Worship for Today: The Lord strengthens our hearts!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in 1 Thessalonians 3:13,

"May he [the Lord] strengthen your hearts so that you will be
blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord
Jesus comes with all his holy ones."

As Paul expresses his joy to the Thessalonian believers over hearing
of their steadfastness in faith in the face of persecution and the
love they have and their longing to see Paul again, he offers up a
blessing for them. He asks that the Lord provide them strength of
heart that they might be found holy and blameless in the presence of
God the Father when Jesus Christ comes "with all his holy ones."

The conscious awareness of the coming of our Lord for us is an
important issue. It should retain a place of importance among the
things that occupy our minds. The Lord is coming and our lives should
reflect this in the joyful anticipation of his return for us. It
should bring an "edge" of excitement in our relationship with him that
is expressed in love, joy and faith that forms the appointed fullness
for all of us who have embraced him in faith.

The outlook is very good that we be strengthened in him, as it is his
very faithfulness that Paul points to, in another letter, as the agent
that makes it happen. "He will keep you strong to the end, so that you
will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has
called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is
faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9. In Jude's wonderful doxology we read,
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before
his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only
God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude
24-25.

Just how wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Jesus provides escape from judgment!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Psalm 143:2,

"Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is
righteous before you."

David cries out to the Lord to not bring him into judgment. David, as
all mankind, is guilty of sin and faces the consequences of that sin
in the Lord's judgment. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the
inevitability of judgment for all individuals. "Just as man is
destined to die once, and after that to face judgment... " Hebrews
9:27. We all face judgment. The horrific nature of that judgment is
spelled out in Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving,
the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Paul tells us
in Romans 3 that all have sinned and in Romans 6 we read that the
wages of sin is death. A horrible state of affairs!

But when Jesus Christ came to planet earth, he told us, "I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me." Jesus Christ has become a way for us to avoid the judgment of the
Lord for the sins we have all committed! Jesus Christ is the only way!
The answer to David's prayer to not be brought into judgment is found
in Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ we pass from
death to life! "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life." Jesus speaking in John 5:24.

How wonderful our Savior has come and made a way for us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: God has prepared a home for us!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Psalm 137:4-6,

"How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I
forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my
tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do
not consider Jerusalem my highest joy."

While the psalmist here laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the
captivity the Jews are enduring in Babylon, he longs for his homeland.
He never wants to forget where he as come from and where it is his
heart desires to go.

I am reminded that as believers, we too live in a "foreign land". We
long for that country that is ours. It is not of this world. The
writer of Hebrews speaks of the patriarchs of faith in relation to
this. He says, "All these people were still living by faith when they
died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and
welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens
and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are
looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the
country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared a city for them."

We, too, are people of faith. We consider ourselves as "aliens and
strangers" here on earth just as they did. We long for our home, an
eternal home where we will live in God's presence. This world, with
it's sin and rebellion, it's injustice and selfishness will left
behind as we experience our new home, living in harmony and great joy
with our creator. A city God has prepared for us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Investing in the eternal...

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Ecclesiastes 2:24-26,

"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find
satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases
him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he
gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to
the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the
wind."

Solomon presents an honest look at this life. It is a view that most,
I suspect, whether within or without the church, refuse to
acknowledge. This life, the activities done "under the sun", are
meaningless if done under the context of "under the sun". Solomon's
observation is that we all die and leave behind whatever it is we
invested our lives in for this life. He says, "So I hated life,
because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of
it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I
had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who
comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?
Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my
effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless." Solomon
points out we are all going to die and leave it all behind anyway, so
the things that often attract us, the things many of us invest our
lives in all come to nothing after a relatively short time.

We have all heard stories of some successful business man building up
a successful company, leaving it for his children upon retirement only
to see the children sell it off and squander the money on short term
excess. What good did it do? It is not lasting. What we do in this
life has no real benefit... unless it carries benefit into the next
life. I am reminded of the parable Jesus told of the rich fool, "The
ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to
himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he
said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And
I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many
years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him,
'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then
who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will
be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward
God." Luke 12:16-21.

Jesus taught us to invest our lives in eternal things. He said, "Seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well." Matthew 6:33. If we invest our lives in eternal
things, we will have an eternal reward. If we invest our lives in what
is "under the sun", well, Solomon discovered it is simply an empty
exercise. We will leave it all behind.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: God's horrific judgment!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Psalm 74:22-23,

"Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you
all day long. Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar
of your enemies, which rises continually."

In this psalm Asaph appeals to the Lord's own cause as to why the Lord
should judge his enemies. Due to their continual idolatry and
wickedness, Israel and Judah were destroyed by the Lord. The Lord
brought this about through Israel's enemies, who were themselves given
over to idolatry and wickedness. Now that Judah has been vanquished,
on her behalf, Asaph pleads with the Lord to take action against those
that destroyed her.

