Advent means 'God with us'

       Today  on this Christmas Eve our word is Immanuel.  The angel appeared to Joseph and spoke these word in Matthew 1:21-23 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people form their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call his  Immanuel –  which means, ‘God with us'”   Matthew wanted to be very sure that his Jewish readers understood the connection to the Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”     In these verses we are told several truths about Jesus:   He would be born of a virgin, He would be called Jesus, His purpose in coming was to save us from our sins, He would bring God to us to be with us.

        What does it mean that ‘God is with us’?   One of my favorite verses is Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you ; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”     Jesus also gave this assurance  in Matthew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”   I take great comfort in knowing that God is with me no matter what I am facing.  What about you?  Will you be encouraged today because you know that Jesus’ birth means that ‘God is with you’?  Claim faith in His son Jesus in your life and experience the fullness of ‘God is with you’ for yourself.

Living with His presence,

Linda

The stable cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  We sang ‘Silent Night’ in His name.