He Will Be Called Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace ~ Valerie & Denisha Ep. 116

There are many names for Jesus, but what do they mean? What do they mean for us in the unique story that is our lives? 

 In this episode, we will discover why He is called Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. We pray that you will gain a new perspective on our Savior born in a manger over two thousand years ago and how those names are so relevant to us today.

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Transcript

The transcript is auto-generated.

[00:00:00] Denisha: There are many names for Jesus, but what do they mean? And what do they mean for us [00:00:05] in the unique story that is our lives? In this episode, we will discover [00:00:10] why he is called Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. We [00:00:15] pray that you gain a new perspective on the Savior born in a manger over 2, 000 years [00:00:20] ago and how those names are relevant.

And our lives today [00:00:25] and Christmas is right around the corner. We have free shipping in the [00:00:30] U S and we have over 70 pieces of inspirational jewelry and journals [00:00:35] on our website at reclaimed story. com. So if you want [00:00:40] meaningful presence under the tree, we have them. Why not shop and help a strong [00:00:45] women's ministry simultaneously.

You can find all of this on our website at reclaim [00:00:50] story. com. Now. Let's take a dive into what it means for [00:00:55] Jesus to be everlasting father and prince of peace. [00:01:00] Welcome to living the reclaim life podcast. I'm Denisha. We're glad you're here for [00:01:05] conversations that revive hope, inspire healing, and encourage you to live a [00:01:10] vibrant life with Christ.

So grab a cup of coffee as we chat with today's guest. [00:01:15]

[00:01:15] Valerie: Isaiah nine, six says for unto us, a child is born [00:01:20] to us, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders. [00:01:25] And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God. [00:01:30] Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. In our last episode, we [00:01:35] talked about Jesus as our wonderful counselor and mighty God.

And if you missed [00:01:40] that, I want to encourage you to go back and listen. It was so encouraging to me. [00:01:45] But today we are going to continue our conversation and talk about [00:01:50] Jesus as the Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. So let's [00:01:55] start with Everlasting Father. You know, Danisha, all of a sudden, [00:02:00] Jesus being revealed to us as another father makes it very 

[00:02:04] Denisha: [00:02:05] personal.

Yeah, it sure does. Because all of us have a father, right? [00:02:10] Not one of us doesn't have a father now, whether they've been in our lives or [00:02:15] not, we still have a father. And so all of a sudden in this verse here, Jesus is [00:02:20] revealed to us as another father in our lives. And just that word [00:02:25] father. I know can bring a lot of different images to our minds, maybe [00:02:30]memories, maybe emotions begin to turn up for us.

And maybe for you, the memories [00:02:35] and the images of your earthly father were fantastic. Maybe dad was [00:02:40] great. And when you think about him, you've got great memories. Valerie, I know that's the case for you and [00:02:45] your dad. 

[00:02:46] Valerie: Yes. And you know, I just want to say to that. We know [00:02:50] that none of us is perfect, right? And no earthly father is going to be perfect.

But yeah, [00:02:55] my dad, when I think of my dad, I think of a man that is faithful. [00:03:00] He's been faithful to my mother for over 50 years. He's been a [00:03:05] faithful involved father. And you know, he actually came from a broken home. [00:03:10] His parents were divorced. And I think about how when he started his family, he [00:03:15] didn't let that.

Carry over that because of his relationship with God, and [00:03:20] because of his faithfulness to God, he carried that faithfulness [00:03:25] into raising our family. And he taught me about God. And I got to tell [00:03:30] a funny story. Does anybody remember slurpees from like 711 days? [00:03:35]Yes. So, so I still today say, you know, I'm my father's daughter.

He does [00:03:40] whatever I say. But I remember he tells me this story. We were coming out of a 7 [00:03:45] Eleven, you know, in California. And he said something like, well, [00:03:50] I spoil you kids, and I say, well, that's why we like you, Dad. [00:03:55] So, but, you know, a loving, earthly father will do that, will spoil us. But we're going to [00:04:00] talk about how we have a father who spoils us so much, [00:04:05] and we can always depend on him.

