Immanuel

Here is the promised post on Immanuel! Two days after Christmas, but, done nonetheless. :) Also, comment please! Helps me know what ya'll are thinkin'. :)

Matthew 1:23

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, "God with us." (As prophesied in Isaiah 7:14.)

God wasn't called Immanuel in the Old Testament because He wasn't literally with us in the Old Testament. His Spirit at times rested on people and then departed, and evil spirits also rested on people.

1 Samuel 16:14-23

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.”
Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

Now that Christ has come to earth and lived among us, died for us, and has been risen from the dead, He is with us all the time. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter or our helper.

John 16:7

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

Now, there was a lot of Scripture in this post, but I think that Scripture explains the meaning and the incredible depth of Immanuel way better than I could.

I Apologize

Ok, I apologize for my lack of posts. I was gonna do Immanuel in light of Christmas and all that, but I just haven't been up to it. Hopefully I'll be up to blogging again here pretty soon. Unfortunately, since Wednesday, most all I've been doing is coughing, sneezing, coughing, sleeping, coughing, and hanging out with my family. But yeah, I woke up sick on Wednesday. No fun. I was sure I'd be better by Christmas, but, no such luck. :) I am probably gonna have to go to the doctor, because my mom's pretty sure I have bronchitis and am maybe developing a respiratory infection. And the way I feel, I'm not arguing with her. haha. :)
But, in spite of being sick, I had a wonderful Christmas. I got some amazing slippers and PJ's and a Wii! I was so super excited. It is awesome. The archery. Oh my word. SO FUN. And my dad played too, that was fun! He beat me in archer though... Haha. And I got to spend a lovely two days with my brothers, sister-in-law, and darling niece. It was fun. And, I got to talk to Aaron. So, pretty much, my weekend was good. :)

Rambling...

Ok, so I'm watching the premier of the new Christmas movie on Hallmark. It's called "Battle of the Bulbs." It's really quite ridiculous. It's about two men who had a falling out in high school and 30 years later live in the same neighborhood and their buried bitterness towards each other manifests itself into a giant contest on who will have the best lights and decorations on their house by Christmas. Weird. This morning I watched "All I Want For Christmas." Now that's a good Hallmark movie. That, and "The Christmas Card." Those are my favorite Christmas Hallmark movies. :) You should watch them. What are your favorite Christmas movies?
So, I've had an amazing weekend. Yesterday Sarah came over and spent the night. It was WAY fun! We practiced our duet that we're singing together at church tomorrow night, played a game, made cookies and we watched Hallmark movies. How late did we stay up? 11:30. We are party animals. I'm tellin' ya.
And then today I went and picked up Lenita and we went shopping! It was SO much fun. I had a lovely weekend with my friends. :)
I still have one Christmas present to get. My dad's. I have no idea what to get him, and there are 7 days until Christmas. Do any of you guys have any last minute shopping to do?

Comforter

Ok, so this one seems rather ironic after falling down the stairs today, smashing my ankle and landing really hard on my backside on the cold, hard floor of my garage. So, let's see what we can learn about our Comforter. :)
First off, what does a comforter do? Is someone who comforts you merely feeling sympathy for you and allaying your fears about something? Or is it more than that? Though feeling sympathy and lessening the intensity of someone's grief is a big part of comforting someone, Jesus takes it to the next level.
John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." Helper is also considered Comforter. This refers to the Holy Spirit. So, the Holy Spirit is our comforter permanently. How cool is that? So, since Jesus is not here on earth with us, He sent us the Holy Spirit to be with us all the time, as our comforter, our helper, our intercessor. This is how Jesus takes comfort to the next level. When we need comfort, or sympathy, anything, our friends and family will fail us. They can't possibly be there for us 100% of the time. But, if you're saved, you are constantly in the presence of the greatest comforter there is. So, let that be a reminder that the first thing you should do when you've had a fight with your parents or a friend, when you got a bad grade, when things are falling apart, go to God. Go to your ever present help in time of need.

