God with Us
December 14, 2015
Matthew 1:22-23 – “22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
The first personal ministry that occurred in the Bible was when God talked with Adam. God created Adam and placed him in a garden. And God walked and talked with Adam in the garden. Why? Because without God’s instruction, Adam had no idea who he was. God had to tell him. God knew Adam couldn’t figure it out by himself. The first personal ministry in history is God’s telling Adam who he is and why he was made. It wasn’t because Adam had sinned that God talked with him. It was because he was human. We still need God to tell us who we are and why we are here. We still need God’s personal ministry. At Christmas, we celebrate that Jesus, the Son of God, became fully man and walked among us. The word, Immanuel means, “God with us.” At salvation, Immanuel, God with us, comes into our hearts to stay. God takes up residence in our hearts. God is with us, and we are never alone again. We are never without His love and peace and joy and comfort. And from His guidance, from His revealing, we learn who we are and why we are here.
The first personal ministry that occurred in the Bible was when God talked with Adam. God created Adam and placed him in a garden. And God walked and talked with Adam in the garden. Why? Because without God’s instruction, Adam had no idea who he was. God had to tell him. God knew Adam couldn’t figure it out by himself. The first personal ministry in history is God’s telling Adam who he is and why he was made. It wasn’t because Adam had sinned that God talked with him. It was because he was human. We still need God to tell us who we are and why we are here. We still need God’s personal ministry. At Christmas, we celebrate that Jesus, the Son of God, became fully man and walked among us. The word, Immanuel means, “God with us.” At salvation, Immanuel, God with us, comes into our hearts to stay. God takes up residence in our hearts. God is with us, and we are never alone again. We are never without His love and peace and joy and comfort. And from His guidance, from His revealing, we learn who we are and why we are here.
– Virginia Thompson