What a beautiful
statement!
What a wonderful truth!
What a glorious reality!
It's not the
greatest of tactics - when sharing a
profound truth - to go immediately to the ending; the punchline of a joke is
not the predecessor of the set up.
But I mean, with all anticipation, to expound on these passionate reactions to
"I AM with you always."
WHAT is beautiful about "I AM with you always?"
WHAT is the wonder about this truth, "I AM with you always?"
WHAT glorious reality hangs on the beautiful, wonderful truth of "I AM
with you always?"
Being that God has put on my heart to share about such a thing, I pray His hand
to be on my mouthpiece - this blog post - and use whatever means necessary to
convey the vitality, necessity and comfort of Jesus' final words in
Matthew. It is most assuredly for us;
for our time; for this decade; for beyond.
The heart of
scripture lies inarguably in a statement of unfathomable porportions: God With
Us.
Often touched by this phrase during the Christmas season, we tend to
"attach" it to the Advent calendars, poinsettia décor, stockings,
twinkle lights and festivities of holiday pomp.
The singing, speaking and reading of "Emmanuel, God with us,"
as mentioned in Isaiah, seems to provide us with the warmth of the Christ Child
in a manger, but is somehow, somewhat dismissed with the rise of the new
year.
This isn't a new thing. In fact for
decades, we've stripped the magnificence of the birth of the King, paying our
due homage, one December after another.
I do it.
Around me, I see it.
I know that some of
us truly enjoy the Christmas hymns of old, but if you start singing "Oh
Holy Night," at any point before my Thanksgiving meal, we can't be
friends. (Lol) That's not true, it's not true. I'm actually all for Christmas hymns starting
any time after Labor Day.
So what is it? What spurs us on to our new years resolutions without "God
with us?"
What takes us (maybe breaks us) into tax season without "God with
us?"
What moves us toward a loved one, a special friend, an undying relationship
without, "God with us?"
What carries us into and through times of remembering lives lost, freedoms
gained, hopes restored without, "God with us?"
We could go on and on, but sooner than we know (and somewhat to our chagrin),
we're back at December, attempting to do "God with us," without God.
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| Arteza watercolor paints were the main media used on this page, and I love them! |
To be very clear, I
LOVE Christmas! It is the pinnacle point
and notable pivot of history, wherein God entered yet again into humanity, pleased to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel…
Again.
God entered
AGAIN.
Not for the first
time; and definitely, not for the last time.
Again.
"[Mary] will conceive and bear a Son, and you call His name, 'Jesus,' for
He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)
As the fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah, speaking of "God with
us," Almighty God would condescend that He may bring many to hope and
glory through His life, death, resurrection and glorification.
It's significant -
nay, CRUCIAL - to know that from the beginning of time - the beginning that we
know of in Genesis - God is with us.
God. With.
Us.
Matt Chandler preached a sermon, rather recently, of the events that guide us
from Genesis to Revelation, telling one story about One God with
us.
Genesis starts with God. God, in the
beginning.
God, as the
beginning and end, launches the beginning of mankind. Man enters the scene as the culmination to
the glorious creation before him: water, land, skies, animals in water, on
land, in the skies. This is the perfect
set up to then usher in the one that would be made in the image of God. The very first "Adam."
From there, the residing presence of Almighty God comes again and again in
various forms; forms of clouds and fire, moving and leading the Israelite
nation to a freedom marked by covenants; the form of one terrifying, quaking
mountain smoke; repeated tabernacle visits to commune with the priests on the
people's behalf.
From there, a caring, loving, jealous God speaks through designated men and
women to utter prophecies and revelations of a time to come; a time when His
terrifying glory of fire and cloud would be replaced by One who would come in
humility, gentleness, compassion, suffering, and love.
Additional prophecies would also foretell the coming of a King in ultimate
reign and authority, ushering in peace, joy and love for eternity, without end,
and without blemish! These kingly
prophecies are still waiting to be fulfilled, but we indeed have beheld in
Scripture the God Man, Jesus Christ, who has walked and taught on this earth,
obeying the will of His Father unto death.
