What a joy and privilege we believers have to know and trust that Christ is within us! And God planned it that way, or so it tells us in the First Chapter of Matthew, verse 23. "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel--which means "God with us."
Here we are, in the week before Easter Sunday, the week Jesus was killed, and we are speaking of His birth! In order to truly understand Jesus death and what it means, we first must know what His birth really means for us. The Study Bible helps to give us heads up on Jesus' birth.(Next paragraph)
"Jesus was to be called Immanuel (God with us) as predicted by Isaiah the prophet. (Isaiah 7:14)
Jesus was God in the flesh; thus God was literally among us, "with us." Through the Holy Spirit, Christ is present today in the life of every believer. Perhaps not even Isaiah understood how far-reaching the meaning of "Immanuel" would be."
What a joy and privilege we believers have to know and trust that Christ is within us. But when we make decisions we must turn from our own self-sufficiency and pride of achievement and remind ourselves that God's Spirit is waiting to work with us on whatever is before us, be it a big problem or a small decision. God desires to lead us and asks us to give Him the opportunity to do so.
Hey! This is not an easy thing for me to do!! Only wanting to be led by God is not enough, because my "self" is rather used to making my decisions, and I am quick to respond to a question of "what to do?" So, I need to slow down and remember Jesus and His love for me and His wisdom. Then, I must ask Him, right then for His leadership. It's possible I will need to wait, but I believe His wisdom will soon make its way to my brain and I can proceed.
However, there is something I just learned yesterday. In reading the April 13 message in the book "Jesus Calling," by Sarah Young, the words seemed pertinent to how we can re-train ourselves to become more quickly aware of God's Presence. She writes as though Jesus Himself is speaking:
"Concentrate on doing your everyday tasks in awareness of My Presence with you. The joy of My Presence will shine on you, as you do everything for me. Thus you invite Me into every aspect of your life. Through collaborating with Me in all things, you allow My Life to merge with yours.
This is the secret of not only joyful living but of victorious living.(Italics mine.) I designed you to depend on Me moment by moment by moment, recognizing that apart from Me you can do nothing.
There are so many out there in the big world, so many that love God! Thank you, Lord! Yet there are not nearly enough for the job at hand, that all should one day show homage to Him. And, also, there is always much more to learn about Him, as well, I confess.
Some say, It takes a village. I say it's more like this: It takes a world of listeners sensitive to the Spirit of God. And let it begin with me...and thee.
Are you listening? I hope I am truly listening, absorbing, and deciding for the NOW and ALWAYS.
May God bring you peace and a heart of love to give away!
Jo of MN, working and praying.
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