Emmanuel: A Christmas Devotional, Day 5, God with Moses
I love how humbly Moses begins his leadership. The mighty man of God who God will use to perform miracle after miracle, whose face will shine from being in God’s glory…this same man begs God to send someone else at the start.
Emmanuel: A Christmas Devotional, Day 4, God with Jacob Again
We are hanging out with Jacob again today. Decades have passed. He now has 11 sons and several daughters from four wives. He still lives in his Uncle Laban’s household where he’s worked since he ran away from home years before. God is clearly with him. His flocks increased while Laban’s decreased. Jacob anxiously notices his Uncle’s and cousins’ jealousy. At that time God once again intervenes.
Emmanuel: A Christmas Devotional, Day 3, God with Jacob
Turn the page in your Bible from where we were yesterday and we see God promising his presence again, this time to Jacob who is on his way to hideout at his Uncle’s place. He tricked his brother Esau and now runs away to avoid revenge. In the middle of his fleeing, he falls asleep on a rock (I’ve always found that odd!). God speaks with him while he sleeps and promises to keep the covenant he had promised to Jacob’s father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. God promises to be with Jacob and watch over him wherever he goes.
Emmanuel: A Christmas Devotional, Day 2: God with Isaac
It’s been in my hardest “famine” times when circumstances were the worst, that God has showed himself more present with me than ever. I desperately leaned hard into Jesus, the only Rock of Refuge who satisfies (trust me I tried others!). God provided strength beyond myself; he provided financially; he put a supportive community around me, but most of all, I rested in the comfort of his presence, knowing he understood my pain even if no one else could.
Emmanuel: A Christmas Devotional, Day 1, God with Us
This month we focus on Christ’s coming into the world as a newborn baby, on God wrapping himself in human flesh, taking on our vulnerabilities, our brokenness, to save us…not just in the blink of an eye. He chose to walk our world for three decades. The name of God Emmanuel means just that “God With Us”.