Asaph calls the people who did God's bidding God's adversaries, his
enemies. Throughout Scripture we find God often using his enemies to
accomplish his purposes. Chief among these accounts were the leaders
of Israel who had Jesus Christ put to death, something God intended to
accomplish to provide justification for forgiving our sins. The
leaders of Israel thought they were putting an end to Jesus Christ but
were actually only doing his bidding and fulfilling our Lord's
purpose.

God's judgment against those he used to judge Israel and Judah did
come just as Asaph asked. God is like that. Over and over in Scripture
we find God using even his enemies to accomplish his purposes. God is
a just, holy and righteous god and all who do not find forgiveness in
Jesus Christ will face his horrific judgment.

Yes, God loves the world. He has sent his Son so that all who will,
can turn to him. To all others let the warning be clear: "For we know
him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The
Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:30-31.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: True purpose in life transcends this life!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Ecclesiastes 1:14,

"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them
are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

Solomon speaks of the emptiness of what is pursued "under the sun".
This life lacks purpose and meaning. It appears to offer a deep sense
of satisfaction if we could only achieve some objective or another.
What we find is, once those hurdles are behind us, the satisifaction
and fulfilment just isn't there.

How many times have we heard someone say that money can't bring
happiness? Those who have acquired it tell us that although money can
remove some headaches, it nevertheless fails to bring happiness and
fulfillment. Often, it brings a whole new set of headaches. It seems
bizzare that those who have acquired fame, fortune and power find
little happiness in those things. Yet, how many pursue those things
with the mistaken notion that if they can just achieve this or that,
they will arrive at a satisfaction and fulfillment they seek?

This is because our world is lost and fallen. Having turned our backs
on God and gone our own way, we are estranged from our Creator. Those
things that bring us true fulfillment and satisfaction are the very
things we have turned from in our pursuit of other things that have
attracted us in our sinful and deceived condition.

This brings to my mind how wonderful the life is we contemplate with
our God in the resurrection. We were designed by our God for his
purposes. No longer will we be estranged from him. No longer will we
face pain, sickness, sorrow and death. We were created for life and in
the resurrection we will experience life in its fullest, the kind of
life our Designer intended for us. Our Creator knows what brings
happiness, what brings fulfillment, what brings true joy. As Paul
quoted Isaiah 64:4 in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, "'No eye has seen, no ear
has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who
love him'— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: God's indescribable gift!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Romans 7:4-6,

"So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ,
that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead,
in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled
by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at
work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying
to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we
serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the
written code."

Paul makes a wonderful point here about the Ten Commandments. In the
previous chapter he said, "Don't you know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:3-4. In this chapter he
points out that our "death" - our rebirth - results in our belonging
to Jesus Christ instead of the law. Those who have not embraced Jesus
Christ in faith belong to the law and will be judged by it. Since all
sin, all who do not belong to Jesus Christ will die an eternal death
in a fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Since we died to the law and have been united with Jesus Christ, we
are no longer under it. We serve in the newness of the Spirit and not
in the old way of law-keeping, the Ten Commandments and the other
commands contained in Moses' writings. Paul goes on to use the tenth
commandment as an example of how the Lord uses the commandments to
bring us to Christ. These laws show we are sinners and in need of
salvation. Now that salvation has come we serve in the new way of the
Spirit.

Our God is not a moral principle, an impersonal and unhappy
taskmaster. He gave us the law to show how corrupt sin has made us and
show us our need for righteousness, a righteousness not available by
law-keeping but freely given in Jesus Christ through faith in him.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: The patience of our Lord!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Romans 2:4,

"Do you show contempt for the riches of his [God's] kindness,
tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you
toward repentance?"

As Jesus spoke with his disciples about his coming crucifixion, he
told them "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all
men to myself." John 12:32. The wonderful grace and love of our Lord
Jesus Christ is expressed in his desire to draw all people to himself.
He wants us all. Paul speaks of this when he tells us why we should
live godly lives, "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants
all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1
Timothy 2:3-4.

The Lord's patience is an amazing thing. It is that very patience of
his that allows sinners an opportunity to consider the claims of the
gospel, and hopefully turn to Jesus Christ, "The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

Our Lord truly is kind, tolerant and patient! I would be remiss,
however, were I not to recognize that there is an end to his patience.
At the end of his patience, his judgment is to be found. Woe to the
man who finds his way to the end of the patience of our Lord! "He is
dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and
dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp
sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with
an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of
God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:13-16.

