O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Ever since mankind fell and became separated from God, there has been a definite spiritual death followed by a certain emptiness in the heart of every human being. There is a deep longing for more in our hearts...but for what???
Here is the ANSWER: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:4-6).
Since we serve a God who pursues us with His relentless love and leaves us with the deposit of His Holy Spirit, there arises in our hearts a deep longing for what only He can provide - Himself "JESUS."
Whether we realize it or not, our spirit is desiring to cry out, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel!"
After God gave the promise of His coming in Genesis 3:15, there have always been those who are aware of their need for His salvation and they humbly call out to God to save them. From the earliest of generations whenever a new son was born into the world, "men began to call on the name of the LORD" (Gen. 4:26).
There was great anticipation and expectation that the Savior might come in each generation.
Isaiah the prophet announced, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14). Immanuel (The Greek transliteration is Emmanuel) means "God with us." When God's appointed time had come, we discover the amazing mystery of how God conceived in the virgin Mary the Christ Child by the power of the Holy Spirit to come to us to rescue us that He might forever be with us.
The Incarnation of Christ was where "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
How amazing it is that the great and awesome God who stretched out the heavens and made the earth would become so small...small enough to be handled by a godly young virgin in a little town called Bethlehem to be raised in an undesirable Nazareth only to become a humble servant king who would be appointed to die on the cross for the sins of the world.
May this change our whole mindset and heart posture today as we consider the depths of Christ's great love and how He condescended to carry out the Father's will and to accomplish salvation for us.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).
Our God is a comforting, rescuing, and delivering God! The Father came to the world's first parents in the Garden. He came to Abram to make a covenant with him. He came to Israel's aid when delivering them from their bondage in Egypt and their cycles of idolatrous rebellion.
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:4-7
For those who believed before the first advent, there was the longing for the Messiah to appear and now there is an ongoing longing for this same Messiah to come again! Today, God has come to make His home in His Church and He comes to us repeatedly by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit so that we can continue His ministry and expand His kingdom.
Jesus said, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you...I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper "the COMFORTER" will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." (John 14:18, 16:7)
May we keep coming to Christ and drawing near to God as we befriend the Holy Spirit continually throughout our lives and conform to Christ. We are so blessed to be forever united with Emmanuel - God with us.
The Lord is getting ready to come to us again real soon. Let our longing be to make room for Him in every area of our heart and lives. Let us show our genuine love and appreciation this Christmas season and throughout our lives by responding to God with us with, "Us With God"
"And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).
Here is the ANSWER: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:4-6).
Since we serve a God who pursues us with His relentless love and leaves us with the deposit of His Holy Spirit, there arises in our hearts a deep longing for what only He can provide - Himself "JESUS."
Whether we realize it or not, our spirit is desiring to cry out, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel!"
After God gave the promise of His coming in Genesis 3:15, there have always been those who are aware of their need for His salvation and they humbly call out to God to save them. From the earliest of generations whenever a new son was born into the world, "men began to call on the name of the LORD" (Gen. 4:26).
There was great anticipation and expectation that the Savior might come in each generation.
Isaiah the prophet announced, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14). Immanuel (The Greek transliteration is Emmanuel) means "God with us." When God's appointed time had come, we discover the amazing mystery of how God conceived in the virgin Mary the Christ Child by the power of the Holy Spirit to come to us to rescue us that He might forever be with us.
The Incarnation of Christ was where "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
How amazing it is that the great and awesome God who stretched out the heavens and made the earth would become so small...small enough to be handled by a godly young virgin in a little town called Bethlehem to be raised in an undesirable Nazareth only to become a humble servant king who would be appointed to die on the cross for the sins of the world.
May this change our whole mindset and heart posture today as we consider the depths of Christ's great love and how He condescended to carry out the Father's will and to accomplish salvation for us.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).
Our God is a comforting, rescuing, and delivering God! The Father came to the world's first parents in the Garden. He came to Abram to make a covenant with him. He came to Israel's aid when delivering them from their bondage in Egypt and their cycles of idolatrous rebellion.
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:4-7
For those who believed before the first advent, there was the longing for the Messiah to appear and now there is an ongoing longing for this same Messiah to come again! Today, God has come to make His home in His Church and He comes to us repeatedly by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit so that we can continue His ministry and expand His kingdom.
Jesus said, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you...I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper "the COMFORTER" will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." (John 14:18, 16:7)
May we keep coming to Christ and drawing near to God as we befriend the Holy Spirit continually throughout our lives and conform to Christ. We are so blessed to be forever united with Emmanuel - God with us.
The Lord is getting ready to come to us again real soon. Let our longing be to make room for Him in every area of our heart and lives. Let us show our genuine love and appreciation this Christmas season and throughout our lives by responding to God with us with, "Us With God"
"And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).
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