Wow, it has been a minute since I have posted. I guess I got crazy busy or crazy and lazy. Any who, a lot has happened since my last post. For instance, I am no longer living in the DFW metroplex. I officially have moved out to the dusty west Texas plains and reside in the bustling metropolis of... that's right, LUBBOCK!!!!! I have an awesome new job working as a collegiate counselor at the Ranch at Dove Tree, a residential treatment center for substance abuse and chemical dependency. I love it! I am not so sure about Lubbock though lol. Time will tell. All I can say is that God has his hand in all this, not exactly sure how yet, but what can I do but trust?
Well with this change, I decided to start a new Bible study. It has always been a desire of mine to grow more intimate with God and I felt the best way to do this was to become intimate with the characteristics and qualities of who He is. I plan on doing this through a study of his many, many, many names. I found this study on www.crosswalk.com entitled "Praying the Names of God." I thought I would share my journey with you... (whoever you are). So here we go!
GOD/JESUS
ALIAS 1: IMMANUEL- God with us
Matthew 1:18-23
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David" the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:
"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.'
There was a time when God walked with his creations, however this has not occurred since the Garden of Eden. This time ended when sin entered the world. Because of this sin, we are separated from our creator, deserving a fate far worse than death... eternal separation from God. Paul states in Romans that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and because of this we deserve our fate. "for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" This too me is overwhelming. Every time I screw up, every time I feel helpless or hopeless, tangled by my own evil desires and sinful nature, I can't help believe the lie that God doesn't love me and that I have f***** up one too many times for him to bring me back to restoration. But then I remember, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him, shall not parish but have everlasting life." Once again, our God came to walk among us, to be with us. How awesome is that! Even now, as Christ is with the Father, he gave us the Spirit to be with us, to guide us, to help us. Our creator loves us that he chose to be with us that we may be redeemed and restored. This is our Immanuel! I hope you will take time to reflect and remember that God is with you and will always be with you!
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