And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will
save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21
When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he was not only telling him that Mary had not been unfaithful, as he had thought, but that she was the virgin spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: "The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (7:14).
That prophecy, given 750 years before, would be fulfilled in Mary. The child she would be carrying is Immanuel: God with us.
What a staggering thought that must have been for Joseph. And what a staggering thought it is for us.
It is really the essence of Christianity. If you took the Christian faith and compared it to all other religious worldviews, this would be the clear distinction: Christianity is "God with us."
Christianity does not require that we try to somehow earn God's approval. The Christian faith teaches that it is God with us, living inside of us, helping us to be the men and women He has called us to be.
Christianity says that we are never alone again. Jesus echoed this same thought when He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age". And in Hebrews 13:5, God said,1 will never leave you or forsake you".
Maybe you need to be reminded of this right now. Maybe you are feeling lonely. God is with you. Maybe someone close to you has let you down or disappointed you.
Affirmation: God is with me, therefore, no one can be against me.
Scriptural Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he was not only telling him that Mary had not been unfaithful, as he had thought, but that she was the virgin spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: "The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (7:14).
That prophecy, given 750 years before, would be fulfilled in Mary. The child she would be carrying is Immanuel: God with us.
What a staggering thought that must have been for Joseph. And what a staggering thought it is for us.
It is really the essence of Christianity. If you took the Christian faith and compared it to all other religious worldviews, this would be the clear distinction: Christianity is "God with us."
Christianity does not require that we try to somehow earn God's approval. The Christian faith teaches that it is God with us, living inside of us, helping us to be the men and women He has called us to be.
Christianity says that we are never alone again. Jesus echoed this same thought when He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age". And in Hebrews 13:5, God said,1 will never leave you or forsake you".
Maybe you need to be reminded of this right now. Maybe you are feeling lonely. God is with you. Maybe someone close to you has let you down or disappointed you.
Affirmation: God is with me, therefore, no one can be against me.
Scriptural Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
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