It’s the Saturday before Christmas. As I sit here thinking, God is connecting some “dots” for me to share with you. I’m always in awe at how God puts these blogging ideas in my heart.
First, stay with me as I quickly share these “dots”. 1) Immanuel meaning God is with us. 2) Knowing many who are dealing with hard situations. 3) This Christmas season being a time of Great Joy. 4) Knowing everyone doesn’t feel that Joy 4) Tuning in to Julie Green Ministry on social media and hearing her share verses from 2 Corinthians chapter 4. (I like to challenge myself by seeing if I can follow the short reels she shares with Scriptures. This morning I understood some. ) 5) Asking Siri what Immanuel means. (I know the meaning but wanted to see what it said. While it was technically right, Siri lacked the true MEANING, God is with us.)
In Matthew 1:23 says, ““Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (NLT) Think about that and let it sink deep within. Our God who created us, sustains us, strengthens us, counsels and comforts us, provides for us, enables us, who saves us, redeems us, who sees us…… and on and on I could go ….. is God is with us!
It’s hard to wrap our minds around spiritual truths because we humans depend on what we SEE. Accepting spiritual truths requires faith, which is simply choosing to believe what God says is true. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) God our ABBA Father wants us to have child like faith and trust Him.
It’s the Holly Jolly time of year, but truth be told not everyone experiences that Cheer. If you are one of those who is depressed or discouraged right now, let me encourage you. Look back up a few paragraphs at Matthew 1:23. Jesus born as a babe is Immanuel ~ God is with us. That should be great comfort to your heart. If you are a shut-in due to health issues, a widow or experiencing loneliness due to family being far away: whatever the situation I want to encourage you to celebrate the birth of Jesus. God is with us.
The devil goes over and beyond to try to trip us up on a daily basis. Resist his tactics. The verses I heard Julie Green share today on her social media reel are the following. “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT).
This might be a Blue Christmas for you if you are looking from a worldly perspective but CHIN UP!!! Don’t lose sight of the true meaning! God is with us! The Savior of the world has come and is the BEST PRESENT to help you in the present. Will you sing with me? O Come let us adore Him, O Come let us adore Him, O Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Fort He alone is worthy, For He alone is worthy, For He alone is worthy, Christ the Lord. We’ll give Him all the glory, We’ll give Him all the glory, We’ll give Him all the glory, Christ the Lord
Have a blessed weekend. Whatever you do. If you fall down get back up. Don’t beat yourself up if you think you fall short. None of us are without fault. We all need encouragement. Praise God for His mercy and grace. We all need to reach outside of ourselves and our little orbit of life and touch others for the glory of God. Much love and prayers.
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