God With Us

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Scripture

Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”‘”

Observation

In this passage, the prophet Zechariah speaks of a day when Jewish people will know the Lord Jesus Christ as Immanuel, God With Us.  Furthermore, people from all nations will be influenced by this truth.

Application

As a Christ follower today, I do not have to wait until the time prophesied by Zechariah for the world to be influenced by me through Immanuel, God With Us, because the Lord Jesus Christ is already with me through the good news of His birth, death, burial, and resurrection in my life.  In fact, the gospel of Matthew states in Chapter 1:22-23, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, “God with us.”” In Christ, God is with me and His Kingdom is within me; therefore, I am given the authority and the power to influence the world around me for His glory through Jesus Christ – Immanuel – God With Us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are Immanuel, God With Us! Thank You Lord for giving me the authority and the power in Christ to influence the world around me for Your glory. Strengthen me in Christ to do all things that You have called me to do in Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. I love You Jesus! Amen!

God With Us Copyright 2011, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, God With Us, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

The Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea

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ideas

Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

Quote: “God’s vision – His big idea – is Heaven coming to Earth!” – Myles Munroe

Sitting in an executive meeting with our CEO one afternoon, he shared a delightful aspect of his vision for the kind of culture he desired for our leadership team to create in our healthcare organization. “We need to create the kind of company that says ‘hi’ to one another,” he emphasized.  “If we can’t do the simple things really well, like warmly greeting each other, then how can we expect to do the really big things well, like saving people’s lives?”  As I left that meeting, I knew that our CEO was right.  We needed to begin engaging our culture in a way that would infect it with such common courtesy and kindness towards others that our organization would be irresistibly different.  So I went back to my own leadership team to enlist their support for such straightforward culture changing action.

In my management meeting, I declared, “Our CEO says that we need to create a company that says ‘hi’ to one another. I agree with him.”  A leader sitting across the table from me responded, “Hum, you tell 50 percent of the people ‘hi’ in this building and they won’t tell you ‘hi’ back!”  Astonished, I questioned him, “You mean to tell me that you can tell 50 percent of the people ‘hi’ in this building and they won’t tell you ‘hi’ back?”  And the young lady sitting next to me says, “Yeah, and one of them is you…”  Totally surprised, I responded, “Me??”  With everyone laughing at this point, she says, “Yeah, I’m in the elevator with you all the time and you hardly even know I’m there.”  Laughing with the others, I genuinely plea to her, “Well, I don’t want to be like that, so please don’t let me do that again.” And so it was through that honest feedback that I began to sincerely change, becoming respectfully conscious of others, and warmly greeting them with a simple, courteous,  kind – “Hi, good morning, good afternoon” – greeting.

Do you know that God has the same kind of delightful vision for His kingdom…on earth?  He desires for His people to do the simple things of the kingdom really well and by doing so, infect the popular culture on earth with the irresistible culture of His kingdom as it is in heaven.  Matthew 25:37-40 states, “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”  So then, I believe the Lord has the same kind of question of His people on earth as my CEO had of our leadership team.  How can we do the big things of the kingdom really well, like winning souls, if we don’t spend the time to do the little things really well, like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, giving drink to the thirsty, providing shelter for the homeless, and even saying “hi” to one another?  With a spirit of commitment and generosity, let us diligently seek to change the earth and its cultures by doing the simple things of the kingdom really well – simply loving others as ourselves!

The Make It Happen Service Enthusiasm Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Service Enthusiasts!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea Copyright 2009, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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