Oh, dear friends, I pray your Christmas Day is blessed as you worship the King of Kings and focus on His promise to be with us forevermore! This is the third (and last) part of a series meditating on the truth that “God with us” came in a manger and will be with us forever. His name is Jesus! Check out the first two parts before diving in today:
When the prophet Isaiah announced One would be born and named Immanuel (“God with us”), he spoke one of the most comforting prophesies ever! In the first part of this series, we rejoiced that “God with us” is Jesus….therefore, Jesus is God! In part two, we discovered that Jesus was not recognized by many because He came in disguise. Not so much a “secret” because prophesies foretold the details of His coming. But disguised because eyes, hearts and minds were veiled and they could not see His glory.
For believers today, there is great news! God continues to dwell with us. He does so by virtue of His death on the cross to save us from sin, and His resurrection from the dead to give us life everlasting! Only believers in Jesus dwell with Him now and for eternity.
Jesus came to earth to dwell physically with His creation, and He’s coming back again for a grand finale! As believers, we will be raptured and rescued from the terror, known as the Tribulation, that will soon come upon the earth. While hell breaks loose here, we will be in heaven, enjoying the wedding feast of the Lamb! We will be with Him in the Father’s house where He has gone to prepare our place! (John 14:1-3)
After the Tribulation, Revelation tells us God will still be with us, and us with Him, as He returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom! Once more, God’s great desire to tabernacle (dwell) with us will be fulfilled and it will be glorious! Here is a very brief description found in Revelation 21:
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
~Revelation 21:3-4
God will dwell with us and we (believing Jews and Gentiles) shall be His people! Oh glorious day!
That is an extension of what we celebrate today. If Immanuel had never come in the person of Jesus Christ to bear the guilt of our sin on the cross, we would never be able to be in His presence for eternity. Rather, our eternity would be in a place called hell, meant for Satan and his demons.
Dear friend, perhaps you were just aimlessly searching for encouragement and you ended up here. Or maybe you have followed now and then and you know there is something about this “Jesus.” Perhaps you tune in out of curiosity, to see what this crazy Christian is posting today.
Whatever your reason for being here, if you have not made Jesus Christ Savior and Lord of your life, what better day than Christmas!?! Immanuel came to dwell specifically with you. Will you allow Him to do so? Will you make the decision today to meet Jesus and establish a personal relationship with Him? Here is how:
Merry Christmas everyone! May the glory of our Lord Jesus shine brightly in your hearts and homes today and always!
Looking for the Blessed Hope 