Verse of the Day 12/14

 

Verse of  the Day 12/14

 

Matthew 1:23   "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall call his name Immanuel"

(which means, God with us).   English Standard Version (ESV)

 

In yesterday's  post we considered how God gave us His son in John 3:16 and that the purpose of the "sending" in John 3:17 was not  to condemn but to offer, to bring  salvation.  Today's verse shows that Jesus is the fulfillment  of  the  Old Testament  prophecy in Isaiah 7 which prophesied the virgin birth, the One to be called "Immanuel" – God with us.

 

The  greatest thing about the  greatest gift is that it doesn't grow old, doesn't wear out or lose is effectiveness or  significance.  Jesus,  the gift, in the form  of  the Holy Spirit  is  always  with us, if we have received the  gift.

 

John Townsend  writes,  "To be "with" means "on the same side." It signifies that someone is present with you, has your back, is accompanying you, and wants to help you in every way. Jesus' birth announcement provided another name for Him, to convey an idea of hope to us. It is that not only is God the Creator and the Sustainer of life, He is also present. He is deeply and intimately connected in relationship to you. He knows your struggles and your dreams, and walks with you through them."

 

What does it mean to you to know that  God, the Creator is with  you  and  "has  your back".   Not only that, but  instead of working for  Him, as we would be for an employer,  we are working  with Him, with God.   Think about that, as the verse below encourages us to do.

 

Psalm 3:8

⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people! Selah    English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Remind yourself today of God's presence and of God's present.  He is with you.  In light of  that,  Tony Dungy's devotional today fits right  in  with this, he  writes, "Spend time  with  the people God  brings  into  your  life  today.  The circumstances that have brought  you together  have been orchestrated by Him.  He may want to pass along  the needed reminder of how important they are to God."

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

Matthew 1:18-25The Message (MSG)

The Birth of Jesus

^18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

^20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term:

Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").

^24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

 

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