For most of my life I thought of God as being a distant, angry entity that was ready to punish whenever I did something wrong. I remember my mentor, Tim Johnson saying that many people think of Him as a Whack-a-Mole God. He was referencing the arcade game where you pound the moles with a mallet each time they stick their head up. I laughed when he said that, but it was true; that’s exactly how I saw God and I certainly didn’t want to get near Him.
In my earlier years after salvation, I began to read more about Jesus and it was much easier to see Him as someone I would like to be close with. He was gentle and loving. I could imagine myself sitting at His feet, as Mary did or leaning into Him, as John did. This was a very different side of God than I had ever seen.
In Matthew 1:18-25 we see the introduction of Jesus, as God with us. Let’s read that together:
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
We always call the Son of God Jesus, and that was His earthly name, but the angel also said that we would call Him Immanuel, which means God with us. As we see in John 1, the Son of God was the Word, who was with God and was God and whom everything was created. He then took on flesh and walked the earth as a flesh and blood man.
God walked with them. Some recognized Him and others didn’t. I often wonder if Jesus were to show up on earth again, would Christians recognize Him or would be crucify Him again? That’s a another subject we will address in the future. The good news is that His true disciples did recognize and followed Him.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven in His glorified human body to be the first of many brethren and to sit at the right hand of the Father as both the Son of God and the Son of Man, He told the disciples to wait for the gift the Father would send – the Holy Spirit.
When we confess our sins and receive Jesus as our Savior, we receive His Spirit – the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God lives in us and goes everywhere we do. He does everything we do. He hears everything we hear and speak. He sees everything we see. He is with us always.
The original 12 disciples may have walked with the flesh and blood Son of God, but we have Him living inside us, with a direct line to the Father. Think about that. The one who created the entire universe, lives in you and wants to help you live a fruitful life. WOW!
If you have not confessed your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, you can do that right now. It’s simple, just ask God to forgive your sins and tell Him you believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Receive Him as your Savior and commit your life to Him. If you do this with truth in your heart, you are born-again and received the Holy Spirit. If you are still not sure, take a look at the short video linked to the front page of the True Disciple site, www.TrueDisciple.info, labeled as The Message (middle of the page).
If you are already saved and are seeking to walk as a true disciple, you should be able to recognize the guidance of the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the Spirit and my faith, rather than walk in the flesh and by sight. Start today. Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father do and only said what He heard the Father say. True disciple seek to live life the same way.
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