{"id":2539,"date":"2020-12-24T10:52:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2539"},"modified":"2020-12-24T10:52:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T15:52:10","slug":"kept-day-and-night-even-when-we-feel-unprotected-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2539","title":{"rendered":"Our Highest Joy (God With Us)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>Behold, the virgin will<\/em> <em>conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him<\/em> <em>Immanuel<\/em><em>,\u201d which translated means, \u201cGod with us (<strong>Matthew 1:23<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As our unusual 2020 comes to a close, we pause to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. The Creator of the universe brought near. But what does this really mean? And how does God being with us change who we are, our approach to life and our purpose?<\/p>\n<p>But what is most important about God&#8217;s nearness is how His strength and Joy gives us the courage to face any battle we&#8217;re in. He&#8217;s an ever present help in times of trouble.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What Does \u201cGod With Us\u201d Really Mean?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><u>From Eternity<\/u><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Jesus was with God in the beginning and the world was <strong>created through Him<\/strong> and for Him. [1] [2]<\/li>\n<li>In Jesus <strong>all things hold together<\/strong>.[3]<\/li>\n<li>Jesus is the <strong>first place in everything<\/strong> and <strong>God\u2019s fulness dwells in Him <\/strong>[4]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><u>What Christ Gave up for Us<\/u><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>And although He existed in the form of God, <strong>He emptied Himself taking the form a bond servant<\/strong>.[5]<\/li>\n<li><strong>He set aside His splendor<\/strong> to enter this world in human likeness as a baby in simple circumstances.[6]<\/li>\n<li>Fueled by the Joy of our redemption, <strong>He endured the excruciating pain of the cross <\/strong>to provide us a path to God[7]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><u>How it Becomes Personal<\/u><\/h4>\n<p>We can allow another Christmas to go by, singing the songs, exchanging the gifts, and eating the food. We can miss the life changing significance of Christ actually being with us in a personal way.<\/p>\n<p>Christ is always in full display in the beauties of the world around us, but &#8220;God with us&#8221; can become personal:<\/p>\n<h5><em>Recognize the gap<\/em><\/h5>\n<p><strong>Without Christ we are do not have an intimate relationship with God<\/strong>, without hope in the world, destined to be apart from Him for eternity.[8] [9] [10]<\/p>\n<h5><em>Stop trying to live a good enough life<\/em><\/h5>\n<p><strong>Eternal life can\u2019t be earned<\/strong>. We don\u2019t make it to heaven by our good works outweighing our wrongs. God\u2019s economy doesn\u2019t work that way.[11]<\/p>\n<h5><em>Believe God <\/em><\/h5>\n<p>Believing means <strong>trusting <\/strong>in Christ\u2019s sacrifice on your behalf, <strong>committing<\/strong> your life to His care and <strong>relying upon Him<\/strong> for every concern. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and\u00a0believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and\u00a0does not come into judgment, but has\u00a0passed out of death into life. (<strong>John 5:24<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What Changes When \u201cBeing With God\u201d Becomes Personal \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><u>Who We Are Changes Forever<\/u><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>We become <strong>loved children of God\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>But\u00a0as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become\u00a0children of God,\u00a0to those who\u00a0believe in His name (John 1:12 <strong>NASB<\/strong>)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>God lives in us <\/strong><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Jesus answered and said to him<\/em><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u201cIf anyone loves Me, he will follow My <\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and <\/em><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">make\u00a0Our\u00a0dwelling with him (John 14:23 <strong>NASB<\/strong>)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">We are <\/span><strong style=\"font-size: inherit;\">complete<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">, fully accomplished and filled to the brim in Christ <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you <\/em><em>have been made complete (<strong>Colossians 2:9-10a<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><em>\u00a0<\/em><u>Our Approach to Life Changes <\/u><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>We Decrease and <strong>He Increases<\/strong>[12] <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God\u00a0<em>(<strong>Colossians 3:3<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li>\u00a0We <strong>live by faith<\/strong> not by sight, trusting in <strong>God\u2019s greater story<\/strong> [13] [14]\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Trust in the\u00a0<\/em><em>Lord<\/em><em>\u00a0with all your heart And\u00a0do not lean on your own understanding.<\/em><strong><sup>\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>In all your ways acknowledge Him, <em>And He will\u00a0make your paths straight (<strong>Proverbs 3:5-6<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li>\u00a0We live in <strong>abiding dependence<\/strong> upon God\u2019s Holy Spirit within us [15]\u00a0<strong><em><sup>\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ\u00a0<\/em><em>lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son\u00a0<\/em><em>of God, who\u00a0loved me and\u00a0gave Himself up for me (<strong>Galatians 2:20<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><u>Our Goals and Purposes are New <\/u><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Our top goal is now to<strong> Delight in God\u2019s great worth<\/strong>, not worldly happiness. