Emmanuel

By Andrea Merrell

 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 

which being interpreted is, God with us.

Matthew 1:23 KJV

 

Emmanuel. Son of the Most High. Sent to earth to be born of a virgin. To be a light in the darkness. To save us from our sins. To point the way to the Father.

Emmanuel. Jesus, the living Word. Holy. Sinless. Blameless. Redeemer of all mankind. Messiah. Savior. Lord of all.

Emmanuel. God with us—always. Never leaving. Never unaware of us. God within us. Beside us. Surrounding us. Going before us. Our constant companion.

Emmanuel. Seeing us. Knowing us. Forgiving us. Loving us.

Emmanuel. Wonderful counselor. The Prince of Peace. Jesus. The Name above every other name. The name that comforts, heals, and sets the captive free.

Emmanuel. God with us. With me. With you. Always. 

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

Photo by Al Elmes on Unsplash

Don’t Compound Your Problems

 

By Andrea Merrell

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34 NIV

There I was, doing it again—rehearsing all the worst-case scenarios that could happen in a situation that lay ahead. All the maybes and what-ifs. I analyzed them from every conceivable angle and tried to come up with a plan.

As if …

As if I could fix it. As if I were in charge. As if I could control the future. As much as I dreaded what I had to face, I only compounded my problem by rehearsing it over and over in my mind. I experienced it numerous times instead of only once.

Matthew tells us not to worry about tomorrow. The Message translation puts it like this:

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

When we worry, we lose our peace and our joy. It destroys our well-being. When we focus on the problem instead of the problem-solver, we forget that only He knows what truly lies ahead. Nothing catches Him by surprise. And the best part is He promises to be with us. To help us. To sustain us. To give us wisdom and direction. We never have to face anything alone.

In reality, the anticipation of something is many times much worse than the actual situation when it comes. I’ve experienced this time and again.

If you’re facing a major problem, don’t dwell on it. Don’t worry about. And don’t try to fix it before it even happens. Give it to the Lord, and trust Him to see you through it. You won’t be disappointed.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Molnar Balint.

He Finds You Not Guilty

 

By Andrea Merrell

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him

without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised

in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

Romans 8:21 NLT

Accused of a crime he did not commit, the young man stood before the judge and jury with bated breath. These people held his future in their hands.

Am ominous silence filled the room until the verdict was announced: “We find the defendant not guilty.”

Just like that young man, we all have an accuser who does whatever he can to discredit us. To make us feel guilty. Unworthy. Condemned. His goal is to convince us that we can never be good enough to receive God’s love and forgiveness.

But the Bible clearly tells us we are accepted, not because we are worthy but because He is worthy. We are reminded thirty-one times in the New Testament that we are “in Christ.” That means we are clothed in His righteousness. Free from the curse of the law. Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Seated with Him in heavenly places. No longer do we live under the burden of condemnation, of never being good enough. God has made us right with Him as was promised.

“For God so loved the world that He gave …” (John 3:16 NKJV). 

He gave His all, His very best, so that we could be free.

No matter what the accuser throws at you, know that when you  trust in the Lord, He finds you not guilty.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Siri Anamwong.

Put Away the Measuring Stick

 

By Andrea Merrell

 

Until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Ephesians 4:13 NLT

 

I smiled when my daughter-in-law showed me a piece of door frame she had taken from her old house. It was used as a measuring stick to mark the growth of her three girls over several years.

A measuring stick can be useful for a number of things except when it comes to our growth in the Lord. The danger comes when we continually compare our knowledge and accomplishments with  others and even ourselves. In fact, the Bible says:

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV)

The truth is Jesus is our example, our standard. And our only gauge should be the Word of God.

One writer says that when we continually measure our worth to God by what we do (performance-based living), we will live in a constant state of regret, devoid of the Lord’s gifts of joy and peace.

So what is the answer? Put away your measuring stick and your checklist. Jesus didn’t ask Peter, “What did you do for me today?” Instead, He asked Peter, “Do you love me?”

He’s asking you the same question today. If the answer is a resounding yes, that’s all that matters.

Photo by Michael Myers on Unsplash

How To Pray

 

By Andrea Merrell

 

I hear it all the time: “I just don’t know how to pray.”

For some reason, we tend to complicate something God has made so simple. Something that should come as natural as breathing.

In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us:

Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

(Matthew 6:6-13 MSG)

 

God doesn’t require lofty, rehearsed words copied from those we deem as more spiritual. No pretense, only sincerity. Prayer is a personal, intimate conversation with the One who loves us with an unconditional, everlasting love.

 

Talk to Him. He’s waiting to hear from you.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash and Fa Barboza.