January 13, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The angel of the Lord persuaded Joseph saying, ‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel‘ (which means “God with us”).‘” (Matthew 1.21-23)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I paused yesterday to reflect on the name and title of Immanuel which was assigned by God’s command to Mary’s baby boy, God’s only begotten Son. That name and title was Immanuel, God with us. It is an indicator of the role of ambassador (such as Jesus revealed in a parable recorded by Matthew in chapter 21) serving the Word and Will of the true King. The ambassador held full rights and responsibilities as the king in order to bring the presence of the King to the people. When Jesus declared in John 14, “You have seen Me, that is enough, for the Father and I are one,” He was making such a claim as I mentioned above. However, in the lesson from Jesus recorded in Matthew, the people to whom the ambassador was sent had no intention of respecting “the presence of the King.” Instead, they desired the property that had been entrusted to them returning no tribute to “the Master of the vineyard.” They had killed previous messengers believing that their message would die and the King would forget. Now the Son of the King was sent. He was a royal ambassador. In that time and place, He was as good as the King Himself. So, the tenants decided to “kill the King” in proxy and thus have full rights to decide the vineyard and its profits were their own. And they did. And in a prophetic foreshadowing, we know that this story was intended to embolden the disciples to not be like the Pharisees, Scribes, Elders of the Land and rulers in the world who acted like Gentiles seeking only their own agenda and desire. They would not see the full impact of His teaching, of course, until after His crucifixion. In the shadows of death from the evening of the beginning of the seventh day, a Sabbath holy unto God, until the early morning hours of the first day of the week, when the women declared “Jesus is not in the grave, He is risen,” the disciples had to mull over the reality that those who “served God” had indeed been unfaithful and faithless tenants trusted by God to tend His vineyard (Israel and indeed the whole world). They killed “Immanuel,” Jesus of Nazareth whom the disciples called Christ, Rome called “King of the Jews” and the usurpers called “Blasphemer, a spiritual criminal.” Yet, the seed of truth had been planted in the soil of their heart, mind and soul. When the announcement came, when Jesus appeared to them in the Upper Room that evening, Immanuel was “God with us AGAIN!” And God is with us still in spirit and in truth.

But, the baby cradled in Mary’s arms in Bethlehem at His birth and the man cradled in her arms at Golgotha at His death was more than God’s holy and sacred ambassador who would declare the Word of the King of the Universe. His name was “Jesus,” He who will save His people from their sins. It was a common name in Israel spoken in different dialects. Regardless of the variations, the pronouncement of His Name, as that which the angels proclaimed to the shepherds, points in only one clear direction. Immanuel’s purpose was to do all within His power, the power granted to Him by the King of the Universe and beyond, to save His people from their sins. They had been made His people because they were created in His image. When Jesus came to earth from Heaven as God’s royal and holy ambassador, He took it personally. This is why we are invited to accept Him as our PERSONAL Lord and Savior. He is with us. He is for us. He is by us. He became us on the cross of Calvary so that His death, at the hands of those to whom the Word of Life had been given according to the Law, would atone for our sins. In Him we are made new as we recognized when the light of truth dawned on us the first day of the week after Jesus was crucified, dead and buried. In Him and Him alone do we have life and have it abundantly. It is the greatest gift any person can be given. It is a gift freely offered without expectation but with great anticipation. How sad to have a gift to give and never give it. Worse yet, how sad to be given a gift and never open it! The name of the gift is Jesus Immanuel, God who saves is with us. Mighty ones of God, let us be with Him aligned in spirit and in truth as His ambassadors to the world in which we live. In Him is the truth, beauty and abundance of life. There is no other and the pursuit of other truths may be acceptable now for a time. They will prove futile in the time that is forever.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.