Day 8: Immanuel (God With Us)

Theme For The Series: In this 21 day Advent devotional we are focusing on anticipation and the Incarnation, Christ’s presence In the world, and the return of the King.

Intro Prayer: “Jesus, please help me in this time to be fully present to You and to myself that I may commune with You for the sake of your glory and the world around me.”

Silence: In this time, try and become silent before the Lord both internally and externally for 5 minutes. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to stillness.

Praise: Bless the Lord by declaring these truths about Him!

“You are the God who is breathtakingly beautiful and better than life. You bind up the brokenhearted and you bless people. You are boundless in grace and you are building your church. You are the Bread of Life and you are brilliant in wisdom.”

Devotional:

What does the Incarnation of Jesus mean? There are few things in life as powerful as having a partner who is in something and committed alongside you. And on the other hand, there are few things as terrifying as feeling utterly alone.

That being said, we live in a world where it is easy to feel completely alone- separated from others and separated from God. But, one of the deep meanings of Christmas is that no matter what we may feel, we are not alone. In Christ, God has come to be with us, to partner with us. He is committed with a fierce loyalty to humanity.

He is Immanuel, God with us.

Scripture: Read today’s text slowly. Feed your spirit on the words. Your goal in this time is to commune with Jesus through His Word. Take note as you sense His Presence.

Isaiah 7.14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).”

Worship: Worship forms the truths of Scripture deep within our lives. This week we will be worshipping to the song O Holy Night performed by Matt Nickel Music. Lyrics are listed below as well. (If you are reading this via email, here is the link to the video.)

“O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from the Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.”

Listen: Take time to listen to the Holy Spirit. Write down anything you sense the Lord speaking.

Obedience: What from today is the Lord calling you to put in practice? Could be to pray for someone, to call someone, to serve someone etc.