Happy Friday Eve! I wanted to follow up to my last Thursday Thoughts post. I mentioned that God had been quiet in my life for what seemed like the past two years. And then I was inspired to read my Bible from Matthew to Revelation and to see who Jesus is at the end of it. So far I’ve made it through the book of Matthew and am working on Mark, and if you’re a Bible reader, then you know that you can’t just read the Bible without hearing from God. So much has been revealed to me, and I wanted you to know that God is definitely making Himself known to me again. And as I said in the last post, I’m following the nudges He’s giving me to share these thoughts.
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with chlid and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel- which means ‘God with us.'” (NIV)
Can you imagine what it would have been like to meet Jesus? Like, in person? But not knowing what we know now? Like, meeting him for the first time just after hearing by word of mouth that some young guy, who is supposedly the son of God, is going around healing people from sickness and casting out demons from people?
Would you have been skeptical? In all honestly, I probably would have been. But I’d definitely want to see for myself. Imagine you did get a glimpse of him in person. Maybe in a large crowd from far away. Maybe he healed you of a sickness. Maybe you were there when he fed the 5,000.
Maybe you were a believer. Hook, line, and sinker. And then one day you find out he’s been sentenced to death by crucifixion. And then the unthinkable happens and he’s actually crucified and dies. But then you get word that he rose from the dead and is, in fact, alive. AND THEN he ascends to heaven and he’s just gone from this earth. He wasn’t here for very long.
But God, his father, is so good and loves us so much he allowed the Holy Spirit to be with us in place of his human son. Because even though Jesus is God in human form, he was still as human as we are with the same limitations we have. He would one day die just like we will. God’s plan is unfathomable and sometimes unbelievable, but because of that we get the next best thing to his human self- the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit means that he is with us always. He’s there in any and every circumstance we experience or can think of experiencing. He is a “with us” God.
One thing I used to do all the time was just communicate with God by praying a quick prayer in my head when it felt like the right thing to do. As I felt the distance growing between me and God, I stopped doing that. This verse has reminded me that he’s always been there, and I could have been talking to him all the time just like I used to. Because he’s never going to leave us. I encourage you this week to speak to the Holy Spirit. And if you can, listen for a response. It’s always there. Not always right away, but it’s there. Listen for it.
Later in the last verse of the book of Matthew (28:20) we hear Jesus say, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.
What a promise!
Elizabeth, I have almost finished Revelations, one chapter left. I just can’t wait to see that city of gold. Just reading about it is just not enough. That is the one thing the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to mind when I think of Matthew, Moma, Daddy and so many others who have gone ahead. Keep reading and keep looking UP ! LOVE YOU
I cannot even imagine how beautiful. And knowing they will be there, too, is such a precious thought. They are truly “living the good life” right now!