Emmanuel (God with us): Song of the season and every day

The Verse of the Day for December 11, 2022, is a revision of a previous blog entry.  This verse relates to an Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah found in Isaiah 7:14 (NLT):

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us).

In the Gospel of Matthew, the focal point is a portrait of Jesus Christ, the King. Chapter 1 provides an account of his birth, opening with the genealogy or record of the ancestors of the Messiah. The following section discusses the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

  Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT) establishes the fulfillment of that prophetic word spoken in Isaiah 7:14:

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

The two passages from Isaiah and Matthew related to the birth of the Savior by a virgin are only two of the more than three hundred prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his first coming to earth, all of which came to pass with pinpoint accuracy. The odds of one single word coming to pass are astronomical, let alone more than 300.

We recognize, of course, what was said to Jeremiah, that God will hasten to perform His Word, so we see that when God speaks a word prophetically that it always comes to pass. Remember these words of the Lord spoken in Isaiah 55:11 (in the Amplified Bible):

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

One of my favorite songs of the season celebrating the Savior’s birth is “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.” The popular Christmas song is a translation of the Latin text (“Veni, veni, Emmanuel”) by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century, offered here by Selah:

A variation on the theme of the coming of Jesus Christ is this song “Emmanuel,” offered by Norman Hutchins:

The songs of the season are constant reminders that, indeed, God is with us.

A sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son

Revised and re-posted is the Verse of the Day for December 11, 2017 based on one of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, found in Isaiah 7:14 in the King James Version:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The New Living Translation put it this way:

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

In the Gospel of Matthew the focal point is a portrait of Jesus Christ, the King. Chapter 1 provides an account of his birth, opening with the genealogy or record of the ancestors of the Messiah. The following section discusses the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

Matthew 1:18-20 (NLT):

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT) establishes the fulfilling of that prophetic word spoken in Isaiah 7:14:

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”

The two passages from Isaiah and Matthew concerning the birth of the Savior by a virgin are only two of the more than three hundred of prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his first coming to earth, all of which came to pass with pinpoint accuracy. The odds of one single word coming to pass are astronomical, let alone more than 300.

We recognize, of course, what was said to the prophet Jeremiah, that God will hasten to perform His Word, so we see when God speaks a word prophetically, it always comes to pass. Remember these words of the Lord spoken in Isaiah 55:11 (in the Amplified Bible):

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

One of my favorite songs of the season celebrating the Savior’s birth is “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.” The popular Christmas song is a translation of the Latin text (Veni, veni, Emmanuel) by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin  offered here by Selah:

A variation on the theme of the coming of Jesus Christ is this song “Immanuel, God with Us” by Amy Grant:

The songs of the season are constant reminders that, indeed, God is with us.

And the virgin’s name was Mary

The Annunciation depicts Mary as she listens to Gabriel in the painting by celebrated African American artist, Henry Ossawa Tanner.

The Verse of the Day for December 14, 2015 is found in Luke 1:26-28 (AMP):

[Jesus’ Birth Foretold] Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

Here we find another fulfillment of a prophetic word concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, also found in Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:22-23 establishes the fulfilling of that prophetic word:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah:
‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’–which means, ‘God with us

During this season that recognizes the miraculous birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have much to rejoice about and celebrate. Among the Christmas songs that focus on the birth of Jesus Christ, perhaps the all-time favorite Christmas carol with a reference to the virgin birth is “Silent Night” with its memorable lyrics:

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Here is another contemporary Christmas composition, as Clay Aiken asks, “Mary, Did You Know?”

How Jesus, the Messiah, was born

The Verse of the Day for December 11, 2014 is a revision the blog entry that was posted a year ago. This verse relates an Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah found in Isaiah 7:14 (NLT):

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

In the Gospel of Matthew the focal point is a portrait of Jesus Christ, the King. Chapter 1 provides an account of his birth, opening with the genealogy or record of the ancestors of the Messiah. The following section discusses the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT) establishes the fulfilling of the prophetic word spoken in Isaiah 7:14:

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”

The two passages from Isaiah and Matthew that related to the birth of the Savior by a virgin are only two of the more than three hundred of prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his first coming to earth, all of which came to pass with pinpoint accuracy. The odds of one single word coming to pass are astronomical, let alone more than 300.

We recognize, of course, what was said to Jeremiah, that God will hasten to perform His Word, so we see that when God speaks a word prophetically that it always comes to pass. Remember these words of the Lord spoken in Isaiah 55:11 (in the Amplified Bible):

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

One of my favorite songs of the season celebrating the Savior’s birth is “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.” The popular Christmas song is a translation of the Latin text (“Veni, veni, Emmanuel”) by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century, offered here by Selah:

A variation on the theme of coming of Jesus Christ is this song “Immanuel, God with Us,” performed by Amy Grant:

The songs of the season are constant reminders that, indeed, God is with us.

Born of a virgin: Another prophecy fulfilled

The passage that makes up the Verse of the Day for December 14, 2013 is found in Luke 1:26-28 (King James Version)

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Here we find another fulfillment of a prophetic word concerning the birth of Jesus Christ written centuries beforehand. That the Messiah would be born of a virgin was revealed in the recent the Verse of the Day for December 11, 2013, which relates to an Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:22-23 establishes the fulfilling of that prophetic word:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah:

‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’–which means, ‘God with us.’

During this season that recognizes the miraculous birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have much to rejoice about and celebrate.

Perhaps the all-time favorite Christmas carol with a reference to the virgin birth is “Silent Night” with its memorable lyrics:

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and child.

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

The American Boy Choir offers a moving rendition of this classic Christmas carol:

Immanuel: God with us

There were over three hundred of prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his first coming to earth, all of which came to pass with pinpoint accuracy. The odds of one single word coming to pass are astronomical, let alone more than 300.

We recognize, of course, what was said to Jeremiah, that God will hasten to perform His Word, so we see that when God speaks a word prophetically that it always comes to pass. Remember these words of the Lord spoken in  Isaiah 55:11 (in the Amplified Bible):

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

The Verse of the Day for December 11, 2013, relates an Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:22-23 establishes the fulfilling of that prophetic word:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’–which means, ‘God with us.’

One of my favorite songs of the season celebrating the Savior’s birth is “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.” The popular Christmas song is a translation of the Latin text (“Veni, veni, Emmanuel”) by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century, offered here by Selah:

A variation on the theme of coming of Jesus Christ is this song “Immanuel, God with Us,” performed by Amy Grant:

The songs of the season are constant reminders that, indeed, God is with us.