EUPHORIA Devotional
(The spirit of joy, an ecstasy that comes from God)
December 25, 2024
IMMANUEL – WHAT A CHILD!
AROME E. TOKULA
Isaiah 9:6 (TPT)
6 A CHILD has been BORN FOR US; a SON has been GIVEN TO US. The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be: The Wonderful One! The Extraordinary Strategist! The Mighty God! The Father of Eternity! The Prince of Peace!
The world has built a massive financial economy around an event that some still know very little or nothing of its significance. The season is buzzing with people shopping, cooking and making plans to enjoy and celebrate Christmas with friends, family and sundry! For whatever reason, Christmas is indeed a time of celebration because unto us a child was born! He wasn’t born TO Joseph and Mary; rather He was born THROUGH Mary for the world! He is God’s greatest gift to the world!
The bible says in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name IMMANUEL.” Immanuel means “God is with us.” Actually, it literally means “God became one of us.” The Passion Translation of Matthew 1:23 says, “Listen! A virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “EMMANUEL,” which means in Hebrew, “GOD BECAME ONE OF US.””
When God gave us Jesus, He gave us Himself! He identified with us in every respect! He came to dwell and live among us! What a child indeed! Though the creator of the whole world, He came to us in the humblest way! Luke 2:7 says, “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and LAID HIM IN A MANGER, because there was NO ROOM for them in the inn.” At His birth, there was no room for Him in His own created world except a manger. This only shows that from His birth He chose to identify with our worst condition! He is truly “God with us!”
The good news however is this, He didn’t become one of us just to empathize with us, He came to our world to identify with us to the end that we will identify with Him in His world. He came to bring us into His own world and that could only be possible by paying for our sins. Matthew 1:21 says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS." Jesus wasn’t born to punish us for our sins, He was born to save us from our sins! He is the light of hope in the world of darkness. No wonder on the night when He was born, Luke 2:8-9 says, “… there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHONE AROUND THEM, and they were greatly afraid.” Jesus is the glory of God! He is the Dayspring and the Sunrise of heaven! Luke 1:78-79 says, “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which THE DAYSPRING FROM ON HIGH HAS VISITED US; to GIVE LIGHT to those who SIT IN DARKNESS and the SHADOW OF DEATH, to GUIDE OUR FEET into the way of peace.”
He is the One that shone bright in the world of the shepherds when the angels came! Even today, He is shining bright in your world, lighting every darkness and shadow! He is your Savior and He is your Deliverer! That truly calls for joy because it is for us that He was born!
Never for once should any forget that He was born and given to us to bring us into complete dominion over the devil, sin and every work of satan. Rejoice because He is The Wonderful One! The Extraordinary Strategist! The Mighty God! The Father of Eternity and The Prince of Peace!
Merry Christmas to you!
DECLARE
Thank You Father for coming into my world so that I can be brought into Your world. You were born in a manger so that I can born into Your kingdom of dominion and power! Thank You Father for Your grace demonstrated to me in Christ Jesus. Thank You for saving me from the tyranny of the devil and giving me dominion over him. Thank You Father for Christmas!