“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:18-23)
Before I get too far in this writing, I want to say something of Joseph. It needs to be understood that at this point of writing in the Scriptures, Mary and Joseph were engaged, not yet married. It was the tradition that when a couple desired to be husband and wife, they would enter into a contract of promise for a year before an official wedding ceremony would take place. They would live apart, but were firmly committed to one another. The man in this arrangement might also spend that time building or preparing a dwelling place for the two of them.
The revelation of Mary being with child coming to Joseph’s awareness was of course, problematic. Rule of law and tradition would give him the right to have her stoned to death for obviously breaking the covenant of promise. However, Joseph loved Mary and was extremely disappointed over the whole thing. He loved her so much that he had planned to have her hide out, sparing her life. He was distraught; heart-broken.
God came to him in a dream revealing the divine plan and purpose, giving him the courage to carry on with the promise of marriage to Mary.
I am one who has many, many dreams; most of which are strange, having no redeeming purpose, wisdom or even long memory about what it was. But, God very often speaks to people in dreams when His will and purpose is at stake. Many have found salvation because God, in Jesus, came to them with specific messages. I, myself, have received from God in dreams. For the most part, I have been given Scriptures to address concerns in my life. I also have been given complete sermons in dreams, and they have been so vividly clear that I was able to record by hand the fine details of it after arising from sleep.
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”
Someone determined that there are approximately 365 names in the Bible for our LORD Jesus Christ; such as: Alpha, Omega, Counselor, Deliverer, Mediator, Prince of Peace, for a few examples. Some of my favorites when feeling the need of remembering His lovingness would be: Rose of Sharon or Lily of the Valley.
No “one name” can do Him justice to what He is. However, Immanuel, God with us, is particularly comforting at this Christmas time of year!
God with us! God as He really is, with us as we really are!
The Eternal God, in Christ, is with us in our right now!
The Everywhere Present God, in Christ, is with us right where we are!
The All-Knowing God, in Christ, is with us in our lack of knowledge!
The All-Powerful God, in Christ, is with us in our weakness!
The Invisible God, in Christ, was made visible to us!
The Comforter, in Christ, is with us in comfort!
Best of all, He is absolutely approachable!
IMMANUEL- God With Us!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