But, yeah, that's my dad, the dad who spoils me. 

[00:04:09] Denisha: [00:04:10] Valerie, I love that that is your life and your story and your dad, and I love that [00:04:15] he was a chain breaker in his family to raise such an incredible family himself, [00:04:20] be married for over 50 years like that is amazing. And I also know that [00:04:25] not all of us have those kinds of memories about our father.

All of a sudden we think [00:04:30] about our father. Maybe it's good or maybe it's not good at all. [00:04:35] One thing that I know is we've been working with women is we tend to [00:04:40] project the image of our earthly father onto our everlasting father. We [00:04:45] look at Jesus, our everlasting father, through the lens of our earthly [00:04:50] father, isn't that true?

As we begin to look at him, and we really believe [00:04:55] that Jesus, our everlasting father, is just like our father. Now, [00:05:00] I'm a mom, I'm not a father, but I can tell you, it scares me a little. Like, if I [00:05:05] blow it and my kids grow up thinking that Jesus is like me, that scares me a [00:05:10] little bit. We project onto him. And we look through [00:05:15] the lens of our earthly father to see our everlasting father.

[00:05:20] That can be a very dangerous place to be because all of a sudden things can get [00:05:25]foggy and we don't see God clearly. If we look at Jesus, our everlasting [00:05:30] father, through the lens of our earthly father, we might see a father [00:05:35] who's never satisfied. Maybe we even went to the point of rebellion to get [00:05:40] dad's attention and now we've taken the same perspective and we bring it to our [00:05:45] relationship with Jesus.

Maybe we don't really believe that God is truly satisfied with [00:05:50] us. So we try to do what we can do to get him to love us. [00:05:55] So when we look at our everlasting father through the lens of our earthly father, not only may we [00:06:00] see a father who's never satisfied, but when we look at him through the lens of our [00:06:05] earthly father, we may also see a father who's distant, [00:06:10] who's isolated, who's away from us, who's far away, or even who's [00:06:15] angry.

Maybe when dad was home, he came home from work and it was like [00:06:20] walking on eggshells around your house. Is that how you perceive God? [00:06:25] Because you see, when we look at Jesus, our everlasting father, through the lens of our [00:06:30] earthly father, it can really mess things up. For me, my [00:06:35] parents were divorced when I was a baby.

And due to many circumstances, I didn't see [00:06:40] my biological dad from 11 years old until I was 40. [00:06:45] And that is like 30 years in between. So it would be, if I took that [00:06:50]perspective and I cast it upon God, it would be easy for me to see God as [00:06:55] being distant, as being far away as being uninvolved. [00:07:00] But we've all got our own story and just for a second, just [00:07:05] for a second, friends, let's lay that down our [00:07:10] relationship with our earthly father.

Let's lay that down, give it to Jesus, our everlasting father, and [00:07:15] let's give him the opportunity to reveal to us who he really is. [00:07:20] Let's not look at him through the lens of our earthly father. Let's look at him through the lens of [00:07:25] scripture, because when we do, we are going to see an everlasting father, maybe one that [00:07:30] you've never seen before.

[00:07:31] Valerie: Psalms 103 8 says the Lord is [00:07:35] compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in [00:07:40] love. Just take that in for a few minutes. Those adjectives, [00:07:45]compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. You know, some of the most [00:07:50]incredible moments that I have ever experienced in my life and I [00:07:55] have seen in others is that moment when we come to the realization that there [00:08:00] is nothing We can do zero, not a single thing we can do [00:08:05] to earn God's love.

Many of you are listening today and maybe you [00:08:10] have felt that, like Denisha said, you had a father that you felt like you had to [00:08:15] chase after for attention or for affirmation. So you almost felt like you had to be [00:08:20] perfect, be good and perform for your dad or for other people. I know I've [00:08:25] experienced that struggle and you didn't believe that people could [00:08:30]just accept you for who you were and you've taken that same [00:08:35] approach in your relationship with Christ and you've been working to [00:08:40] earn Christ's love and Christ approval.