Following the resurrection, we see the commission of the disciples of Jesus to
"go" and "teach" Christ crucified, which leads into His
blessed assurance of "Remember, I am with you always, even to the end of
the age." If you only read the
Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you would miss out on the
"how" of God with us. If Jesus
leaves, how will God be with us?
Then, Acts.
"Acts" informs us that God the Holy Spirit is given to all who claim
Jesus as Lord, and to those who preach the risen Savior, the Holy Spirit would
give direction, help and power to prophecy, minister, heal and teach. Even to the end of the age.
We're not to the end of the age.
God is with us.
The Word of God is given to help us understand that God has been and always
will be with His people; His chosen ones; His elect; His children.
The Holy Spirit of God remains in these last times, aiding those of us indwelt
by Him as we "go and make disciples" in Jesus' name til He comes!
How do
we do that without, "God with us?"
We don't. We can't. But if you are in Christ, you can, and for
lack of a better motivation, you must!
Those who are partakers of such glory are the very same who have been told to
"go." We who claim Christ are
to follow the command of our Lord and make disciples of Jesus. The beauty of the claim, "I AM with you
always," means that we are not left up to our own devices, techniques,
dazzlements and entertaining to be truth-tellers. In fact, we become massively stunted by
thinking that it is on US to win souls for Jesus. This permeates our Christian circles and the
Bible never says that it is up to ME or to YOU to save the lost. That is the convicting and drawing work of
the Holy Spirit to make the teaching of the Word of God effective and
fruitful.
"So neither he who plants nor he
who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things
grow. The man who plants and the
man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according
to his own labor." (1 Cor.
3:7)
We do not have the power to raise a soul from oldness to newness; from death to
life.
We DO have the power, duty and pleasure of speaking the truth of God into the
world around us, leaving it then to the promise of God that His Word "will
never return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall
succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
It IS beautiful,
this "I AM with you always."
It IS beautiful sharing His Word, telling of His salvation to all
people, of all nations, and all tongues.
"And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is
written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good
news!” How astoundingly, unimaginably
beautiful to be a carrier of the image of God, and the carrier of His gospel -
the good news!
What a wonderful truth, "I AM with you always!" Always.
If you are in
Christ, right here and now, in all circumstances, situations, joys and sorrows,
this is truth for you. The foundations
of this truth can be expounded upon this way:
When you feel powerless and weak, good news!
God is with you (2 Cor. 12:9-10)!
When you feel alone, isolated, forgotten, abandoned, good news!
God is with you (Deut. 31:6)!
When you overwhelmed with life's demands, and daily battles, good news!
God is with you (Heb. 13:5-8)!
When you are tempted to sin, or are struggling to overcome an addiction, good
news!
God is with you (1 Cor. 10:13)!
When convicted of pride or unforgiveness, good news!
God is with you (Titus 1:10-16)!
When you are afraid, good news!
God is with you (Jer. 1:8)!
When you feel that you've "gone too far" and cannot possibly return
to the Lord, good news!
God is with you (1 John 1:9)!
The list goes on; the scriptures are plentiful!
The power persists! The Good News
of Christ - I AM with you - is available, without shortage!
Finally, the glorious reality of the this wonderful truth of, "I AM with
you always," is this: it's eternal.
The living and active Word of God is given to us to understand the
omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence of The great I AM. The I AM of the Old Testament and the I AM of
the New. He is One. One and the Same. Always.
To the end of the age.
Forever. Never shifting. NEVER changing.
Nestle yourselves in a few more truths of this eternal, immutable I AM:
"God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he
should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and
not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews
13:8)
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows." (James 1:17)
I'm sure you get the
idea. I hope
you get the idea.
God loves you more than you'll ever know because He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim.
2:13).
Much more love than you could imagine,
Deeds
Instagram: @mercies_journaled
Facebook: Deirdre Cason
