Praying the names of Jesus - My new project that involves anyone reading this.
This is a book that I bought a few months ago and for whatever reason I never started it. Well, all of that is in the past because I'm starting it today. I'm going to use the 20 minutes I have in the morning when I get to work to read that days passage. I'm going to some of what I'm reading to give you all an understanding of what I'm reading. Then I'm going to post any thoughts, or comments I have. Then I'm open to anyone and everyone posting a response! Thanks for playing along.
Immanuel
The name Immanuel appears twice in Hebrew Scriptures and once in the New Testament. One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated "with us is God" or, as Matthew's Gospel puts it, "God with us." When our sins made it impossible for us to come to him, God took the outrageous step of coming to us, of making himself susceptible to sorrow, familiar with temptation, and vulnerable to sin's disruptive power, in order to cancel its claim. In Jesus we see how extreme God's love is. Remember this the next time you feel discouraged, abandoned, or too timid to undertake some new endeavor. For Jesus is still Immanuel - he is sitll "God with us."
Day 1:
Matthew 1:18-23
The name Immanuel first appears in Isaiah 7:14 as part of a prophetic word that Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz of Judah. Matthew's Gospel recalls Isaiah's prophecy, applying it to the child who would be born of Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph. The sign given hundreds of years earlier to an apostate king was meant for all God's people. In fact the Bible is nothing if not the story of God's persistent desire to dwell with his people. In Jesus, God would succeed in a unique way, becoming a man in order to save the world not from the outside, but from the inside. Immanuel, God with us, to rescue, redeem and restore our relationship with him.
If questions help you process, here are some:
-How have you experienced "Immanuel" in your life thus far?
-Matthew begins and ends his Gospel with the promises that God is with us. How would your life be different if you began and ended each day with the firm belief that God is with you?
-What does this title of Jesus reveal about his character?
I can't say for certain about my whole life, but right now, I can say that Immanuel just became real to me. Work has been one disaster after another today, that I could have done very little IF anything to prevent, but all of which fell into my lap. One more thing happened that just sent me over the edge. I could feel my heart racing, and I was seething. Then I put my head down, ready to slam the door, throw my chair or hit the desk really really hard. I didn't do anything, I just said "Immanuel". And just saying His name was enough to break angers hold on me. I felt an instant chill as my heart slowed and my temperature returned to normal. A peace and calm came upon me as I said "If you are Immanuel that means you are here, right now with me. Why should I be angry?"
God just broke angers hold on me. There is much more to be broken, I'm sure, many more instances of this... but this is the first... amen.
Immanuel
The name Immanuel appears twice in Hebrew Scriptures and once in the New Testament. One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated "with us is God" or, as Matthew's Gospel puts it, "God with us." When our sins made it impossible for us to come to him, God took the outrageous step of coming to us, of making himself susceptible to sorrow, familiar with temptation, and vulnerable to sin's disruptive power, in order to cancel its claim. In Jesus we see how extreme God's love is. Remember this the next time you feel discouraged, abandoned, or too timid to undertake some new endeavor. For Jesus is still Immanuel - he is sitll "God with us."
Day 1:
Matthew 1:18-23
The name Immanuel first appears in Isaiah 7:14 as part of a prophetic word that Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz of Judah. Matthew's Gospel recalls Isaiah's prophecy, applying it to the child who would be born of Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph. The sign given hundreds of years earlier to an apostate king was meant for all God's people. In fact the Bible is nothing if not the story of God's persistent desire to dwell with his people. In Jesus, God would succeed in a unique way, becoming a man in order to save the world not from the outside, but from the inside. Immanuel, God with us, to rescue, redeem and restore our relationship with him.
If questions help you process, here are some:
-How have you experienced "Immanuel" in your life thus far?
-Matthew begins and ends his Gospel with the promises that God is with us. How would your life be different if you began and ended each day with the firm belief that God is with you?
-What does this title of Jesus reveal about his character?
I can't say for certain about my whole life, but right now, I can say that Immanuel just became real to me. Work has been one disaster after another today, that I could have done very little IF anything to prevent, but all of which fell into my lap. One more thing happened that just sent me over the edge. I could feel my heart racing, and I was seething. Then I put my head down, ready to slam the door, throw my chair or hit the desk really really hard. I didn't do anything, I just said "Immanuel". And just saying His name was enough to break angers hold on me. I felt an instant chill as my heart slowed and my temperature returned to normal. A peace and calm came upon me as I said "If you are Immanuel that means you are here, right now with me. Why should I be angry?"
God just broke angers hold on me. There is much more to be broken, I'm sure, many more instances of this... but this is the first... amen.