Matthew 1:20-23

Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus and his abiding presence can be real to you during this special season of grace and joy. Phil Ware shares a Merry Christmas greeting from all of the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com family.

I've bet you have had a bunch of these moments at Christmas! Phil Ware writes about Christmas, Joseph and Mary, and the "You've got to be kidding me!" moments in the life of Jesus.

Mary's simple life was about to come to a dramatic end! Phil Ware finishes the year 2012 with two powerful posts or articles about Jesus' birth and the people gathered around him, and emphasizes that God's greatest beginnings are found in hard endings.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the Biblical account of Jesus' birth from Matthew 1 and Luke 2 from the NIV 11 version of the Holy Scriptures.

So how can I read the gospels as more than just daily Bible reading I check off my to-do list? Phil Ware begins a series of articles on the Immanuel Sayings in Matthew and this is done in coordination with Interim Ministry Partners and focuses on experiencing Jesus, or Immanuel.

Instead of a well-manicured life, and perfectly organized and aesthetic home, my heart is yearning for more connection with love... His love... and, to be part of His loving presence. Melissa Troyer comes to us again through the ordinariness of daily life and reminds us to listen for Jesus' presence and look for ways to be conduits of God's love.

Is there a link between our desire for Superman and our need for Jesus? Rubel Shelly comments and describes the difference between Superman and Jesus.

How can God know experientially how hard life can sometimes be for us? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights and see that God came to be one of us in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Would people really want to take Christ our the nativity? A preacher gets in trouble talking about Christmas on Sunday, but warns that the world will take Christ out of Christmas.

What in the world are you talking about wiggling and squirming? Russ finds out about a grandbaby because of a sonogram and the baby is wiggling around all over the place and reminds us that life begins in the mind of God.

In a year of trouble, sorrow, isolation, and loss, our prayer is that you can experience the presence of Immanuel in your life! Phil Ware shares the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com Christmas prayer with all their readers.

Does God really have a bigger dream for you than He gave Joseph and Mary? Rick Brown shares an insight from the Westjet Santa Claus video and says we need to ask God for more and greater vision.

Advent is the celebration of Jesus' coming to earth as Immanuel, God with us in human flesh! Phil Ware shares Scriptures and James Nored shares an inspirational video regarding the blessings and significance of Advent, Jesus' coming to earth as God in human flesh as our Savior and Lord.

What's going on here with our traditions? Rubel Shelly reminds us of what is most important and truthful and what is legend about the Christmas story.

Like Mary, we don't know fully what we are committing to do, but we know that our ultimate destination is Jesus. Phil Ware reminds us of the gritty reality of Jesus' birth and Mary choosing to accept the challenge of being Jesus' mother and reminds us of our need to commit to have Jesus born in our lives.

Despite all the challenges, Mary and Joseph accepted their part in salvation's plan and their faith brought us God's gift of love, his beloved Son, Jesus! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to recognize God's great love in sending Jesus, the joy Jesus' birth brings, and the truth that Jesus is with us and for us in this

Are you walking down the hard road alone? Phil Ware continues to share his insights on experiencing Jesus as Immanuel.

What do you do with your shattered dreams? Phil Ware talks about the recurring phrase in Matthew 1 and 2, in a dream, and how God fills the empty spaces left behind by our broken dreams.

How can Jesus be real to me and not just someone I read about on the pages of the Bible? Phil Ware continues his series on The Yearning, our need and desire and longing for Jesus to be real to us and close to us and experienceable in our daily lives.

The cycle of violence is heartbreaking — will it ever end? Phil Ware reminds us of the simple, yet powerful words found in the hard story of Jesus' birth and Herod's attempt to murder him at Bethlehem -- But Herod came to an end.

The scene looks calm and bright, but what if my life doesn't? Rubel Shelly reminds us that Christmas is about God getting involved in our messy world with us.

Can we really expect to meet Jesus! Phil Ware continues his series on The Andrew Effect and reminds us that Jesus promised to be present with us as we live out the four moves of the Andrew Effect.

Children, chores, and never-ending responsibilities bring opportunities to turn our selfish hearts back to God. Melissa Troyer writes about the pressures of daily life for a mom whose husband is in P.A. school, money is tight, and children are calling, all the while Jesus is near.

Where did God most clearly reveal Himself? Bill Denton shares insight into the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ and what it means for us.

Do we feel like we have to keep up some kind of smokescreen so others won't know about our own times of emptiness and longing? Phil Ware shares a summary of Matthew's Immanuel sayings focused on experiencing Jesus today.

Why do we settle for so much less of Jesus than He promised us? Phil Ware finishes up his 5 part series on experiencing Immanuel and summarizes the content of the four previous articles.

Are we wiling to open up the door and invite him in? Phil Ware brings to close his series on experiencing the presence of Jesus in our lives.

Can we really expect to meet Jesus? The sad reality is that many folks give up on meeting and experiencing Jesus, personally. Phil Ware invites into the "Andrew Effect" and reminds us that Jesus promised to be present with us as we live out the four moves of Phil calls the Andrew Effect

God — as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is with us and has made his home in each of us and wants to reveal himself to each of us! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us that Jesus is Immanuel and not only draws near to us, but is in us and with us.