And you know what, [00:08:45] that makes us so tired, but listen to the words of Jesus. He [00:08:50]says to those of us who are growing weary from trying to perform [00:08:55] and earn his love. He says, come to me, all of you who are weary [00:09:00] and burdened, and I will give you rest. And you know, [00:09:05] Denisha, that makes me think of in our last podcast, how God knows everything.

Do you notice that? He says, [00:09:10] come to me, you who are weary, like he knows. He knows the struggle. He [00:09:15] knows that we're going to be tempted to, yeah, keep up with the [00:09:20]Joneses, you know, run that race. He knows we're tired. He says, come to me. [00:09:25] I know you're tired and I will give you rest. Take my [00:09:30] yoke upon you and learn from me.

I am gentle and humble in heart and you will [00:09:35] find rest for your soul. Rest, [00:09:40] just Rest. 

[00:09:43] Denisha: You know, I can tell you that is not [00:09:45] always easy for me to do. I'm not super good. Resting is not my [00:09:50] superpower. That's definitely for sure. And as he tells us to rest, it's like that's [00:09:55] part of his plan for us is to rest.

And as you were reading that, I was thinking about [00:10:00] Jeremiah 29 11. And many of us know this. Many of us have this stitched on a pillow somewhere. Jeremiah [00:10:05] 29, 11 says, for I know the plans I have for you declares the [00:10:10] Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a [00:10:15] future. And when I hear the rest that he has got a plan, he's got my [00:10:20] future.

He's got it under control. I don't have to be the one in control. [00:10:25] And if there's one thing we want you to know is that Jesus, your [00:10:30] everlasting father is compassionate, that he cares for you and that his [00:10:35] plans are to give you hope and a future. Do you know that he's not [00:10:40] angry with you, that he is satisfied with you, that he loves you, and he cares about you, [00:10:45] and he wants a relationship with you.

And I love Hebrews [00:10:50] chapter 13. This really stuck with me as well. This is Jesus [00:10:55]speaking to you and me. This is the relationship that he wants with us. This is [00:11:00] your everlasting father, and he says, never, never will I leave you. [00:11:05] Never will I forsake you. And when I think about never, [00:11:10] does that mean like, Maybe he will on days when I make a mistake.

[00:11:15] Maybe he will on days when I fill in the blanks. [00:11:20] I'm pretty sure the word never, friends, means never will I leave you. Never will [00:11:25] I forsake you. For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to [00:11:30] harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I pray that you can feel that, because [00:11:35] I can really feel those words right now.

And when we look at Jesus, [00:11:40] our everlasting Father, through the lens of Scripture, we see a Father who is [00:11:45] full of compassion, who cares beyond what we can ever imagine, who [00:11:50] has a plan for you, who wants to prosper you. to give you hope and a future. [00:11:55]And when I really let those words settle upon my heart, that brings me peace.[00:12:00]

[00:12:00] Valerie: And that goes right into the last name of Jesus that we read [00:12:05] about in that Isaiah nine, six prints of peace. And, [00:12:10] you know, Denise, I wonder if some of who's [00:12:15] listening today that you're wishing that life was different. [00:12:20] I think we all could raise our hands. There's. Probably. Denise is raising her hand. I'm raising [00:12:25] my hand.

We all wish there was something in our life right now that was different. I know for a lot of [00:12:30]people, this is not the best time of year. You know, as we enter in the [00:12:35] holidays and Christmas for others, it's just really heavy. Some of us [00:12:40] are experiencing loss and grief, and some of us are facing [00:12:45] things that we didn't have planned for Christmas.

