Monday, December 5, 2011

His Name Is Immanuel-God With Us

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
The Holy Family

said through the prophet: ‘the virgin will be with

child and will give birth and they will call him

Immanuel- which means, ‘God with us.’”

Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV)


One of the first things I ask when I hear of a baby going to be born is if the parents-to-be have thought of any names. Names are usually chosen with great care. If a name or the set of initials carry a negative idea or profane idea, most parents won’t consider it.

Our names last our whole lives. We might have a shortened form of our given name that we or others use. On the occasion of a hospital admission our given name will be used unless the nursing staff asks what we go by. When we reach a certain point in life we become known to our health insurance providers by our first name, no matter what we have gone by in our life

When the angel visited Joseph and told him not to be afraid to accept Mary as his wife, the visitor told him to ‘give him the name Jesus’. Now this is not just the whim of the angel. The Lord God had spoken through Isaiah and gave this name to His emissary He will send to earth.

"God with us”-what does that mean? A family I know has gone through a difficult time for just over a year now. God has been beside then each day since this circumstance entered their lives.

“God with us”- an elderly friend of mine has dealt with a ‘backset’ in her health. A mutual friend got the lady into her doctor. The doctor tweaked the lady’s meds. She started feeling better in two days time.

“God with us”-We received a phone call one Sunday afternoon that took us to the hospital bedside of my husband’s sister. They had to transfer her to a hospital that specialized in trauma care. Eleven days later, we watched her as she was transferred to her heavenly home.

“God with us” This past winter, our son expanded his job search. He started applying for government jobs. He was offered a job in a town six hundred miles and three states away. His plan was to fly out there, look for an apartment and return and get what he needed for an apartment. He planned for a two day trip to do this. We had a horrendous winter storm come through the Midwest. Airports closed, the interstate closed in the state lying to the east of his destination. He had to make plane, motel and rental car reservations three times. Our son did get to his new town. He did get those things he needed for his apartment. God allowed him to make that trip safely both times.

14 comments:

  1. AMEN

    Blessings and prayers,
    andrea

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  2. My Mom used to comment on the importance of choosing a good name for a child. She didn't do it in a critical way - just stressed how a name is with someone their whole lives, etc. I am glad we can trust in the one whose name is "God with us".

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  3. Yes, He is always with us and will never forsake us. Thanks for the good word.

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  4. Andrea:
    Thank you for your warm comments.

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  5. Karen:
    Thank you for your insight. Yes, it's wonderful to trust the one who reminds us that God is with us.
    When I worked in a file area, I noticed the different names of people in the military. It got to the place I could tell about when a service member was born just by his given name.

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  6. Susan:
    Thank you for your kind words.

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  7. "God with us." That's enough to meditate on all day. I think I'll let it just sit on my tongue and savor this morsel. Thank you!

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  8. I wish every one realized the importance of names. We had a young hippie couple that use to work for my dad.(years ago) They named their daughter Tera Firma (dirt) What a horrible thing to do to your child. I loved your post. Thank you for sharing.
    Glenda Parker

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  9. Thank you for your thought. I went to a writer's conference where one of the presenters was from that type of background and eventually adopted a very strange sounding name. She even had it legalized.

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  10. Rhonda:
    Thank you for your thought and you are welcome.

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  11. I LOVE the name Emmanuel - God with us. It means what it says. And it's such a comfort when we feel alone to KNOW Him who is named "God with us".

    Thanks for this excellent post!
    Blessings,
    Susan

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  12. I subscribed to your blog some time ago, but life is busy. Today I discovered it again. It touched my heart. I disliked my first name until I returned to faith as an adult. Then I realized it meant "Gift of God." Wow! I still go by Dottie but like the meaning of my full name.

    I invite you to follow my blog at www.faithnotes-dottie.blogspot.com.

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  13. Susan P.
    Thank you for your kind thoughts. We realize He is with us when we are stretched to our limits with stress. Thanks again for your support.

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  14. Dottie:
    Welcome back. Thanks for your insight on the name like/dislike. I also had that experience of having to get to learn to like mine.
    Feel free to visit when you can.

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