Jehovah

Jehovah literally means to be, or to become known. We use it as "The Lord." Jehovah doesn't usually stand on its own, it often has another name after it. It is also sometimes used interchangeably with Yahweh.
Here are some of the Jehovah names:
Jehovah Nissi - The Lord My Banner
Jehovah-Raah - The Lord My Shepherd
Jehovah Rapha - The Lord That Heals
Jehovah Shammah - The Lord Is There
Jehovah Tsidkenu - The Lord Our Righteousness
Jehovah Mekoddishkem - The Lord Who Sanctifies You
Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Will Provide
Jehovah Shalom - The Lord Is Peace
Jehovah Sabaoth - The Lord of Hosts
So, there's not really too much information that I could find on Jehovah by itself. But, as you can see from the names above, it is obviously being used as The Lord and then the words after it are descriptive words to more declare His attributes and what He does and who He is.
Also, when you see LORD in all caps in your Bible, it stands for Jehovah/Yahweh.
Isaiah 40:3 “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

I found this...

So, a Marine mom posted this on a forum that I check every once in a while, and I just wanted to share it. I thought it was cool. :)

'Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I'd just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn't't help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend,
Semper Fi and goodnight.

Abba, Father

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
Mark 14:36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Those 3 verses are the only times "Abba" is explicitly stated in the Bible, but it is implied in other instances. But, what is the significance of Abba? Of calling God "Abba, Father"?
In Israel, Abba was a term that a son called his father when he loved him and was loved by his father in return. It is an intimate, affectionate term for you father. Like calling your father "Daddy" or "Papa." It is a term of endearment, used to express a deep love for your daddy.
Abba also implies ownership. Meaning, my father. For example, an adopted child, until all papers are signed, couldn't call their adopted father "My daddy." But, once all papers have been signed and all that jazz, they can call their new father "My daddy!" This is a good example, because we have been adopted into God's family, so at the time of our conversion, we can call God "Abba, Father!" How cool is that? And that's what Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6 point out.
I hope as we go through this series that you'll realize that all of God's name have special implications to us personally. Abba Father is definitely one of my favorites. It's so personal! When God seems unapproachable, remember that we cry out to Him as "Abba, Father."

New Series

Ok peeps, I'm gonna start a new series on here. It's going to be a series on the names of God. As you know, there are a plethera of them! So, here's a list of some of the ones I'll be covering. Let me know if there's one in particular you want me to do! Lenita gave me this idea, as we were brainstorming together about our blogs. Thanks Len! <3
1. Abba Father
2. Jehovah
3. Comforter
4. Counselor
5. Creator
6. Deliverer
7. Good Sheperd
8. I Am
9. Immanuel
10. Prince of Peace
Ok. Ten seems like plenty of names to get started with!
Romans 14:19 "Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another."

Guess What?

So, guys. I have something really exciting to be thankful for! I've been accepted to 3 colleges this week! How cool is that? Plus, I got a letter in the mail yesterday from Mercer, and I recieved a $17,000 academic scholarship!!!! I just about died from excitement. That's just over a half scholarship. So, I was pretty excited! And, it's renewable each year that I'm a full time student there! I'm super excited about that! Just shows how God provides. When I'm despairing of ever having the funds to go to school, I receive a HUGE scholarship. And that's just flat. Without any community service scholarships, competitive scholarships, etc... Which, I need to get applying for. If any of you know of any community scholarships available, let me know!
Also, don't go around saying I'm going to Mercer. I have not decided which school I'm going to as of yet. :)
Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

It's been a while...

Well, it's been awhile, but, I did not forget! I just was busy and when I had the time didn't feel like writing. But, here I am, writing today! I've been at home all day because of being really sick, so, I have a little energy right now, and figured I'd write. :) I'm just gonna write a short list of some of the things I'm thankful for. I hope you enjoy! And I challenge you all to think on your many blessings.
1. My Bible. It gives me comfort, joy, peace, and it convicts me.
2. Hallmark movies. I'm a complete and utter sap. Heehee.
3. Letters
4. Christmas decorations! My dad decorated the house yesterday, and it looks so festive and Christmasy! Next weekend we'll go buy a tree and that will be awesome. We always do a live tree so that the house smells good.
5. Crazy knee socks.
6. Snuggly puppies
7. My adorable niece
8. A mom who takes care of me when I'm sick. And when I'm not sick. :)
9. The movies! We went and saw "The Legend of the Guardians" last night at the dollar theater and it was awesome. I highly recommend it.
10. Candles
James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."