For those who find themselves the object of God's judgment, the
following describes, with certainty, their future, "Then I saw a great
white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his
presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great
and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged
according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave
up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that
were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had
done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in
the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

How wonderful our Lord's patience that makes possible our escape from
such judgment!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Jesus Christ is waiting for us!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Matthew 26:26-29,

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.'
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,
'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will
not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I
drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

At the last supper Jesus tells his disciples how they will all fall
away from him, of Peter's three denials to take place later in the
night, and betrayal at the hand of Judas Iscariot. In the midst of
this he tells them something that touches my heart in a special way.
He has decided he will do something that is usually reserved for very
special and often intimate relationships, a sign of commitment. He
will deny himself something while he is separated from his disciples
until he can do it again with them in the resurrection. He says, "I
will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day
when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Jesus, in speaking of the separation he will have from his disciples,
tells them his next cup of wine will be reserved for that special
time, when, as his disciples, we will all sit together at the wedding
banquet with him and share a special cup of wine together. This speaks
to me of an intimacy communicated through a very simple and poignant
promise. Jesus Christ is waiting for that time when we can all be
reunited together in his kingdom, to be with him forever!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: The Lord is just and fair!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Matthew 13:11-15,

"He [Jesus] replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be
given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even
what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in
parables:
Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
"You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them."'"

Here Jesus speaks of the astonishing nature of how fair and just he
is. The Lord elected, before the beginning of time and knowing Adam
and Eve would fall, that he would reserve for himself all who would
embrace him in faith. All others will face his judgment to spend
eternity in the "lake of fire". Because of this he has "cloaked"
himself and the truths of the kingdom of heaven through parables and
in other ways, to enable the opportunity for faith to manifest itself
in the hearts of all who are willing.

Mankind is sinful and stubborn. Here in Jesus' quote of Isaiah 6, he
speaks of the callousness of people's hearts and their closed eyes.
Were it not so, sinners would turn to him - and he discloses that if
they would do so, he would "heal them". The Lord has no favorites. He
loves all mankind and he will heal, save, any and all who will turn to
him.

The deceitfulness of sin is all that prevents anyone from turning to
God. Jesus spoke of this very thing with Nicodemus in John 3:18-21,
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come
into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not
come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be
seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

We read in John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..."
How wonderful the Lord doesn't require us to jump through religious
hoops to come to him! He has made himself available to all - if only
they turn from the deceitfulness of sin to embrace him in faith!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Jesus reveals God to us!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Matthew 11:27,

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the
Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and
those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

How wonderful the Son of God has chosen to reveal God the Father, so
that some may know him! We're talking about the Creator of the
universe here... that One is available to be known! This lost and
fallen world is estranged from God and simply can't see him or know
him. It is no wonder that mankind comes up with wacky notions of why
we exist, where we came from, where we are going. They don't know God!
And the best they can come up with are half-witted notions of things
like "evolution", etc. in a feeble attempt to answer the big questions
in life. Incoherence becomes cloaked when one is completely in the
dark.

As I say, how wonderful Jesus Christ has chosen to make his Father
known to those who are his. So, who are "those to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him."? Those who respond to the gospel message by embracing
Jesus Christ in faith. We don't respond to the Gospel message because
we have come to know God. It is the other way around. We come to know
God because we responded to his invitation in the gospel and now have
come to know him as his children. Salvation doesn't come by a well
developed theology. It comes from the reception of God's offer in the
gospel by faith.

Jesus' point in Matthew 11:16-19 is that the world doesn't know what
to think of the things of God. Since they don't know God, no matter
what they are told, they just can't accept it. When we become God's
children, the Lord sends his Holy Spirit to us and he teaches us about
the things of God:

"The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who
among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within
him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the
Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the
Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely
given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human
wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths
in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he
himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the
mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?' But we have the mind of
Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.

Just how wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Worship for Today: God cares and provides for us.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Matthew 6:31-34,

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these
things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own."

Here is the antidote to all anxiety. As people, we have an ability to
worry about all kinds of things. There seems to be enough in each of
our lives to wring our hands over from the time we get up in the
morning to the time we go back to bed. As I think of Jesus' words here
I can't help but think of the care and concern our loving and merciful
Father in heaven has for each of us. He loves us and I suspect there
are times when he must get frustrated over the anxiety of his children
- which is really little more than an expression of a weak, immature
and stunted faith.

Our Lord tells us here that if our heavenly Father cares for even the
birds, why would we think he would overlook us? "Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
Matthew 6:26. And about plants he says, "And why do you worry about
clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or
spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was
dressed like one of these." Verses 28-29.

Our God cares and provides for us. How wonderful our God loves us in such ways!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worship for Today: Jesus Christ - God with us!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Matthew 1:23,

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the
prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel'—which means, 'God with us.'"

Matthew points out that Mary's pregnancy was a fulfillment of one of
Isaiah's prophecies. Of that prophecy, given in Isaiah 7:14, where
Isaiah says they will call the Son of the virgin, "Immanuel", Matthew
explains that name means, "God with us." Imagine, God with us!

Jesus arrived in a world lost in darkness. As a piercing light, he
illuminates the hearts of man to the things of God. He teaches that
mankind is lost in sin and through faith in him, sin can be forgiven.
The writer of Hebrews says, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by
his powerful word." Hebrews 1:3. When Jesus Christ arrived on planet
earth, he was what Paul described in Colossians 2:9, "in Christ all
the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form". He truly was, "God
with us"!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com