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“We Give the Gift of Christ’s Presence” – Why Give – Day 8
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a] (which means “God with us”).
When Jesus came to earth as a baby he left the glory, beauty and majesty of heaven to come to earth to be with us, to be with me. He came to be present with us. God is always with us. Psalms 139 tells us that we cannot flee from God's presence. No matter where we go or where we try to hide He is always with us. Jesus came to be with all people, no one was excluded. To be included is very important to us. We all like to be in the in crowd and not feel left out. We like to feel comfortable walking up and joining in a conversation without fear of being rejected. We like to know we are included.
I once belonged to a group where I felt accepted and welcome. After I'd been there for a while I heard rumblings that there was an inner group but I rejected the thought. After a while I realized the rumblings were true. There was an inner group and I was left out. I was hurt and wondered why others were included and not me.
Everyone is always accepted in God's presence. Jesus came for all. He came to talk with us and to walk with us. Some people may feel God is not with them. They feel alone. When I choose to write a card that God is nudging me to write or make a phone call that He has placed on my heart to do I can be the vessel God's presence is flowing through to them. God's presence can encourage and bring joy. In God's presence there is peace, calm, order and acceptance. We can come to God with our worries, struggles, hurts, and our “to do” list. He welcomes us, tells us He's glad we came and tells us to set our burdens down right here by my feet. He tells us to come, sit by him and talk to him. We can pour out your hearts to Him. He listens and then, as we sit quietly and listen to him, we find peace, love and joy. We realize that in the presence of Immanuel our troubles vanish and our hearts are mended. We are with God. Our circumstances haven't changed but our hearts have. Being with Jesus changes everything. We are not locked out of His presence. He came for all. He came to be present, to do life with all people. Some people will welcome Him, some will fear Him and others will reject Him but He is here for everyone.
Dear Jesus,
We love you and we adore you. You are Holy, Holy, Holy. We thank you that you came to us. We thank you that you are Immanuel, God with us. Lord, thank you that your presence can flow through us to others. Help us obey you and to allow your presence in us to affect those around us.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
Charleen