In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light…
Desperate for Immanuel
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. — Psalm 142:6 Years ago, when my second daughter, Morgan, was about two years old, I arrived home from my church office early one afternoon I was eager to spend a…
Searching the Night for a Light
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” — Matthew 1:22-23 On the night when Jesus was born, I…
What’s In a Name?
You shall call His name Jesus… They shall call His name Immanuel. — Matthew 1:21, Matthew 1:23 There is an interesting psychology in the naming of our children. Some are named with family names to retain a family heritage. I am often asked what O. S. stands for, and I am quick to say, “Omar…
Jesus Starts at the Bottom
Jesus Starts at the Bottom Picture a woman who is about to rappel down the side of a tall cliff. Before taking off down the rock’s face, she will first make certain that the rope is long enough to reach the bottom. If the top of the cliff is one hundred feet high, she is…
Immanuel, God With Us
The Name The name Immanuel appears twice in the Hebrew Scriptures and once in the New Testament. In Greek, it is rendered Emmanouel. One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated with us is God or, as Matthew’s Gospel puts it, God with us. When our sins made it impossible…