Merry Christmas to all of you. God never marked the day of Jesus birth on His Biblical calendar. It was likely during the Feast of Tabernacles in September or October, but December 25th was chosen in A.D. 440. The Bible does not record a date, but we do have the details. And two places in scripture record this about His name:

The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:23

“God with us.” God wanted a family. There is a ¹poem, written by James Weldon Johnson entitled, “The Creation.” In it there is a line where God speaks and says, “I’m lonely, I’ll make me a world.”

Later after all the beauty of nature is created, the animals, fish, birds, etc., He says, “I’m lonely still…I’ll make me a man.”

When God spoke to Moses about building the Tabernacle, He told him:

“the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. ⁴⁴ So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. ⁴⁵ I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. Exodus 29:43-46

God did not want to be a far away father. He wanted close relationship and daily interaction. When Jesus got ready to return to heaven after His resurrection, He took things a huge step closer. His Spirit came to live in us and we became one with Him.

For in Him we live and move and have our being; …For we are also His offspring. Acts 17:38 And in Colossians 3:3 It tells us: For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

Immanuel looks like this in Hebrew:

Rather than give you a letter by letter definition, I am going to cut to the chase and give you the essence of this wonderful name.

Immanuel is the name for One who comes in the completion of time, who sees and understands our soul, the good and the bad. He comes with hidden truth that cleanses us, washes us clean, bringing new life. He is Mighty God in strength and power. He is dedicated to a task that will require His blood to complete. He is coming to teach us and urge us forward in the ways of the Kingdom.

This, my friends is our Immanuel. He is EVER- with us. He is EVER washing us with His truth. He is EVER dedicated to the task of showing us, by example and word, how to live in His kingdom of Light, of Love and of Power.

No other god compares with our Immanuel. He is Wonderful, our Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One, our Savior and King.

One of the best things in the Good News of the gospel is that we are children of the King and He, who loves us more than any other is with us 24/7. We are never alone again when we ask Jesus to be our Lord. On this day that we set aside to celebrate His birth, may we spend time praising and thanking Him for Who He is.

Shalom ♥

1. “The Creation” – (in full) by James Weldon Johnson — this is a wonderful poem and I’d love you to read it out loud and hear it.