"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14 ESV)
The word Immanuel means “God with us” in the Hebrew—the language in which Isaiah’s prophecy was written. Isaiah prophesied this Word from the Lord 700 years prior to Christ’s coming to dwell on earth. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
(Galatians 4:4-5 ESV)
What is significant about the birth of Christ? Christ came to earth to live a sinless life, to die a sin bearing death on the Cross to redeem a people to Himself. He asks those who desire to be a part of His family to repent of their sin and believe in His good news. Thank you Christ, our savior and master, for saving us from hell and punishment by your death! Thank you for giving us your righteousness and eternal life!
In another sense, Halley and I have felt “God with us” this year in the loss of our son, Josh Jr. We have felt the presence and guiding hand of the Lord throughout this entire ordeal; He is an ever present help in time of trouble! We are still reeling in pain over our little Josh, but we take comfort in the fact that God makes no mistakes. We take the greatest consolation in knowing God has used our loss for His Glory, and we pray He continues this work. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!
We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you take time in all of the gatherings and gift-giving to remember why we celebrate this holiday. We hope you won’t just celebrate yourself because Christmas is not about decorated trees, or family, or gifts, or an enormous guy in a red suit. Christmas is about the Gospel.
Grace and Peace,
Josh and Halley
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