God Is with Us

In Shakespeare’s drama Romeo and Juliet, one of the most memorable lines is “What’s in a name?” Juliet declared that a name is just a name and has no real meaning behind it. This might be true in some settings, but in other situations, names are pregnant with meaning. 700 years before Jesus, the Holy Spirit declared the name of the coming Savior through the prophet Isaiah. “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” Isaiah 7:14 (NLT) No other name given to the Savior Jesus is filled to overflowing with meaning. Think about it, “God with us!” Is there any statement that is more life transforming than the truth God is with us? God with us - God with me! Let the truth sink in. I would encourage you to ponder the name Immanuel. Take some time, limit outside distractions and ponder “God with me” long enough and the truth will explode in your spirit. Realizing even a fraction of the truth will energize any heart. Matthew begins his account of the life of Jesus by quoting Isaiah 7. His name will be “Immanuel.” He ends his account of the life of Jesus with the same truth. “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 (NLT) From beginning to end, God is with us. Is there any truth more comforting, encouraging and transforming? I think not!

He is always with us!

The promise of Christmas was spoken of 700 years before the birth of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The promise was spoken of through the Prophet Isaiah:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

The Gospel of Matthew also tells of the birth of Jesus:
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."” (Matthew 1:23)

Right from the very beginning the promise was that Jesus would change everything and that God would be ‘with us.’ It is interesting that some of the last words Jesus spoke reiterate the reality that He would be with us. In Matthew 28 Jesus said:
“I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus’ time on this earth started with ‘God with us,’ and His time on the earth ended with ‘I am with you always, to the very end of time.’ This is a wonderful promise and a fearful promise. It is wonderful to know that no matter whether I’m on the mountain top of life or in the deepest valley of life He is with me. This is amazing, wonderful and so reassuring. It can’t get any better than that! The Creator of the Universe is always with you!

It is also a fearful promise because whatever is happening in my life, there He is. ‘I am with you always!’ This means in the midst of our bad attitude, our harsh words spoken, our unkind reactions, etc., He is ALWAYS there! There is nothing hidden from Him, not even our thoughts. There is nothing we say that He doesn’t know about. There is nothing we do that He doesn’t know about.

The Christmas Promise: He is always with us! The Christmas reality: He is always with us!

Giving Different At Christmas

The real meaning of Christmas so often gets buried under the peripheral celebrations of Christmas: the giving and receiving of gifts, the songs, baking and special meals, events and programs, church and social parties, etc. Somewhere in the midst of all the hoopla is the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is the celebration of God’s gift of Jesus Christ to the human race. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.” Christmas is a celebration of God’s greatest gift to us, not a celebration of gifts that we given or received.

Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas – that’s $450,000,000,000 - on Christmas gifts for each other! What percentage of that ends up in the garages, storage sheds and garage sales across America? Is all the gift giving about blessing others, or is it more from mixed up motives such as buying love, covering up guilt or showing off?

It is estimated that it would cost $10 billion – that’s $10,000,000,000 - to provide clean water around the world. So if Americans gave 2% less in total gift giving and instead gave it to groups that were working to provide clean water around the world, within a few years every person would be cooking, cleaning, bathing and drinking clean water. Just 2% less!

Please don’t think I’m trying to tell people where to give, how much to give or whether to give at all. My intent is to encourage each of us to think differently about how we celebrate God’s gift to humanity. Giving to someone who can’t do anything for you in return and who you will probably never meet will be the greatest gift you can give to celebrate Christmas.

I can’t give $10, 000,000,000, but I can give my 2%.

Christmas Chaos Peace

One of the promises, that was spoken of numerous times, regarding the coming of Messiah Jesus, into the world is 'peace.' Peace was foretold by the prophets and was heralded by angels. The peace that Jesus brought is not the peace that people were looking for or expected. Most people think of peace as an absence of conflict or as the result of having enough of what they want. This is not the peace that was promised or that Jesus brought into the world.

Those two sentiments regarding people’s understanding of peace can be heard in the statements; 'Can't we just all get along?' and 'There is enough for everyone.' The peace that comes from everyone getting along or from having enough is just a small taste of the real thing. It is not real peace and it is short lived.

When I was growing up my Mom always had homemade maple syrup for pancakes and waffles. The syrup was made from white sugar, something called ‘Mapleline’ flavoring and boiling water. It had a maple flavor but it was not made with pure maple. It was a watered down substitute but that is what my family could afford.

There is a peace that circumstances offer but it only tastes like peace. That peace is not made with real peace but with peace flavoring and it is watered down.

Jesus said; "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27 NLT)

True peace is not like the flavored peace. True peace is deep and constant and unchanged by life's circumstances. True peace comes from resting in the shelter of God's care.

God gave us the Word that creates peace in our hearts and lives. He didn’t say that we would be without conflict and trials. He told us that we would have peace because of Him and what He has told us. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

Seek Real Peace – Not the watered down peace made by flavoring!

Christmas - Does it have to be that way?

This week starts the busiest segment of the year. The two biggest shopping days of the year happen during the upcoming weeks. The biggest shopping day of the year is the last Saturday before Christmas. The second biggest shopping day of the year is Black Friday. What is often referred to as the ‘season of cheer’ becomes what one writer referred to as the ‘season of fear.’ This happens as people’s schedules speedup, people impose expectations on themselves, there are expectations put upon people by family, friends, schools, and church and work – all of this becomes almost unbearable at times. Advice found in last week’s USA Weekend was: “Don’t let social phobia ruin your holidays.” The term ‘social phobia’ is used to describe the symptoms that a significant number of people suffer during this segment of the year.

The day after Thanksgiving is often referred to as ‘Black Friday.’ The term was first used by police and retail workers to describe the day’s unimaginable traffic jams and badly-behaved customers. The term has migrated to refer to the day when retailers begin to see their income statements move from ‘red’ to ‘black.’ Black Friday has become such a nightmare that dozens of news agencies are offering advice to those who can’t stay home on how to survive the day.

Oklahoma's Enid News & Eagle offers these thoughts this year: “These stampede-type sales have gotten out of hand. … Let's all just keep our cool, enjoy the bargains and — most of all— be safe.” There is an iPhone app called ‘Dealnews’ that offers the latest news on Black Friday. All of this reporting, news and advice comes one year after a Long Island Wal-Mart employee was tragically trampled to death as the doors opened for in the early morning of ‘Black Friday.’

So everyone: Get in. Sit down. Put your helmet on. Make sure your seatbelt is tightly fastened around your waste. Get ready for takeoff. Let me remind you that in case of a loss of cabin pressure an oxygen mask will appear before you. Simply place it over your face and breath. Then continue to follow the stampeding crowds as the race of the year continues. Do not slow down or you will miss the buyer’s remorse and post holiday blues that are a benefit of how we do what we do. Merry Christmas.

Does it have to be that way?