Christmas 2016: “God is in us”

LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… So the Lord God said to the serpent, `Because you have done this… I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel’…” (Genesis 3:14, 15, the Holy Bible).

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CHRISTMAS 2016: “GOD IS IN US”: Isaiah 7:14 of the Bible is a very important Biblical authority which is usually cited to prove that some 800 years before Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, was born, His coming to this world to save sinners from sin was already well-predicted by the prophets, among them, Isaiah.

Isaiah 7:14 says in full: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel”. “Immanuel” means “God is in us”.

What many Christian believers seem not to know, however, is the reason why the prophet Isaiah gave out this prophecy about the virgin conceiving and giving birth to a son whom she will name Immanuel. For us to understand the background of this particular prophecy, we must read the significant portions of Isaiah 7.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF GOD’S COMING TO EARTH: Significantly, it would appear that the prophecy was made by God, through Isaiah, to proclaim His protection and provision upon His people who are true to their faith in Him, and that God’s wrath and punishment will be on those who plan evil against believers. In fact, the prophecy is firm that God will kill the oppressors and the unjust and the devilish.

From the New International Version of the Bible: “When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliahking of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

“Now the house of David was told, `Aram has allied itself with Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, `Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

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WITHOUT FIRM FAITH, WE WILL NOT STAND AT ALL: “ `Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, `Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.

“`Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: `It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

“Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’

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PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way): a Bible study and prayer session online could now be heard, 24 HOURS a day, in the Philippines and the world at www.facebook.com/angtangingdaan or www.facebook.com/ANDKNK (and look for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts). Phone: 0922 833 43 96, 0918 574 0193, 0977 805 9058. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

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