Approach the throne of grace and peace with complete and utter boldness because of the greatest miracle worth mentioning. IMMANUEL – God with us. Hallelujah! That is the gospel.
God with us. God, with us. You can't say it enough. I can't type it fast enough!
The Three-Times Holy, the Alpha-Omega, the Sovereign Almighty… with us, sinners. We the vile, wicked, nasty, rotten, spoiled, brash, blaspheming, unholy, ungodly, unlovely, broken, wretched, sinful people.
Hope remains because – Immanuel. God with US. What a promise!
Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” He is with us. Jesus, "the perfect, exact, 'eikon' of the Living God,“ with us. Jesus is the image of God in full exact and total essence, He is totally and absolutely equal to God. (http://vocabmalone.blogspot.com)
Immanuel, that is His name! God is with us. He keeps His promises too!
The Messiah, Jesus, is the firstborn over all creation. The firstborn of Mary. The preeminent one over all things created, for by Him and through Him, all things live and dwell and have their being. Jesus, the One who was.. and is.. and is to come, surpasses all others. (http://bible.cc)
The God-man came to dwell with us! And He left us not alone, but sent His Spirit- the Counselor, our Helper, to always be with us. Christ was pleased to submit to the Father and be our Spotless Lamb that takes our sin and shame away. Immanuel.
God came down to us. God, in the flesh, came down to us. Jesus- our Redeemer became known to us. HALLELUJAH! Thank You Lord for giving us You.
He is called Immanuel, God with us.
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” -Isaiah 7:14
God is with us. That is what this week is all about. That is what our lives long to be all about. Making that ridiculous truth known. It is remarkable first that God loves us, but it is a completely different story that God would come down to be with us – to be in our deplorable presence. He is Immanuel. He is here. He has not left us, but is indeed with us. He even intercedes on our behalf! God prays for you too!? Yep, He is.
He is good, regardless.
So know this, God is with us. Immanuel. God is with us. Holy, holy, holy LORD GOD ALMIGHTY is with us and that is good good news. The One that angels cannot stop praising, the One that orders stars to shine and the sea to be still, the One who holds you, the One who is enthroned forever and ever, the One who life is all about is with us. Remarkable, remarkable news. IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US.
Do you get it? He is with us. So why? Why God? Why come and redeem us and buy us back from the darkness, tranferring us to the Kingdom of Your Beloved Son when we have nothing to give you? What kind of love loves without anything in return!? Not a human love, that is for sure.
Because He is God, because He is good. He is merciful and loving, full of grace and truth. Peace and justice flow freely from Him. God saved you not because of you! Life is not because of you. That is really really good news! It is not about you. He saved us before we even sinned against Him, while fully knowing all the sins we would commit pre and post-rebirth! God did it for Himself. He saved you that you might be an object of His affection, and no longer an object of His just and fair wrath. Hard truth.
For His glory and your joy. You were not lovely or good by any means. And yet, He does not pass you. He does not walk away, He looks directly at you and shouts, "Live! Live!" He looks upon us "with kindess and a tender affection, not only [pitying us]," Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 16.
God placed His affections onto us, the wretches. What do you say to a love like that? What is there to do when we are loved like that?
All I can do right now is sit in silence and listen. I have nothing to say, my words fail me. I have nothing to do or anything to give back to Him, He owns all things. So now I sit and wait, I wait for God on High to pass me and look at me once again. I look for Him to come near. I wait for Him to encounter me with open hands and a tender heart that melts in His presence.
I am so fearful in expectation of His arrival and yet so willing to stand in the whirlwind that He is. So please come, God. I want you and "I need you like a hurricane." Thanks Jimmy Needham.
Have mercy on us, Lord Jesus. Come quickly to save us. Bring us back to You. You are Immanuel, God who is with us- You are never far away. For that I thank You, for that I rejoice, for that I smile. Lord, holy are You.
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. Please ransom captive Israel. We mourn in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, Oh Israel.
Merry Christmas.
