IMMANUEL----A HALLELUJAH WORD FOR ME!

CHRISTMAS EVE 2025!

HALLELUJAH---A quiet time of reflection for me. 

One thought that says it all. 

Fulfillment of Scripture. Isaiah 7:14

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel. (Matthew 1:23, ESV)

One Word in one verse stands out to me. IMMANUEL!

Immanuel...."God with us."

Christ in Christmas in one word says it all for me. Immanuel!

Now and Forever. HALLELUJAH!

NATIVI-TEA: MY FAVORITE DECEMBER CUPPA!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

"for unto us a child is born."

In the mailbox.....

Outside.....

......Swain County Heritage Museum

Inside.....

.....a church

.....and within view of my prayer chair

and a warm cuppa Bewley's Irish breakfast!

BEST GIFT EVER!

We spend time and money searching for the perfect Christmas gift.

We fret. We fume--often for naught.

Immanuel--God with us.

For the best gift, share Jesus.

He's the true gift. The "best yet."

He keeps on giving.

PONDERING PERTINENT PREPOSITIONS

Two days, ago as I awaited my hubby's outpatient cataract surgery, I opened the DTS Advent story sent by Allen Bible Church. 

It was just what I needed. Of course it was!

Dr. Charles W. Dickens, DTS Professor had me at the timely title.

"IT MIGHT BE THE BEST OF TIMES OR THE WORST OF TIMES BUT GOD IS WITH US."

Doesn't that sound like 2020!

After the title, prepositions along the line of "with-ness" theology started jumping out at me.

• WITH is more than near or close. God's people understand this "with-ness. 
• A "with-us" quality of God that is a believer's indicator OF hope FOR the future. 
• Think, "VICTORY IN JESUS" and FOR hope of survival during these difficult times.

Emmanuel, God with us is the One who gives us a future and a hope! (Colossians 1:27)

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS!

A focus on Faith for Family and Friends....... 

........should be on King Jesus!

Liber-TEA : a 5th cuppa

All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Emmanuel (meaning, “God is with us”). (Isaiah 7:14, TLB)

Liber-TEA must be a cuppa I relish because this year alone I've blogged 5 times about liberty in Christ. Free indeed. (John 8:36)

"Lost in Wonder, Love and Praise,"  Sunday's 26th annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols* at First Evan, included many traditional carols. But....."Free Us, Emmanuel" a carol I had never heard...might have been one of my favorites. The rhythm. The melody. The lyrics.

Lyrics that spoke to my heart.

Free us from the heavy chains of our sins and our sadness and body of pain.
Free us, O Emmanuel, from the sorrow and suffering of where we dwell.

"Free Us, Emmanuel!" served me a reminder cuppa liber-TEA---showing God is with me.

*Praises for the beautiful program cover, an EMYO original.

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: Nativity

11/17/13 Nativity definition, per on-line dictionary---

Birth, especially the place, conditions, or circumstances of being born. Certainly for a Christian, the place is a stable in less that perfect conditions and the circumstances necessary to fulfill the Messianic words of Isaiah, Micah, Malachi and other prophets.

This year's Vesta Home show at St. James Place (off of Forest Hill Irene) had several homes with nativities as part of their holiday decorations. A great start to the Christmas season.