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>One thing I have asked from the\u00a0<\/em><em>Lord<\/em><em>, that I shall seek: That I may\u00a0dwell in the house of the\u00a0<\/em><em>Lord<\/em><em> all the days of my life, <\/em><em>To behold\u00a0the\u00a0beauty of the\u00a0Lord And to meditate in His temple (<strong>Psalms 27:4<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong> God Himself is now our<\/strong> <strong>greatest reward<\/strong> not things of the earth. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>After this, the word of the\u00a0<\/em><em>Lord <\/em><em>came to Abram\u00a0in a vision:<\/em> <em>\u201cDo not be afraid, Abram.\u00a0<\/em><em>I am your shield<\/em><em>,<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>your very great reward<\/em><em>\u201d (<strong>Genesis 15:1<\/strong> NIV)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><em>\u00a0<\/em><strong>Our higher Daily purpose becomes loving others\u00a0<\/strong>not just getting things done. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>This is My commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you (<strong>John 15:12<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Prayer<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Lord, You are with me right now. Thank You for leading me to slow down and ponder what Immanuel really means. You set aside so much to be with me and to die for me. Please help me fully appreciate what Your nearness means to every moment of my life. I\u2019m yours. I pray I will delight in You throughout the day, knowing that You alone are my great reward. In Your strength, may I love others as You\u2019ve loved me. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In everything I&#8217;ve faced and will face, You&#8217;ve been my Strength, my Joy and my Courage. May I lean into You throughout life&#8217;s journey.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[1] John 1:1-3<\/p>\n<p>[2] Colossians 1:16<\/p>\n<p>[3] Colossians 1:17<\/p>\n<p>[4] Colossians 1:18-19<\/p>\n<p>[5] Philippians 2:6-8<\/p>\n<p>[6] Philippians 2:6-8<\/p>\n<p>[7] Hebrews 12:2<\/p>\n<p>[8] Romans 3:23<\/p>\n<p>[9] Isaiah 59:2<\/p>\n<p>[10] Ephesians 2:12<\/p>\n<p>[11] Ephesians 2:4-10<\/p>\n<p>[12] John 3:30<\/p>\n<p>[13] 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Corinthians 5:7<\/p>\n<p>[14] Colossians 3:1-2<\/p>\n<p>[15] John 15:4-5<\/p>\n<h4>Previous posts in the series &#8211; Our Highest Joy:<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2471\">Unmasking the Lie<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2497\">Dealing with sadness and disappointment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2506\">Eternal Thanksgiving<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2519\">Fueled by the Joy of Jesus<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>.<\/em><em style=\"color: #008000; font-size: inherit;\">Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God&#8217;s nearness in the midst of life&#8217;s adventures.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Novels by the Author:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Beyond-Time-could-change-event\/dp\/179035899X\">Beyond Time<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hope-Remains-Sequel-Beyond-Time\/dp\/197345940X\/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1547672424&amp;sr=1-8&amp;keywords=Hope+Remains\">Hope Remains<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As our unusual 2020 comes to a close, we pause to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. The Creator of the universe brought near. But what does this really mean? And how does God being with us change who we are, our approach to life and our purpose?<\/p>\n<p>But what is most important about God&#8217;s nearness is how His strength and Joy gives us the courage to face any battle we&#8217;re in. He&#8217;s an ever present help in times of trouble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[397,1792,346],"tags":[1988,2026,2019,449,2020,1857,420,1824,616,873,1972,2005,2024,2025,343,1129,127,108,21,2017,894,2016,2023,510,2018,1304,1561,2027,316,7,2011,950,419,1934,2015,2010,635,2012,1072,1422,1197,1269,1946,2021,2022,1938,1990,2004,2006],"class_list":["post-2539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indwelling-christ","category-our-union-with-christ","category-the-nearness-of-god","tag-blessings","tag-colossains-29-10","tag-colossians-116","tag-colossians-117","tag-colossians-118-19","tag-colossians-33","tag-complete-joy","tag-covid-19","tag-delight","tag-delight-in-god","tag-draw-near","tag-enduring-joy","tag-ephesians-212","tag-ephesians-24-10","tag-eternity","tag-excruciating","tag-galatians-220","tag-genesis-151","tag-gladness","tag-god-with-us","tag-hebrews-122","tag-immanuel","tag-isaiah-592","tag-jesus-christ","tag-john-11-3","tag-john-112","tag-john-1423","tag-john-1513","tag-john-524","tag-joy","tag-joy-defined","tag-joy-in-his-presence","tag-joyful-heart","tag-keep-close","tag-matthew-123","tag-motivated-by-joy","tag-nehemiah-810","tag-our-highest-joy","tag-overflowing-joy","tag-philippians-26-8","tag-proverbs-35-6","tag-psalm-274","tag-refreshment-in-god","tag-romans-323","tag-romans-623","tag-satisfied-with-christ","tag-the-holy-spirit","tag-the-joy-of-jesus","tag-the-joy-of-salvation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2539"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2552,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539\/revisions\/2552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}