Discovering...

After hours of pondering, I have figured out how I am going to start my new devotional quest. As I said previously, I have been struggling with the idea of Jesus. For so long I have been defining Him by the way I feel. So if I had a bad day, I would assume that God was not there for me and so on...However, that is not true, God does not change in purpose or character. So my thought was who is God? Not who is to me or who is to you, but who is He according to the Scriptures? And then it all feel into place...

I am starting in Matthew. I will read a chapter a day. I will journal about who Jesus is according the scriptures. Now, I am not an expert by any means. I do not claim to be a Bible scholar but a seeker of the Word and Truth. So let me share with you what I found in Matthew 1.

Matthew 1:1-17 was the genealogy of Christ. It was a tad boring I must say. But what I learned is the Christ was human. He had a family. He had a past that was recorded. Things that I knew but was still good to learn again.

Matthew 1:17-25
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.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 be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."

From this passage, I learned four things about the God of all Creation.
1- He was our Savior. Before he was even born, he was predestined to save us. An angel appeared to Joseph and told him that the child that Mary was carrying would save us from our sins.
2- Full filler of Prophet's past teachings. With His birth, he had fulfilled all of the Old Testament Prophets. This man is no joke!
3- Jesus is Immanuel which means God with us. He is with us all the time. His name means what it means. We were told that we would call Him Immanuel before He was even born. Amazing,
4- He is a miracle in Himself. He was born to a virgin. He was a miracle before hew as born but still this is amazing to me. Yes the Lord of all Creation did miracles but He was actually a miracle!! Amazing.

I am amazed. It's the truth. I am so excited for this new study. I know that it may not be the best way to study the Bible but it works for me. I am loving digging into my Bible now. I am excited for tomorrow...