Son of God

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December: Messiah

            “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:        

                        ‘You are my son;

                        Today I have become your Father.’

So it is stated elsewhere:

            ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ “But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”           

Acts 13:32-33, 35, 37 (NIV)

            The apostle Paul speaks these words to the believers in Pisidian Antioch. He says some startling things here. God vowed to raise up His Son to benefit His children. The Father also pledged to not let His Son, Jesus, die.

            Think about this for a moment. We serve a Messiah that did not die. The other religions in this world can point to where their leader is buried. Jesus Christ reigns in heaven with His Father. He lives. We serve a risen Savior. One of my favorite hymns we sing at Easter celebration is, “He Lives.” I believe we could sing it anytime during the year.

           

            The first thing we notice is God fulfilled his promise to His people. Another is that His son did not die, was not buried in the ground and did not face the end that humans face.

Immanuel. New Testament

belovedbabynames.com

December: Messiah

Today we look at a visit of an angel of God to a very confused Joseph. The angel directs Joseph in what he must do to aid his intended in her circumstance. God’s angel tells Joseph the impending child’s name and its meaning.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord 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 1:22: 23 (NIV)

               

                Matthew tells us of an angel’s visit to Joseph. He was considering leaving Mary as opposed to having her stoned. Matthew says he could have exposed her to public disgrace. (1:19) He must have been torn by what his choices were. An angel from God visited the carpenter and spoke of the importance of the child Mary carried.

                All names have meanings. The name God selected for His Son has the best meaning of all, “God with us.”

                Once we accept Jesus into our hearts, God is with us all the time. He is even there when we don’t feel His presence.

                In our present world, we see events occur that are heart-wrenching. When these events are of a personal nature, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to function in the face of the circumstances of this fallen world. I cannot stress enough the importance of standing for Christ because He is truly “God with us.”  When we do this, as He directs we bring His Kingdom into our world.

Immanuel, Old Testament Prophecy

reviveourhearts.com

December: Immanuel

Today, we look at an Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah

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

               

                The prophet Isaiah speaks these words to Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah. Ahaz was on the throne of Judah. The kingdoms of Israel and Aram had marched against Jerusalem. They could not overpower the city. 

                The Lord spoke to Ahaz; He had just told him to stand firm in the faith. Again God spoke to Ahaz. He told the king to ask for a sign. Ahaz said he wouldn’t do that, “I will not put the LORD to the test.”(Verse 12)

                Isaiah then tells Ahaz the words of our focus verse. In modern day language, God will let it be known to all that He cares for His people and will be with them no matter whether they are ‘in the deepest depths or in the highest heights’ (verse 10)

                What does this mean to us who live in today’s world? God is with us no matter what our circumstance happens to be. As a nation and as a world we face trying times. But, when we stand for our faith and choose to live for Him, we bring God into those circumstances.

Son of God

 

December: Messiah

            “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:        

                        ‘You are my son;

                        Today I have become your Father.’

So it is stated elsewhere:

            ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ “But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”           

Acts 13:32-33, 35, 37 (NIV)

            The apostle Paul speaks these words to the believers in Pisidian Antioch. He says some startling things here. God vowed to raise up His Son to benefit His children. The Father also pledged to not let His Son, Jesus, die.

            Think about this for a moment. We serve a Messiah that did not die. The other religions in this world can point to where their leader is buried. Jesus Christ reigns in heaven with His Father. He lives. We serve a risen Savior.

           

            The first thing we notice is God fulfilled his promise to His people. Another is that His son did not die, was not buried in the ground and did not face the end that humans face.

Son of the Most High

                                                                 

December: Messiah

beattieroad.net

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David, and he

will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 1:32, 33 (NIV)

  

            God sent His messenger, an angel, to earth to announce to Mary His plan. In our focus passage, the angel Gabriel describes the One He will send and tells of the Savior—his impact, what He will be called, what God will equip Him with, and how long He will be with God’s people.

“He will be great. . .”

            The word great has several meanings. Ones that like are: “Much above the ordinary or average in some quality or degree;” And “having or showing nobility of mind, purpose, etc.” (1) 

“. . . will be called the Son of the Most High.”

            The relationship between a son and his biological father and mother is usually close. In modern times people use the term, ‘son’ to signify a feeling of closeness.

            God is very close to His Son. Actually, when Jesus came to earth, it was God Himself that took on human form and experienced the trials of human life.

“The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David,”

            God equipped His Son with all he needed to be among the people of this world. The Father gave Jesus the platform to rule, A throne was a place of dignity that demanded respect and honor. (2.)

“. . . he will reign over the house of Jacob forever”

            God intends His Son to rule over His people for all eternity. To state this another way: His plan is for Jesus’ impact to those here on earth will always be felt.

“. . . his kingdom will never end.”

            God must consider this feature of the Son’s impact on His people important because he repeats the idea of a never-ending reign for Jesus.

            In my last post, I asked two questions. The answer to the second question Do these words speak of a political or a spiritual reign? is Jesus’ reign is a spiritual one. The Hebrew people thought it would be a political one. 

______________________________________________________________________________

(1.)       Webster’s New World Dictionary Concise Edition, © 1974, The Southwestern Company, Nashville, Tenn. Page 328

(2).The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, © 1988, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. Pages 1278-1279

King, of David’s line

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December: the Messiah              

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

When I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,

A King who will reign wisely/

And do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved

And Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The LORD Our Righteousness.

Jer. 23:5-6(NIV)

                The Lord God speaks these words. He is preparing the people for the presence of Jesus in their land. The people of Israel and Judah are going through extreme hardship.

                In the verses just before this passage, God speaks to those who are “destroying and scattering” his people. The Father promises to punish those who caused pain for those who were close to Him. He vows to “gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries . . . and bring them back to their pasture. . . .”

                The nation Israel was destroyed in 587 BC The modern nation of Israel was created in May 1948. The entire history of this modern entity has been one of constant alerts and wars.

   

                Our focus passage is prophecy. God speaks through Jeremiah of a coming of Jesus.

Could these words speak of the second coming, as well as the first? Do these words speak of a political or a spiritual reign?

Spiritual Sacrifice

Timeanddate,com

November- The Month of Thankfulness and Praise.

“I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:17 (NIV)

            The psalmist tells his readers, even those of today, that he would give an offering and praise to God as a form of sacrifice. We think of a sacrifice as being something that causes a hardship. However, a Biblical understanding of sacrifice simply means something brought before God. In the Old Testament, the people brought as a tribute before or an offering to God.

            What do we praise God for in our present world? I find myself praising Him for the beautiful weather we have experienced this late in the year. As I sit in my living room initially composing this meditation, our back door is open, letting the late afternoon sunshine into our kitchen. The temperature was a bit nippy this morning for me to spend time on my front porch.

            Besides the weather, I am thankful that we were able to fix up more of our house this year.

            In addition, I give God praise I am better physically than I was one year ago. I was incapacitated. Now, we usually get out and go to the store or shopping. I get out to do visitation every other week and attend a prayer group on Wednesday mornings and attend midweek worship service and a second prayer group on Wednesday evenings. For the ability to do these activities, I am thankful.

What are some things you give praise or thanksgiving for?

UNPLUGGING

One special thing I am thankful for this year is that our son can be home to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. He was able to be with us last year but that was when I was incapacitated. This is a very special time for us, 

Because he will be here and stay overnight, on the weekend, I am going to unplug until Monday, November 28th. My prayer for all you is that you have a joyous Thanksgiving celebration with your loved ones,