Dear Grandparent:  This is #23 in a series of 66 Bible Faith-building Bible Verses to Memorize With Your Grandchildren. The thread that weaves itself through these verses, one from each book of the Bible, is designed to create a heart of strong faith in you and your grandchild as you commit them to memory together.  May God add his blessing to every word. 

THE VERSE

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

THE STORY

Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet who lived about 700 years before Jesus was born, and yet, what he wrote about was the coming of that one – the Messiah. He looked far, far ahead and recorded what God showed him about the One who would come to save people from their sins. 

THE REASON

My dear grandchild, I chose this verse as our 23rd to memorize because in its words we see the total picture of the Savior God’s people were awaiting. But, for you and me, we have the benefit of knowing Jesus today and proclaiming that he is the One who already came! When Isaiah penned these words, everything in history, every event in time was leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, that very One has already come, and he lives in our hearts, doing the things and being the Savior that Isaiah said he would be!

PERSONALIZE IT

Before I was your grandmother, I was only a Mom.  What I mean by the “only” part is this: Now that I’m your Grammy, all the things that I focused on in raising my children, including your own momma, have become less important to me, because of YOU. Sometimes people say that God gave us children so we could have grandchildren. It’s not that I’ve forgotten I have three children or anything like that, but when you came along, I experienced a whole new depth of love that actually makes me forget how difficult it was to raise three babies to adulthood!

Don’t take that the wrong way. Being parents to your mom, your aunt and your uncle was what Grumpy and I lived to do! They were our number one job, our laser-sharp focus, and our most important daily priority. We wouldn’t want to trade being their parents for anything in all the world.

But it was a hard job.

There were so many times we didn’t know what to do. Like when we took your momma’s temperature for the first time. It should have been a simple task with a process that sort of came naturally, but Grumpy and I didn’t even know how to do it right! As parents, we had to read books and ask questions and learn lots.

In life, like in raising children, there is plenty to throw us for a loop. We just don’t know everything. We have to get good at experimenting, and that often includes a lot of trial and bunches of error.

You know that slime stuff that you and your friends make? I remember when you told me how you started with a basic recipe of shaving cream, baking soda, glue and contact solution, but you had to adjust it and tweak it several times to create the end result you were seeking. That’s the way life is. We know what we want things to look like in the end, but getting there is like constantly adjusting a recipe.

That’s why this verse is a great one to memorize.

Isaiah proclaimed the Savior whose qualities mix together just right, in perfect proportions to give us the most amazing end result.

Correct our confusion. As our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus sets our minds straight. He counsels us with only wisdom and never, ever leads us the wrong direction. We can go to him with all of our questions, worries and insecurities. He hears, he knows, and he reassures us as we walk through life.

Be our protector. Jesus is a Mighty God who promises to fight our battles. Because that’s true, we don’t have to go through life being tossed around by the troubles that come.

Provide for our future.  In all the ways that a good father is always there for his children, Jesus is there for you and me. He’s the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. He’s the father who will never leave us. Even after we take our last breath, we will spend eternity in the presence of Jesus.

Give us peace. The one who was to come – Jesus – would be called The Prince of Peace. He brings a quiet assurance into our hearts that helps us enjoy life without worry and be people who are filled with peace.

Next time you’re adjusting the proportions of that fluffy purple slime you like to create, I hope you’ll remember that Jesus is the only one who has all the right mix of all the perfect qualities. Wonderful Counselor – Mighty God – Everlasting Father – Prince of Peace.

MEMORIZE IT

When there’s a series of words within a Bible verse, it can be hard to memorize them in the right order. Use the first letter of each descriptor to create an easy-to-remember acronym, like “We Make Everything Purple”. The slime recipe analogy makes it easy to correlate the four qualities of Jesus prophesied by Isaiah. He’s one-quarter of each, making the perfect cup – exactly what we need.

MEMORIALIZE IT

Make slime together! Talk about each of the four qualities of Jesus that Isaiah referred to as you add each of the four main ingredients together in the bowl. Recite the verse several times as you squeeze the goo in and out of your fingers. Give some personal examples of how Jesus has become your Wonderful Counselor in times when you didn’t know what to do. Grandkids love to hear about your struggles, and it will reinforce their own faith to hear how you got through. (Here’s a link to a good slime recipe.)

Encouraging intentional adventure with your sweet grandkids through the pages of God’s word,