And His Name Shall Be Called Immanuel

#1 · December 22, 2009, 3:53 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on December 22, 2009, 3:53 pm
Posted by: <@...>
Therefore the Lord himself will give you <sup class=footnote value='[a]'>a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and <sup class=footnote value='[b]'>will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Remember when we were children and it took forever for Christmas to finally arrive? Now it seems that we just get turned around good and another year has come and gone. So many people have told me Christmas snuck up on them this year. It certainly did for me. It is said that time flies when you're having fun. The question is, are we having fun yet?

I sometimes wonder what the magi and shepherds think of our modern-day celebrations of Christmas. The magi followed a star, the shepherds followed angelic directions, and they all ended up at the same site: kneeling before a seemingly normal Baby in a simple, unadorned manger. No twinkling lights or carefully hung tinsel announced this historic, life-changing moment. Instead, the town teemed with frustrated people who had come to be counted in the census. I wonder how many of them turned over on their bed or passed by on the streets, unaware of the urgency in that Infant's cry? Are we, like the multitudes who crowded Bethlehem's streets, so busy with the tasks set before us that we fail to see the miraculous in the midst of the mundane?

We need Christmas. We need Jesus' life. We need His peace. We need His hope. We need a Savior. The message of the manger is found in His name - Emmanuel. Jesus came to be "God with us." That is His message to you today: "No matter what you're going through, how impossible it may seem in this moment, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'm with you. You're not alone."

This Christmas, may we move beyond the chaos of this modern age to kneel humbly before the manger with profound wonder and awe. The omnipotent King of Kings laid aside His royal robes, clothed Himself in human flesh, and dwelt among us. God - with us.

Have an amazingly peace-filled Christmas and a joyous and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas!
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Posted by: <@...>

Therefore the Lord himself will give you <sup class=footnote value='[a]'>a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and <sup class=footnote value='[b]'>will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Remember when we were children and it took forever for Christmas to finally arrive? Now it seems that we just get turned around good and another year has come and gone. So many people have told me Christmas snuck up on them this year. It certainly did for me. It is said that time flies when you're having fun. The question is, are we having fun yet?

I sometimes wonder what the magi and shepherds think of our modern-day celebrations of Christmas. The magi followed a star, the shepherds followed angelic directions, and they all ended up at the same site: kneeling before a seemingly normal Baby in a simple, unadorned manger. No twinkling lights or carefully hung tinsel announced this historic, life-changing moment. Instead, the town teemed with frustrated people who had come to be counted in the census. I wonder how many of them turned over on their bed or passed by on the streets, unaware of the urgency in that Infant's cry? Are we, like the multitudes who crowded Bethlehem's streets, so busy with the tasks set before us that we fail to see the miraculous in the midst of the mundane?

We need Christmas. We need Jesus' life. We need His peace. We need His hope. We need a Savior. The message of the manger is found in His name - Emmanuel. Jesus came to be "God with us." That is His message to you today: "No matter what you're going through, how impossible it may seem in this moment, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'm with you. You're not alone."

This Christmas, may we move beyond the chaos of this modern age to kneel humbly before the manger with profound wonder and awe. The omnipotent King of Kings laid aside His royal robes, clothed Himself in human flesh, and dwelt among us. God - with us.

Have an amazingly peace-filled Christmas and a joyous and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas!

To subscribe:  <adevotionalgroup-subscribe@welovegod.org>  To unsubscribe: <adevotionalgroup-unsubscribe@welovegod.org  If you have questions: <adevotionalgroup-owner@welovegod.org>