God is With Us

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

I bought a new Christmas CD last week. It is Casting Crowns Peace on Earth. It has several typical Christmas songs and a few original ones. The song I got this idea from is called God Is With Us by Wayne Kirkpatrick. I want to talked about God being with us today. There are many passages that tell us God is with us. Sometimes we forget that. I am sitting at my desk, and I don't really feel God's presence with me here. It isn't that I am not in tuned to it, and I do know that the Holy Spirit is around me and in me. I think it that I am comfortable with the way I am at this moment in time. Of course, I know he has given me the inspiration for this devotion.

The baby Jesus came to us and was named Immanuel which translated, means God is with us. This song's chorus is my favorite. It is "Love is raining down on the world tonight, there's a presence here, I can tell. God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel. He's the Savior we have been praying for. In our humble hearts, He will dwell. God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel."

I think the perspective of this song is from those who knew the scriptures of old and was waiting for the Savior to come. They prayed for Him to come, to be with them. God did that at the right time. If Jesus was born now to a virgin, no one would believe it, would they? We have become so cynical and non-believing to everything. The tabloids would have a field day. The prophecies still make headlines today. There are studies devoted to disproving the Bible, but all the while, proves it more.

I love the word play that song has. Have you thought of love like rain? Showers of love came down. I like to see in my mind's eye the shepherds looking at the angels that were singing, and glittery dust was lightly falling to the ground and all over them. Now, I am pretty sure there was not glitter, but doesn't it sound pretty? Sometimes we embellish, add our own concepts for effects. But God came to earth as a baby boy. He didn't use fanfare and send out announcements to family and important people of the day. He quietly and privately told a few shepherds, wisemen and parents what was happening and when. He is now inviting you to be a part of this event that took place over 2,000 years ago.

God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel!