Verse of the Day 12/27

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  English Standard Version (ESV)

Christmas Day is over and most of us, after a long weekend will be returning to work or at least other activities come Monday.  Presents that had been wished for and hoped for with anticipation will be put aside.  Toys will end up in the toy box and soon forgotten.  Darts for the dart guns will be lost and the present will soon be forgotten about.  The new clothes will get stained and eventually get worn out and put aside.

Today's verse is often  quoted at Christmas time as we celebrate the greatest gift in the form of the Christ Child, Jesus.  In this verse the Messiah is referred to as Immanuel meaning God is with us.  He is one gift that never wears out, that never  goes out of style, and never suffers from missing parts.  God is with us, in the form of the Holy Spirit given to us.  His Word is with us in our hearts and minds each time it is brought to our remembrance.  The wonder of this should not be lost on us, or by us, any day of the year.

The gift has been given to us, but it is not a normal gift in another respect.  While we have the gift, the gift gives us anticipation of another gift, His return to earth, His re-appearing, the second coming when He will come to rule and to bring all those who have believed and received that first gift to us to our eternal home where we will experience joy, peace and praise every day of our new life into eternity.

No matter what our "normal" every day life looks like, may we remember that God, this Jesus, friend of sinners, will be with us to the end.

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Isaiah 7:14-17The Message (MSG)

^13-17 So Isaiah told him, "Then listen to this, government of David! It's bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you're making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She'll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture. But also be warned: God will bring on you and your people and your government a judgment worse than anything since the time the kingdom split, when Ephraim left Judah. The king of Assyria is coming!"