"Leap Frog"

Isaiah 9.6 NKJV

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Before Handel’s “Messiah,” in fact, long before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah spoke these words about Jesus. Over seven hundred years of history would come and go. The Babylonian, Persian, and Greek empires would rise and fall. Alexander the Great would appear and then fade away. After all this happened, Christ came as a baby in a stable in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophetic promise.

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord
through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son,
and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”
Matthew 1.22-23 NKJV

When I was a little boy I played leap frog. I played it with my kids when they were little. I leap frogged with my first grandson and, when they are big enough, I will play it with my other grandkids. Leap frog is fun because it involves movement and a positive connection between all the players.

Our Father God loves to play leap frog with us. The message of Jesus is leaping from one generation to the next starting thousands of years before His actual birth and continuing a couple of thousand years since. I am touched by the same message God gave Isaiah twenty-seven centuries ago. There’s movement in this message. There’s connection. I am playing this wonderful, trans-generational game with Moses, David, the children of Israel, Isaiah, every prophet of Judah and Israel, Jesus Christ, the disciples and writers of the New Testament, all devoted Christ-followers of every age, and God Himself.

My wife, Adonica, was an ardent believer in Jesus. Six years ago, she 'leap frogged' her way into eternity. I miss her but still feel the connection. She was my wife “til death do us part,” but she will be my sister forever.  Together with the entire host of heaven and “a great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12.1), Adonica and I are still united in spirit with the intention of expanding the Kingdom of God on earth.  

The church of God is strong. The message of “Immanuel... God with us” cannot be stopped. The truth is advancing. Nothing will deter it. Jesus is alive and with us. This reality will leap frog forward for all eternity.