Immanuel

Immanuel.  God with us.

I am doing a study for the Christmas season through YouVersion.  (great little site, if you don't already know about it).  Today's topic was about Jesus Himself and how he was prophesied in the old testament.  Check out Isaiah 10.7-15.

God is with us.  Immanuel.

Our God is alive.  He is not some dead saint or inanimate object that we worship.  He is a living, breathing being.  And He is very active in our lives.  He is with us.

How do we know that?

We have His word that tells us so.

Jesus promised that He would never leave us here alone.  He promised that He would send us a helper; and He did, in the form of the Holy Spirit.  He talks about it in John 14.  I just reread that chapter....so encouraging!

We know from God's word that Jesus is alive, because we can read the testimonies of those who saw (and felt...think of Thomas) Him alive after He had been crucified.  He rose...alive...from the grave!

And because He is alive, He is still with us.  He is a life force, living within us, in the form of the Holy Spirit.  Guiding us, teaching us, helping us.

Have you ever felt Him close to you?

I have.

He met me on a beach one morning and used a silly seagull to teach me something about myself.  He sat Himself in the passenger seat of my car one day when I asked Him to, because I was having a particularly bad day and just needed to feel His presence and His reassurance.

I know this may sound crazy to some people and I don't worry about that.

I know it to be true because God's word tells me it is true.

God is with us.

God will never leave us.

He is alive.

He has sent us the Holy Spirit who is with us always.

And He will guide you if you will let Him.

Peace to you my friends!