A Year with Jesus

Note from Jesus

Dear Friend,

If you listened carefully to My servants, the prophets found in your Old Testament, you heard strong hints and amazing promises of grace in their words as they gave voice to My words. One of those glimpses of My birth comes through the words of Isaiah as he spoke for Me:

For the highest God above, Who is and always will be, the only One Who is holy has this to say:

Eternal One:
I live in the high and holy place, yet I am with the low, the weak, and the humble. I renew their vitality and revive their strength.
(Isaiah 57:15)

Isaiah knew that I AM "holy, holy, holy"! But he also spoke about My desire to be with those who feel forgotten and powerless and who are genuinely humble. In fact, I promised through him to be with those kinds of people to "renew their vitality and revive their strength."

So, My coming to live among you shouldn't surprise you - the prophets promised My coming for years. The people I chose to include in My coming should have been anticipated - think about the Godly character and the genuine compassion of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon, and Anna. The people I came to serve and those who followed Me from the very first shouldn't surprise you - disregarded shepherds, stargazers from the East, and ordinary people like the tax collectors, sinners, soldiers, fishermen, and women of all ages who were left out by contemporary religion. Change is what I promised through the prophets.

I came to you, to your world, to people like you just as I promised - as a baby in the womb of a woman, delivered into a family, and facing all the dangers and vulnerabilities of infancy. I came as God in human flesh - the Lord Who came near. In fact, still to this day, I AM Immanuel - the Lord God, Who is with you. So as you remember My birth, also remember that I AM still near. If you are truly My disciple, I live in you through the gift of the Holy Spirit that I have sent to you. With your very breath as a reminder of My presence, remember that your Lord is still near!

Verses to Live

Yes, I came in human flesh and lived among you - the glory of God in the flesh of humanity. My beloved disciple John put it this way:

The Voice [Jesus] took on flesh and became human and chose to live alongside us. We have seen Him, enveloped in undeniable splendor - the one true Son of the Father - evidenced in the perfect balance of grace and truth. John the Baptist testified about Him and shouted, "This is the one I've been telling you is coming. He is much greater than I am because He existed long before me." Through this man we all receive gifts of grace beyond our imagination. You see, Moses gave us rules to live by, but Jesus the Anointed offered us gifts of grace and truth. God, unseen until now, is revealed in the Voice, God's only Son, straight from the Father's heart.
(John 1:14-18)

Matthew, the tax collector who was one of My apostles, reminded you of Who I AM by quoting the prophet Isaiah:

Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus:
A virgin will conceive and bear a Son,
and His name will be Immanuel
(which is a Hebrew name that means "God with us."
(Matthew 1:22-23)

Even after I had been crucified, resurrected, and ascended back to the Father, the apostle Paul assured you of this:

The Lord is near.
(Philippians 4:5 NIV)

Response in Prayer

Righteous Father, thank You for not being God Who is distant, but my Father Who is holy yet chose to come near in Jesus as one of us! Thank You for being near... always near... even within me through the Holy Spirit. As I think today of the profound grace of Your coming in Jesus, I ask that Your Spirit help me recognize Your presence in my life every day and not just at Christmas. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.