Jesus Christ is called "Immanuel" in Matthew 1:23. It was God's promise to the people of Israel that He was with them. Jesus told His disciples He would always be with them and never leave them (Matthew 28:20). Christ gave His Holy Spirit to live in us (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:19) and guide us into peace (Romans 8:5-6) every day of our lives (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The scriptures abound with the FACT God is with us. Being a Christian means having a continual, unbroken, personal, loving relationship with the God of Heaven!
Remember this as you go through each day this week. You're never alone. God is with YOU!
Philippians 3:21
The Bible is full of statements about the power of God and His ability to control all things. Why? Just so we know what a powerful God He is? No. God states His power clearly so His people will have confidence in His ability to do what He promises. Paul wrote the Philippians about Christ's power to control everything so they'd have confidence to press on to the goal that stood before them.
Philippians 3:13-14
Our goal is heaven and life everlasting with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Our goal is transformation from our lowly bodies to being like His glorious body. Our real "citizenship" is in heaven. We spend little time in physical bodies on earth. We will spend eternity with Christ.
Jesus is not thrown by the day-to-day problems we face. He has the power to bring everything under His control. He has the power to help us face problems and challenges in ways that meet the heavenly goal. He uses that power for a specific purpose.
Paul was under no delusion. He knew his life on earth was not the peak for a Christian. He knew there was much, much more.
Philippians 3:12
Jesus took hold of us for a purpose. He wants us to be like Him. He's going to change our bodies, change our minds and change our address. We will be with Him and like Him forever! He took hold of us. Let's take hold of His purpose, His vision, His desires today, this week, this year, until we're with Him forever. Let nothing get in our way of "forgetting" what's behind, "straining" toward what is ahead, and "pressing" on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward.
Ephesians 1:3
We are a people of praise! That's our history, our legacy, our call.
The Psalms is the Book of Praise:
Psalms 150:1-6
The English word "praise" means "to express a favorable judgment of someone." The Greek word Paul used in Ephesians 1:3 means "to bless, to speak well of." We get our English word "eulogy" from it. The word means "high praise."
God has earned our "high praise" because of who He is and what He has done for us. God is great, wonderful, kind, patient, powerful, life-giving, loving, gracious, faithful, and holy. He is our life and our love! He saved us! He gave us spiritual life! He has made us heirs with His Son! He gave us His Holy Spirit to live within us and empower us to serve Him and others in this life. He has promised us an eternity in His heavenly kingdom! He deserves our praise!
We can "speak well" of God in our minds, in our hearts, through our words, through our writing, through our songs. We can "speak well" of Him to our family, our friends, to those with whom we work, to those in need, to strangers we meet along the way.
God gives us many ways of praising Him. We can praise Him with our thoughts. We can praise Him with our words. We can praise Him with our actions. We can praise Him when we awake. We can praise Him through the day. We can praise Him before we sleep at night. We can live a life of praise. The opportunity to praise God is always before us.
What does praising God do for Him? It pleases Him to hear from His people. He wants us to be close to Him. He knows that praising Him does that. He knows it renews our minds. He knows it brings His people into the proper spirit for dealng with Him. He knows it prepares us for our future with Him.
What does praising God do for us? It brings us close to God. It brings us peace. It helps us deal with the stress and trouble of life. It helps us think of good things. It renews our minds. As Paul wrote:
Philippians 4:8
Begin your days with these things. Praise God through the day. Remember Him highly as you end your day. Look for opportunities to praise Him silently and aloud. Share His greatness with people around you. You and I will be happier and healthier for it!
Ephesians 1:3
What a wonderful thought! God has blessed us! No matter what life does to us, we stand before God as a blessed people. What does that mean?
The Greek word for "blessed" is eulogesas . It means that God has spoken well of us. Think about that for a moment. The God of all creation ... the God Who sits on the heavenly throne ... the God Who has all power and authority in the universe ... the God Who knows all things ... the God Who is Perfect and Holy ... has spoken well of you! Let anyone else on earth say what they will about you. Let Satan say what he will about you. God has spoken well of you!
It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:
Romans 8:31-34
Jesus Christ speaks well of you to His Father in heaven. God the Father of all speaks well of you. Should you then allow the negative, cutting or hurtful words of others bring you down? No! People may rail against you. People may lie about you. People may do everything in their power to make you look bad. They may try to make you feel guilty about the past. But Jesus Christ is at the Right Hand of God interceding for you. God speaks well of you. YOU ARE BLESSED!
Ephesians 1:3
God has blessed us in the heavenly realms. What does that mean? The Greek word for "heavenly realms" is epouraniois . It translates as "heavenlies." The word comes from ouranos (heaven) and epi (in, upon). It means what's in heaven or pertains to heaven.
What's important about the fact that God blessed us in heaven? Our blessing did not eminate from earth. It didn't even happen on some celebrated mountaintop. It didn't come from another planet or another solar system. God blessed us from His Home; from His Throne. Our blessings are sure. They are certain. Time and distance and earthly circumstances cannot affect our blessings. Nothing on earth can change the fact that God has spoken well of us. No one can do anything to alter or tarnish what God has given us. What comes from the Throne of God is settled for Eternity. He said it and it will be done!
Heaven is where Jesus Christ sits at the Right Hand of God the Father. Paul reminds us Jesus is the one "who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe." (Ephesians 4:10) Jesus is in Control. He is in charge. He died and rose from the grave to seal our eternal blessing. He paid the price for the sins of mankind and no one can take that away. No one can make His sacrifice of no effect. No one can remove the power or blessing that comes from the Blood of Christ. Jesus rules from heaven. He rules the angels. He rules millions of solar systems. He rules billions of suns. He rules over every planet. He rules everything! Mankind had their way with Jesus once when He was a Servant on earth. They beat Him. They bruised Him. They mocked Him. They killed Him. They buried Him. But, He beat them all. He rose from the grave. He ascended to the highest place. He sits on the Throne of God. No one on earth, above earth or under earth can ever have their way wth Jesus again. Christ is all-powerful and "fills the whole universe."
That's significant to us because we believe our blessings are sure based on the Word of God. Christ says we are blessed and we trust Him to do what He says. We trust Him because we believe He is All-powerful and that what He says will happen -- will happen. If Christ were still in the grave, we'd have no hope. If Christ were wandering about the universe trying to figure out how to recoup from what happened to Him on earth, we'd have no reason to believe He could deliver on His promises to us. But we "know" Christ is at the Right Hand of God. We "know" He is higher than all created beings and fills the universe. We "know" He can and will deliver on His promises. That's what gives Christians the hope to go on. That's the proof His promises are sure and we are secure.
What is our reaction to all this about heaven? We receive more insight from Paul.
2 Corinthians 5:1-9
Bottom line: God has blessed us in Heaven. We are going to be with Him forever. Our goal should always be to please Him. That's our response to His promise.
Go to GraceThoughts2 for more GraceThoughts.
"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © , 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."
Taking God's Grace to the World!
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Last Updated: 12/20/1999 "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel'--which means, 'God with us.'"
When we sleep at night, He is with us. When we wake in the morning to face the new day, He is with us. When we deal with the problems and challenges of each day, He is with us. When we receive the emergency phone call, He is with us. When we struggle with making the best decision in a difficult situation, He is with us. When we discipline our children, He is with us. When things are going poorly at work or school, He is with us. When the budget's tight and we're not sure we can make it, He is with us. When we pray, He is with us. When we lay our heads down on the pillow at night, He is with us. God is always with us!
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."
"Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."