“God Is With Us”

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

“God is with us.” Have you ever stopped to think how profound that fact is? Billions of stars, even more planets, and He knows each of us by name.

The Jews of Jesus’ day were living under the control of Rome. They must have wondered if God would ever honor His promise to send a Savior who would forgive sin and restore the glory of Israel. In the time of Jesus, they did not believe that they had heard from God in over 400 years. But then, in God’s time, an angel announced to Joseph the good news.

Christmas proves that God is a promise-keeping God! He said he would send a Deliverer, and He did. Your sin, and my sin, is not beyond the reach of this promise. He is ready and waiting to forgive your sins – all of them.

You can count on it – God makes good on His promises.

Our Daily Bread – December 2, 2007