Verse: Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Thoughts
I wonder how you would rank God's most amazing miracles. Would you say the incarnation (God coming in flesh) was more amazing, or the resurrection? Christmas or Easter? Which one gets your vote?

Both, obviously, are so incredibly important and amazing. They both changed the course of history. But since Christmas is Saturday, let's make an argument for the incarnation.

For starters, if God never came in flesh, then we would never have had the resurrection. But more importantly, the fact that God came to earth, took on flesh, to be with us, is the power of this story. Why? Because God came to us.

The amazing truth about Christianity that sets it apart from all other religions and worldviews, is that God entered humanity to save humanity. As Matthew recounts it: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) (Matthew 1:22)

God with us. Think about that for just a second. He left the glory of heaven to take on flesh and deal with all that entails—pain, frustration, bad breath, mean people, disappointment, stubbed toes, and more—because of his great love for you and I.

The thought this morning then is this: do you know that God is with you? Right now? He is with you in class. He is with you at work. He is with you when you feel alone. He is with you when things go well and when things are so hard. He is with you, period.

This is the power of Christmas. God with us. God with you. Always. Jesus promised us, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20). Take this promise today and don't let go of it. He is with you!

Prayer
Thank you for coming to earth and coming for us - for me. I am so grateful. Help me to live each day knowing you are with me still.