Does it ever feel like that we've reduced Christianity down to something less than Jesus wants us to experience? Phil Ware challenges our settled notions about church in the box and wants us to realize that Jesus has so much more in store for us if we will make the moves necessary to experience Jesus and his story for ourselves.

Why all the talk about the Passion? God loves us so much that he sent his Son to save us.

What else can you say, but thank you? Phil Ware shares a collection of Scriptures that talk about the significance of Jesus' birth.

God has blessed us with many gifts, but the greatest of all gifts was God coming to us in Jesus of Nazareth! Christmas card and thank you from the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com team.

Where can we go to experience God? Phil Ware shares the principles of drawing nearer to God and experiencing him as Immanuel.

Can I really know Jesus as someone who is real in my life? Phil Ware writes a two part series on Finding Jesus at Christmas and this one focuses on spending time with Jesus in the Gospels.

God didn't come to our world as a heavenly tourist with special arrangements to keep him safe and to give him special treatment in his journey through mortality with all its grit and danger. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights of Christmas and see that God came to be one of us in the gritty and dangerous birth of Jesus of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary and her faithful to Torah husband to be, Joseph the car

How do you make Christmas more what it's really for? Phil Ware shares several ways to get out of the church box and gift boxes and make Christmas count.

Many feel as if they are caught in some kind of auto-repeating Groundhog Day experience with COVID-19. Phil Ware and James Nored speak to the isolation pandemic accompanying COVID-19 and share ways and invite us to share ways to find joy and hope on the mountain with Immanuel.

We all have to decide what to do with Jesus during Christmas. There are a number of different ways to handle the Jesus question during Christmas. But you have to choose one.

There are simply things I don't get! Phil Ware continues his series on Sagrada Familia and the children of the Community and relates it this time to the words he prays in the Lord's Prayer.

Do we feel like we have to keep up some kind of smokescreen so others won't know about our own times of emptiness and longing? Phil Ware shares a summary of Matthew's Immanuel sayings focused on experiencing Jesus today.

Moses brought down God's Law from his mountain. Jesus demonstrated God's love on his mountain. James Nored and Phil Ware move from Abraham and Moses to Jesus in God's great story of redemption.

Let's not settle for religion, going to church, or fast-food spirituality when God longs to fill that hole in our soul ! Phil Ware shares insights about intimately knowing God and Immanuel being real to us in our daily lives as we seek to be Jesus' disciples.

Moses brought down God's Law from his mountain. Jesus demonstrated God's love on a hill outside Jerusalem! James Nored and Phil Ware move from Abraham and Moses to Jesus in God's great story of redemption and show how Jesus becomes the fulfillment

We all need to discover that Jesus is not just alive and interceding for us at the right hand of God, but he is also present with us now as our resurrected Lord, Savior, and friend. Phil Ware shares how we can experience Jesus in our lives based on Jesus' promises and Matthew's story of Jesus in his Gospel.

Jesus didn't come to earth to be protected from life's harshest realities, but entered into mortality to share it all with us — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the painful! James and Phil continue their series on The Story of Redemption by focusing on the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.

Let’s be witnesses with those here, near, and far (Acts 1:8) like the first followers of Jesus did! Phil Ware continues his short series on Acts 1:1-11 and focuses today on being witnesses of the great things Jesus has done.

Because he knew the true and living God, the heart behind the Scriptures, he could recognize the forger, the fraud — Satan — who tried to distort and misuse truth and Scripture. James Nored and Phil Ware discuss the temptations and trials of Jesus and why they are important to us and what they have to say to us as people who are part of God's story.

We were not made to do this discipleship thing alone. Phil Ware continues his series on experiencing God through Jesus, Immanuel, this time focusing upon our need for spiritual community, family, fellowship.

So you believe in God, big deal, what are you going to do about it? Phil Ware challenges us to ask the 'Now, so what?' question to our own faith in Jesus and God and to make life changes based upon it.

Let's be witnesses with those here, near, and far like the first followers of Jesus did! Phil Ware continues his short series on Acts 1:1-11 called Phil Ware continues his series called 8GT -- Eight Truths that Turned the World Upside Down -- and focuses on finding those seeking Jesus and being witnesses to them of the great things Jesus has

We spend time with God and find out that we are loved! Tammy Marcelain reminds us that we are able to realize that we are God's beloved when we take time to open ourselves to Him and be still and experience that God is with us and speaks to us in whispers.

When was the last time you stared in the face of the Lord? Phil Ware continues his five part series on yearning for the presence of God and shares with us ways to experience Immanuel, Jesus as God with us.

You mean, this actually applies to my kid, too? Phil Ware reminds us that God broke one of the most held rules of merchandising, you break it; you buy it, and in Jesus turned this principle upside down.

God alone had earned the right to speak truth into their lives, compassion into their hearts, and righteousness into their behaviors. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the importance of the 10 Commandments and the two divine principles of God and Jesus and call us to live them in our daily lives.

As we come to understand God as the King willing to show us his wounds, then share our wounds, the birth of Jesus takes on a fresh and powerful new meaning. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos and invite us to welcome Jesus, God who came to us to share our wounds and we see this in his manger and cross, the thrones on which he was exalted and