I know in [00:12:50] my immediate family right now with my mom, we're facing some [00:12:55]unknown medical diagnosis. And it's just so hard, I [00:13:00] think, in the unknown in those moments of not knowing what the future [00:13:05] holds that we can struggle with having. Peace. [00:13:10]

[00:13:10] Denisha: It's so true. Valerie. Thank you for sharing that and that we can just stand with you [00:13:15] as your mom faces the season right now at this time of [00:13:20] year.

It can be crazy, right? I mean, Valerie, you have four kids. I have four kids. Good [00:13:25] gravy. You guys, it can be crazy, right? Crazy with the schedules. Crazy with like, we've [00:13:30] got to get everything done and we got to go, we got to get the presents, get them wrapped, get to the parties, get them wrapped, get them put under [00:13:35] the tree, get the house clean.

Can we just, oh man, get the house clean, [00:13:40] get the decorations done. We did that yesterday and that made me very happy. I have two 

[00:13:44] Valerie: [00:13:45] birthdays in December. No. 

[00:13:48] Denisha: Oh man, [00:13:50] it can be chaotic, right? Like instead of it being a peaceful time and some of us [00:13:55] thrive in these moments. I just want to say that the thought of like crazy schedules, get it done.

Get to the party. [00:14:00] You extroverts are going, this is awesome. Well, I can tell you [00:14:05]us introverts are like, I have a little bit of anxiety right now about all of the things that are on my [00:14:10] schedule and with those times, with the busyness, with the presence, with all of [00:14:15]the things also can come family and sometimes family can bring [00:14:20] attention into our lives during the holidays, right?

We talked about this in episode 113 if you [00:14:25] didn't hear that episode 113 was about navigating healthy disagreements [00:14:30] around the table. And let's just say, because many of you guys have shared that you've [00:14:35] got some family issues, and that can bring stress to the holidays. It's supposed to be like a [00:14:40] Merry Christmas, but sometimes it feels more like the Jerry Springer show, right?

Like it can be [00:14:45] challenging, and sometimes we can ask ourselves, where is the peace in Christmas? 

[00:14:49] Valerie: Well, [00:14:50] and that's why we have to go back to the scripture, Isaiah nine, six, [00:14:55] again, for unto us, a child is born unto us. A son is given. [00:15:00] And he will be called Prince of Peace. Jesus [00:15:05] is called the Prince of Peace, but we have to ask ourselves and [00:15:10] we'll be honest, like, where is Jesus during those normal everyday moments, [00:15:15]everything you just mentioned, you know, we wake up, we scroll the news, we ask.

[00:15:20] Where is Jesus, our Prince of Peace? Let's look at another scripture. And this may be very [00:15:25] familiar to you around this time of year. You start hearing it, Luke 2, 10 to [00:15:30] 14. And just listen for a moment. This was an angel [00:15:35] of the Lord speaking to the shepherds in the field. And this is what the angel said. He said, [00:15:40] do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy [00:15:45] that will be for. All the people today in the town of David, a [00:15:50] savior has been born to you. Who is he? He is Christ the Lord. This will be a [00:15:55] sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. [00:16:00]Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared and with the angels praising [00:16:05]God, singing glory to God in the highest and on earth.

And [00:16:10] on earth, peace to men on whom his favor [00:16:15] rest. What was that again? Peace. Peace. Jesus is [00:16:20] called the Prince of Peace. This 

[00:16:22] Denisha: is part of the realist in me. He's the [00:16:25] Prince of Peace, right? Peace on earth. Yeah. Like when I think about the birth of [00:16:30] Jesus, I don't feel like it was very peaceful, right? Like you have a [00:16:35] teenage girl named Mary and she finds out she's pregnant and oh, by the way, she's pregnant by [00:16:40] God.

