. Then I saw him catching hold of a mango that fell from the vehicle as if he was catching the ball in a cricket game. Then the word of the Lord began to speak in heart: “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matt. 10:29). That was a counsel that changed me totally and encouraged me. 
The Lord who loves you would strengthen you when you think that you are undone. He will send His word and strengthen. He will make up all your defects.
3. Restoration
“So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” II King 5:14
A leper is abhorred by everyone. Leprosy deforms the appearance of a person and the person looks abominable. The society shuns them. As people come across them, they usually avoid them and twitch their faces. 
In those days these lepers were kept out and they had no freedom even in moving around. Their movements were restricted. He should wear torn clothes, and should not cover his head. But he should cover his beard and shout that he was unclean. As long as he had the disease, he was considered to be an untouchable. He was segregated to live alone away from others. Today we have several people who live segregated from their own people because of their race, or financial status. Naaman, commander of the army of Syria, was a great and honourable man, but he was a leper. He had in his house a young girl taken as a captive from the land of Israel. The counsel of this little girl took him to Elisha. As he obeyed the word of the prophet, he was healed and became clean. The counsel of the Lord would bring healing, peace and joy in your life.
4. Victory
“For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 24:6
Today many people are engulfed in defeats, sorrows, fear and tear. Defeats lead to negative thoughts, even thoughts of suicide. Being overwhelmed with problems of defeats and the work of the devil, and physical disabilities, some consider themselves useless and burdensome to others. Such people are in great numbers in the society and in the church.
Dear Brother/ Sister, Jesus Christ, who can turn your sorrows into joy, will turn your defeats to success. Dear child of God, you may be gripped in fear with a bleak future staring in your face. The Lord Jesus Christ lives to turn your defeats to success and to make you have hope in future. You will see light in your life. He will not forsake you. The emptiness and loneliness will vanish. He will bless you and uphold you in His loving kindness.
He has promised to make everything new.He is the Lord of lords. He will do a new thing in your life. Peter was deep in defeat washing his empty net. Jesus came to him. He got into his boat. Your life also may be today filled with defeats, pain, sorrows and emptiness. He comes to you only. Would you permit the Almighty Jesus Christ to get into your life as Peter did to get into his boat? Would you obey as he obeyed by pushing the boat a little further from the shore? He listened to His teachings. He accepted His suggestion to take the boat to deep waters for casting the nets. He did it whole-heartedly. Would you abide by His counsel in your life whole-heartedly? He will transform a life filled with defeat into one of success. Your friends will rejoice in your success.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.