03 Dec God With Us
Read Isaiah 7:10-17
Thought for the Day: God is with us!
In the early 1990’s, Regina, David, and I lived in Rhode Island while my parents lived in Fargo, North Dakota. Because we had no internet or cell phones, we stayed in touch the old fashioned way with a landline and payphones. One year we decided to surprise my parents by showing up unannounced on Christmas day. So, we booked an early morning flight and covered our tracks by making a series of calls from home, Logan airport, Minneapolis (during our layover), and finally the Fargo Airport. With each call, we gave the appearance that we were still home in Rhode Island. Each time, my parents simply assumed that all the calls meant we were really sad we couldn’t be together that year. Just fifteen minutes after our last call, we arrived at my parent’s house, snuck into their living room, and surprised them for Christmas!
When the Christ-Child arrived in Bethlehem, He was different than anyone before or after. While people were used to welcoming new babies into the world, they were hardly prepared for this child, Immanuel. who was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel means ‘God With Us’. While we know that we are bound to only one place at a time, the One who is Immanuel is always with us no matter where we are.
This year let’s not forget that the Baby Jesus who was foretold by Isaiah was born into this world over 2000 years ago. He is our Savior and He alone is Immanuel, God With Us. This Jesus who grew up in the home of Mary and Joseph is the One we know as Lord and Savior. He doesn’t simply exist in a Christmas pageant or a Sunday sermon. He doesn’t just live in another place or at another time. The miracle of this Child is that God is right here with us everywhere we go and all the time!
In Christ,
Pastor Stan (and David)
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