So that's kind of tough to explain to her community, right? That'd be hard 

[00:16:43] Valerie: to believe even [00:16:45] today. Right, 

[00:16:45] Denisha: right. God got me pregnant. Yeah. Good. Congratulations. You know, like, [00:16:50] can you imagine what she went through? And we see it so much as we read the Christmas story. [00:16:55] So the very beginning, the finding out that she was pregnant, that wasn't peaceful.[00:17:00]

Then you have to travel on your journey, right? At some point she's nine months pregnant and they [00:17:05] decide they have to travel across the country on a donkey. So let's just look at that real [00:17:10] quick. Realistically, you are nine months pregnant on a donkey. Okay. That does not [00:17:15] sound super peaceful to me. 

[00:17:16] Valerie: I did not ride a donkey when I was nine months pregnant.

[00:17:18] Denisha: No, cause you don't, [00:17:20] you don't do that. At least we don't do that. Right? So we're talking about being [00:17:25] pregnant on a donkey. They pull into a town and if it were me, I would have been freaking out. Like [00:17:30] find me a place to stay. I'm about to have this baby. Right? So Joseph, he goes, [00:17:35] okay, we got it. We pull into every hotel.

Everything's booked up. Finally, Joseph negotiates a [00:17:40] deal with a guy who says, okay, there's not a room, but you can stay in the barn. Oh, [00:17:45] yay. I can have my baby in a barn, right? Like, that's what I've always pictured with animals [00:17:50] and all of the stuff that comes with 

[00:17:52] Valerie: my house now. [00:17:55]

[00:17:55] Denisha: She does have a zoo guide.

She does. But like, seriously, like, [00:18:00] it doesn't sound peaceful to me. You've traveled all this way on a donkey. Now [00:18:05] you're in a barn and you're about to give birth. And ladies listening like there was no [00:18:10] epidural. And now some of you are warriors and have done that. But I will say [00:18:15] no epidural, no peace for me.

And in that barn, Jesus [00:18:20] was born in the midst of what I would say would feel chaotic. Yet in those [00:18:25] chaotic moments. The Prince of Peace was ushered into this [00:18:30] earth for us. 

[00:18:31] Valerie: Hmm. You know, just as you described that, [00:18:35] Janesha, it just struck me this moment of like watching a movie, everything you described, it was so [00:18:40] much like it leapt off the page for me from the Bible.

Cause we think like, Oh, [00:18:45] angel singing, you know, but no, Mary screaming, it [00:18:50]was hard. And so the Prince of Peace enters in and you know, There [00:18:55] was another king, right? King Herod was ruling [00:19:00] and he started to hear rumors of another king being born, so he gets [00:19:05] threatened and he orders every young male under the age of [00:19:10] two to be killed.

And so that's when, [00:19:15] you know, Joseph and Mary escaped to Egypt. But all of a sudden, he's like, [00:19:20] Okay, I don't like this whole idea of being dethroned. Of course, he didn't [00:19:25]really understand what was happening. But you know, when you think about today, we [00:19:30] fast forward today, and we Still can look around and [00:19:35] we look at people and we look at the news and we look at a world and we can be like, [00:19:40] Hey, I don't see peace.

We know Jesus is on the throne, but we don't see peace. We [00:19:45] see financial stress. We see relational tension. Like I said, we turn on the [00:19:50] news and we see war and just destruction. And if Jesus [00:19:55] is the prince of peace, where is he in this world? [00:20:00] And you know, you guys, it ultimately depends. on how you [00:20:05] define peace.

And I know this hits home for me. I [00:20:10] once was in counseling, and maybe I've shared this before, but it was identified [00:20:15] to me that I have an idol of peace. And I remember that took me a [00:20:20] while to grasp that, because I'm like, wait, Peace is good. I want peace. But the idea [00:20:25] is that sometimes our definition of peace is like, okay, no conflict, [00:20:30] nothing going wrong.

Everything needs to be perfect. You know, remove all my anxiety, [00:20:35] God, remove all my suffering, remove all my struggles, and then I'll have [00:20:40] peace. And we can make that kind of peace, our idol, instead of [00:20:45] receiving Jesus as our perfect peace in the midst [00:20:50] of all of that. Because as we know, you know, when Jesus came to this [00:20:55] earth, not everything just magically went back [00:21:00] to the Garden of Eden to perfection before sin.

