Immanuel: God with Us

Matthew 1:23; 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

God kept His promise when He reached down to earth in the flesh of Christ to save us from our sins and to grant us an overcomer’s life now and forever. Wow, what love and grace shown to us. “IMMANUEL, GOD IS HERE!” That is the true meaning of Christmas.

Immanuel

In this world in which we live there is so much focus on material objects, a focus which draws our attention away from the Christ Child, born in the manger. We must turn our hearts toward Heavenly things to remember why we are celebrating Christmas. The chief objective of our attraction should be the baby Jesus in the manger who came to reveal His glory and to redeem mankind back from their sins; God reaching down to earth in the flesh of Christ. He bought us back from the slavery of sin by his magnificent grace and incredible love. It is the most awesome miracle of all times. “Immanuel, God with Us.” We must never take that lightly.

Matthew tells us about the baby in the manger who is the son of David, the Messiah. He is Jesus, He is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in whom all peoples on earth are blessed. He is, “Immanuel,” “God with us.”

“Immanuel” is a word of assurance among God’s people; it gives us hope. No matter how desperate conditions become, we know that God is with us. (Rom 8:38-39) Paul makes that real clear, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He is with us NOW. With all that is going on at this present time, man disregarding God, our economy and the changing of the guard in government, God is here! Therefore, we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb 4:15-16).

Fulfilled Promise

The promise was fulfilled as spoken by the prophet Isaiah; in Isaiah 9:6-7; “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (New Living Translation)

That is the message of hope for the Christmas season, all year long and for all eternity; God is with us! Now that should make us walk with our heads up high with great confidence. We are not alone. He loves us. The God of all the ages is HERE WITH US!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Rev 22:21).

Prayer

Lord, we praise you and we glorify your name. We ask forgiveness for any sinful acts that we have committed today. We want to conform to your image. Thank you for stripping away all the flesh and helping us to allow you to dig deep into the Spirit man and allow your Holy Spirit to take out that which is not pleasing to you. You are looking for men and women who will give all to you. I want to be that one. Amen!

Verses

• Luke 1:28
  “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
• Luke 3:16
  John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
• John 14:26-27
  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
• Psalm 37:25
  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
• John 1:14-16
  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
• Matthew 4:16
  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
• John 1:5
  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
• Ephesians 3:19-2
  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

GOD IS WITH US