Immanuel or Jesus?

Isaiah 7:4 - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (prophecy)

Matthew 1:21 - And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." (prophecy fulfilled)

Immanuel, God with us. Jesus, our Savior. What a Promise He is. What a Gift. Everything anyone ever needed wrapped up in one small, but awesome bundle over 2,000 years ago.

Christmas is just around the proverbial corner. Only four more days for the celebration of His life.  Every day is a new day being in Christ, in His life, having His life if we have chosen to do this.

I watched an older movie version of The Nativity last night. They always take some license to fill in where the Bible or historians don't have the exact story, but I'm sure it was pretty accurate. According to the movie, talk back at that time of that year was nothing but the coming of a new King who would overthrow King Herod. Word spread. As the Magi of this film were following the star that they believed would lead them to this King they encountered such people. Even before His birth there was talk of killing Him....how powerful for some people, how frightening for others. Just like today. 

So who is this Jesus? We all have heard of Him. He was born of Mary of virgin birth and the Angel of God told both Mary and Joseph His name would be Jesus. So, Immanuel or Jesus? The way I see it, there are many names for Jesus. He is whatever we need Him to be...God with us, the One who saves, our Protector, our Comfort, our exceeding Joy.  He is the First and the Last...all encompassing. He's our Portion. He's all we'll ever need.

Matthew 1:23 - "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

So, Immanuel was one name. He is God with us. We cannot see Him physically but we spiritually can hear Him if we listen and we can even spiritually see Him. He IS with us. He's as close as a call. He hears our thoughts. He's always waiting for us. 

And Jesus is the One who saves. God desires for all men to bow to the One True God so we can regain the lost relationship we are born into at our own birth. That's why Jesus came to life on this world. 

He humbled Himself to be born in a sinful world. Think about this: How humble a beginning in a stable, born in a feeding trough, reared not by royalty but a carpenter and a simple Jewish maiden. The first to see Him were humble shepherds. The Magi, of more noble stature, came after them. Do you see, Jesus came for the poor and the wealthy...the first and the last. We are told that the last will be first and the first will be last. He wants to draw all men unto Him. And He remained humble throughout His life.

Oh, how I love all the nuances of the story of Jesus. There is so much love and wisdom in each word of the Bible. And from beginning to end (First and Last, Genesis to Revelation) we are pointed to the King who was to come and then came...and will come again. Open your hearts this year to recognizing Him more than you ever have. Let His birth pierce your hearts and let His story do a work within you.

Isaiah 45:22 - "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."