Immanuel, meaning “God with us”, is one of the first names of Jesus that the Holy Spirit taught me and to this day it is my favorite. God was born in human flesh, He literally walked with us. The Creator chose to become like His creation so that we could walk again in union with Him, what humility! Thank You Jesus!
I’m convinced that if more Christians truly understood the personal and intimate relationship that we now share with God both our lives and our representation of Christ would naturally be so different. It literally changes everything. As believers in Christ we never have to do life alone again. Thanks to the work of the Father through Christ, His son, we have full access to Him, and He has full access to us. We will never be separated from Him again. According to Scripture, we were united to Christ. The word ‘united’ means “grown together” in the Greek. We are led by the Holy Spirit and if we yield our lives to Him we can live empowered by Him. I hope that each of you experience Christ Himself in your lives!
The author of this Advent gave us two verses this week. Each are posted below as per usual.
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
When I was in middle school some neighborhood friends asked me to go camping with them. It sounded fun and adventurous considering it was not something I had done before.
Long story short, myself, two twin brothers, and their dogs were dropped off in the forest with very few supplies, while their parents drove another 45 minutes to a hotel. We could not keep a fire going, in addition to that, it was wet, cold, and pitch-dark outside. What started out as really fun quickly became miserable. I clearly remember looking to the sky for hours ready for the rising sun to bring warmth and light. How joyous was the break of dawn when it came! Much in the same way, Jesus, the Sunrise, has brought the warmth of His love and light of His life into mine. Blessings to you in Christ this Christmas season. May you experience Christ anew this year!
Luke 1:78-79
Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
On many of occasions I’ve been asked, “What’s different about your life?” People are curious to know why my life is different from others. The truth is my life is a living testimony to a wonderful counselor, His name is Jesus! His counsel has shaped me as a Christian, husband, father, minister, employee, etc… and as a result, His life is seen through mine in each of those areas and many more! Praise be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!!
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
What a proclamation by Jesus in today’s verse. Jesus has freed me from the world and the darkness. I am a new creation in Christ, I have the Light of life, and as a result I also walk free of those old confines. I have never known anything or anyone more amazing than Jesus!
John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
After decades of unrest and wars around the world and increasing dissension among government leaders, isn’t it great to know the Prince of Peace in your heart.
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will [a]rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will [i]rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Today’s name once again reminded me of my early days as a believer. I was always a good worker, no doubt something that I picked up from both of my parents, but I was not much of a servant. In fact, I was self-serving in all that I did. It was the Holy Spirit who taught me to live as Christ. The Master-servant teaching His student to love in the manner that He Himself loves. From Christ I learned that to be selfish in the Kingdom of God would be to give freely of myself and my resources. It was Jesus who taught me to serve others without expectation of anything in return.
The author of this advent chose Matthew 12:18, a good verse indeed. I have an additional verse for you from my favorite book, Philippians 2:7. In classic Wes form I’ve added a couple of surrounding verses.
Philippians 2:5-8
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to point of death, even death on a cross.
Matthew 12:18
“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;
My Beloved in whom My Soul is well-pleased;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.”
Transformed by the love of Christ,
Wes
Nothing was more apparent to me after my salvation than the fact that Jesus was with me. His thoughts and His ways were so foreign to my thinking and my ways that it was absolutely impossible to mistake His presence. Up until that point God was just a distant, impersonal being, whom I found incapable of truly getting to know. Now He was living in me. Nothing has had a greater impact on my life than His very presence.
I’ve added a personally selected verse today, John 15:15, in addition to the one supplied by the advent calendar.
Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.
John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Resting in His presence,
Wes
