With Us

Jesus came so that we might have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. In John 1, the writer points out that Jesus was and is the True Light. He goes on to say:
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

It's quite simple - if we receive Him, if we believe in the name of Jesus, we can become a child of God. Jesus, described as "the Word," came to earth, He, as verse 14 says, "dwelt among us."  John, the author of this book of the Bible, walked with Him and saw His glory.  The invitation has been given: Jesus calls everyone to receive Him, to come into a saving knowledge of Him, to know Him daily, moment-by-moment companionship, to know that truly He is Emmanuel, which means, according to Matthew chapter 1, "God with us."

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We can be assured that our Lord is with us and resides in our hearts, which has dramatic implications for how we live. Consider these verses from Isaiah 41:
10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'

Buyer beware!  Last week, the Hallmark Channel premiered what Yahoo! News calls a "very gay entry in its “Fall Into Love” program. Luke Macfarlane stars in Notes of Autumn, which involves his character making a move to the "big city," "giving him the opportunity to meet Ellie’s friend Matt (Peter Porte) who helps to open him up to new writing possibilities and love..."

The phenomenon of an unsuspecting viewer who wants to sit down and enjoy a Hallmark Channel movie and not be offended is, quite frankly, over.  And, there are alternatives, as I have pointed out.  Great American Family has now acquired some of Hallmark's talent, and through its partnership with Pure Flix, these films are now available for streaming.  In fact, just this week, it was announced that Pure Flix will be rebranded as Great American Pure Flix. 

Jill Wagner is another Hallmark star who has begun to do projects for Great American Family, including an upcoming Christmas film set to debut in just over a month.  Movieguide recently ran an article about her faith perspective, which included a link to a Facebook video of Wagner's baptism - in the caption, she stated:

There was a time in my life I felt alone, sad, distant , like there was nothing left to fight for .... then I looked up , asked for help and HE came . I made the decision to get baptized not because my friends or family told me I needed to, but because I wanted to make that offering to GOD for all he had done for my life . I know religion is a rocky subject for some people but I wanted to share this moment with you guys because I am proud of my choice . I don’t pretend to know everything about GOD or the Bible or all that being a Christian entails . I just know that someone once led me to him and HE saved me . I hope if you are having a rough time in your life that you may give God a shot at trying to help you get it all together again...

The Movieguide article relates that she said, “On paper, my life looked perfect. I was this actress, and I was traveling all around, and everything was exciting. But really all I wanted was stability, and I wanted a family, and I wanted a husband, and I didn’t quite understand what was wrong with me and why couldn’t have those things..." She added, “So, I started talking to God and I started telling God, ‘Here’s my problems. Here’s my issues. Here’s what I need in my life’ and then letting go of it all..." She says that she experienced a "...feeling that no matter what, with or without a husband or family or anything that, I was loved, and I was going to be okay."

And, then something else amazing happened, according to the article:

“A month later, my husband comes back into my life,” she shared. “And there’s a long story there because we actually met when I was 17. But that’s a whole other video. He comes back into my life, and we both actually found our faith again and realize how important it is in our relationship and not just…our personal relationship with God but our relationship with one another. And we put that first now in our marriage.”

The most recent article included content from a story released earlier this year, which said:

In a new video for Great American Family, Jill Wagner shared her thoughts on signs from God and the personal signs she’s received from Him through the years.

Wagner said she started to have a “real” relationship with God in her “mid-to-late-30s.”

“It was like my eyes were open all of a sudden,” she shared.

“I started to see signs all around me, and God was talking to me every single day, whereas before…I didn’t have the lines of communication open up there,” the actress said. “But they’re there.”

Great American, you see, has a site called Great American Community, which features a number of videos, including interviews. 

Here is an actress who testifies to the presence of God in her life. And, one thing she has apparently discovered is that He is with us - and we are never alone!  And, that's a great reminder for us today: we can know that, because we have been born again, the Spirit of God lives within us, and we can fellowship with God daily.  We can recognize that we can communicate with Him, and that He is communicating with us.  

Jill Wagner talked to God, and made a very important decision: to relinquish her struggles to Him; as she said, she told Him, "‘Here’s my problems. Here’s my issues..."  We have to consider whether or not we are willing to surrender to Christ in every area of our lives.  If we declare Him to be our Lord and Savior, then we can recognize what Lordship means - that we allow Him to control every area, not holding anything back. If we're willing to do that, then we can see Him do amazing things in our hearts.