We know he came to this [00:21:05] earth to die for our sins so we could reign with him in [00:21:10]heaven. One day in perfection. So when we study about Jesus, the [00:21:15] Prince of Peace, he is so much more than that [00:21:20] perfect ideal image that everything's going to be [00:21:25] okay in this world. And among many other names. As we say, Jesus was [00:21:30] called our Prince of Peace.

And I'm going to introduce another Hebrew word, Sar [00:21:35] Shalom. And let's talk about those words. Sar means the one who is [00:21:40] in charge. It means like captain, the Lord. It means chief. It means [00:21:45] general. The Romans, they use this word Sar, and it eventually became [00:21:50]Zar, which is like Julius Caesar. It was the one that was in charge.

[00:21:55] So think of Jesus as that, the captain, the chief. the Lord, [00:22:00] the Tsar of Shalom. And then we look at Shalom. Shalom [00:22:05] was actually a greeting that one person would give to another. And back [00:22:10] to what we talked about rest. Shalom means rest. [00:22:15] It means tranquility. It means wholeness, completeness. So putting [00:22:20] those two together, Jesus is the Sar Shalom.

You could even [00:22:25] say, I love this. He's the captain of rest. He is the [00:22:30] Lord of tranquility. He is the chief of contentment. [00:22:35] Oh, that hits hard. He is the chief of contentment. Jesus is the [00:22:40] Tsar Shalom. And friends, as long as we are under [00:22:45]Christ. We can have his peace [00:22:50] and when we think about that doesn't that just bring you so much Comfort [00:22:55] and that's what he as our peace does he comforts us [00:23:00] Our suffering may not go away.

Our struggles may not go away, but we [00:23:05] know we have the peace that comforts us In the [00:23:10] midst of all that, 

[00:23:11] Denisha: when you talked about Valerie, how Jesus is our [00:23:15] peace, even when things around us aren't peaceful. I think about when I first came to the Lord [00:23:20] and my life was chaotic. And after [00:23:25] I. Knew him as Lord of my life.

I expected everything to be [00:23:30] perfect. I'll be honest I like I had this expectation of everything is gonna be great [00:23:35] now I have Jesus and the truth is our lives can still be chaotic [00:23:40]But just as you said he is with us in it and [00:23:45] he is the peace who saves us He was slain for our sins on the [00:23:50] cross. He gave his life to be raised again so that underneath him, the [00:23:55]one who was in charge, the one who gives peace, we can have peace in our lives.[00:24:00]

You know, as you talked about Valerie wanting to be perfect, right? We can't earn our way to [00:24:05] God. It's only because we are under what Jesus did for us [00:24:10] and that alone, and there is so much. performance. There [00:24:15] is so much. I'm a recovering perfectionist. It probably will be to the end of my life, [00:24:20] but there's such a peace for me and that I don't have to do this life by [00:24:25] myself, that God thought of me before the foundation of time and made [00:24:30]provisions for me.

And that brings me peace. We've 

[00:24:33] Valerie: covered a lot [00:24:35] today. We pray you were encouraged by this episode today, and [00:24:40] we look forward to being with you. Same time, same place [00:24:45] on Christmas day. We pray you and yours will [00:24:50] have a wonderful Christmas. 

[00:24:53] Denisha: Thanks for listening. [00:24:55] I pray you found hope in today's conversation and maybe even feel a little [00:25:00] less alone in your story.

Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram at [00:25:05] Reclaimed Story. Want to learn more about living a reclaimed life and how you [00:25:10] can be a part of our growing community of reclaimers? Check out our website at [00:25:15] reclaimedstory. com. All of those links and more will be in the show notes. And if you [00:25:20] enjoyed this inspirational podcast, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review.[00:25:25]

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