EMMANUEL!

Time with Jesus - Friday, 01 June 2012

Hi all,

Isaiah prophesied it. Mary was the vehicle through whom the prophesy came true! Many Christians object to the overemphasis placed on Mary by the Roman Church; to be fair, we protestants under-value her. But, she was and is a unique channel of God’s blessing to humanity. Today’s meditation looks at this.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8  Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 01 June 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	EMMANUEL!
There was a time when people believed the Bible and believed in God because the prophetic word had been fulfilled. There was no question that Jesus Christ was a real person. His miracles were accepted as fact. Every detail in the Bible was accepted as “Gospel” truth. For me, it is still the truth. It doesn’t really matter what others think. The Bible is true. It is the Word of God. Today there are more sceptics than believers. Indeed, many University professors and lecturers are not just sceptics, they are unbelievers! They may be theologians, but they believe nothing! As far as they are concerned, all religions are equal. They teach about the God they don’t know! In this regard I’m reminded of something Dr Ken Stewart said when I was in Bible School thirty years ago. He said he went to Seminary to prove the existence of God. He shared a room with a man who had gone to the same seminary to prove God doesn’t exist. Ken added that when he entered the seminary, about 20 students believed in God. By the time he qualified with his doctorate, there were only three believers remaining. Unbelief dominated the campus. What baffles me is how these men can be regarded as Christians. Thank God this is not true in all universities. There still remain those who are committed to Jesus Christ. Nevertheless it is a wise Christian parent who will warn their sons and daughters about the onslaught against Christianity they will encounter in many places of tertiary education. Today, it takes a certain amount of courage to face up to the challenge of the unbelieving “masses”. This is not new. It has been on-going for centuries. This world has always ridiculed those who are out of step with them. In this regard it is probably true that the Jews have suffered from this form of treatment since the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Some 2000 years ago, the Jewish people believed the time had come for God to send the Messiah. The Son of David who would deliver them from the hands of the Romans. It would have been the desire of nearly all the young women to be the mother of Messiah. No doubt many prayed and asked the Lord to choose her. There could be only one mother of Messiah. There would have been no shortage of applicants. Perhaps we might compare it with the young ladies in the 21st century who would have given anything to marry Prince William. Mary qualified biologically. She was descended from King David. She was young, loved the Lord, unmarried and a virgin. In addition, she was promised in marriage to Joseph, another descendant of King David. This was essential. The Jewish religious authorities knew the Messiah would be a “son of David”. They had all the genealogical records and would reject out of hand anyone called the Son of David unless it was possible. Then the date in history arrived when a young Jewish virgin would conceive miraculously, just as their prophets had foretold. Mary had been chosen “before the foundation of the world”. The time was exactly right. Mary conceived supernaturally. Her baby was the Son of God. It’s not necessary to go into the detail. It’s recorded for us in the Bible exquisitely. There we get a beautiful insight into what took place. A culmination of what is predicted so joyfully in Song of Songs. God’s love for His people through the woman of His choice! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" Matthew 1:23 NLT 18 "But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain You. How much less this Temple I have built! 2 Chronicles 6:18 NLT 14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son. He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIrV 16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NLT 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. Hebrews 1:2 NLT 19 That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you!" 20 When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord. John 20:19-20 GW 26 A week later Jesus' disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe." 28 Thomas responded to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:26-28 GW 6 For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NLT	Isaiah spoke about it, a long, long time ago. He had it written in his book, so everyone would know, There would be a Messiah long after he had died. Someone Who would save us from our sins of stubborn pride. He told us it would happen. He didn’t tell us when. And from that very point in time, the “Jews” saw it as “gen”. Examine what he prophesised. The Lord God would draw nigh. His name would be “Immanuel”, God with us from on High He said a virgin would conceive. That’s rather strange to me. How could that ever happen? It surely cannot be? But this is what would happen, just when the time was right. And from that time in history, the girls would pray at night, And ask to be the virgin who’d bring forth the Divine! She had to be descended from the Davidic line. We know that Mary qualified, her genealogy Complied with every aspect of Isaiah’s prophesy. So now we have the woman. A virgin through and through, Praying she would be the one whom this would happen to! Then when the Lord was ready and when the time was right, God’s Spirit “overshadowed” her one very special night. And here we see the miracle; a virgin girl conceived. We think it is impossible and hard to be believed. But nothing is impossible; not for the Living God. So why are we so sceptical and think that it was odd? But there’s something important. After the baby’s birth, She couldn’t be a virgin. Not on this present earth. I don’t need to explain it from man’s biology. I’m sure that every mother will totally agree! So Mary was a virgin until the birth was done. And she brought forth “Immanuel”, God’s One and only Son! They gave Him the Name “Jesus”, and people couldn’t tell. That He was God in overalls while being man as well! This was no schizophrenic! He made the universe. But when He came to be with us, He needed a wet nurse! Was this humiliation? He didn’t think that way. He only ever did the things He heard His father say. He lived among His people a life of truth and grace. And He became the Saviour, of all the human race! Exactly what Isaiah said, down to the fine detail, Took place when Jesus Christ was born. It happened without fail. A Son was given to us; a virgin girl gave birth. The “Everlasting Father” was sent from Heaven to Earth “The Prince of Peace”; the “Mighty God”, “The Counsellor Divine”, Came as had been promised to take your sins and mine. Indeed this really happened. Believe that it is true. For Jesus came and gave His life, for folk like me and you. Jim Strickland Written 1st June 2012