Immanuel…
Immanuel translates to “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. ~Isiah 7:14 NKJB
God loves to come to us in dreams and paint pictures of our lives. If we pay attention we can see things that God means for us alone to know and to see. Sometimes He plants dreams in us that are meant to be shared. Joseph’s dream has become the hope of the world, for all of history since the day of the dream. Had Joseph ignored the dream, from an Angel of God, we would not have the Messiah, the Savior our Lord. We would still, 2,000 years later ,be wondering the in the darkness.
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We love helping others and believe that’s one of the reasons we are chosen as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, to serve God’s children. We look to the Greatest Commandment as our Powering force.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ~Matthew 1:20-21 NKJB
The dream God placed on my heart the night of December 7, 2002 made today possible. For had I ignored that dream I fear the outcome would’ve been made manifest in my life. No one wants that. The dreams placed in me are not world altering, they simply impact a speck of land on this vast world. Quiet meaningless outside of my immediate family.
When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God it means we are turning towards God and away from sin. At the moment we make the commitment Jesus Christ fills our heart, fills our spirit and rejoices at our return. The life of sin begins to die off. Jesus saves us from our sins. He was born for the specific purpose of saving us from our sins. If we will simply look to Him and accept His saving grace His Peace will flow over our lives. His Joy will fill the basket in our soul that was is intended for Him.
This time of year is His season, there is no other reason for Christmas other than Jesus Christ. There is no other reason for the decorations, the gifts and all the party’s. There is no other reason for us to contemplate putting up Christmas lights, a Christmas tree or have any notion about Christmas. We celebrate the coming of Jesus, Immanuel, for God so loved us He wanted to save us from sin – save us from ourselves. God wants us to have a joyous life spent glorifying Him. Why do we not fulfill this simple request?
Either the Gospel is the divine Word of God teaching us how to live and how to be a reflection of Him, or it’s nothing more than a historical account of events.
