As we enter the Advent season for 2022, we will seek to grow deeper in our understanding of the free gifts available to us through Christ and His coming. Gifts we cannot earn and do not deserve.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the presence that came at that first Christmas, and it’s an opportunity for all to receive the greatest gift in Christ. It is no accident that gift giving is a part of Christmas since Christmas itself is a great gift!

-His name, Jesus, specifies what he does (“God saves”), and Immanuel specifies who He is (“God with us”).
-Part of Jesus' saving activity is indelibly connected to His presence with us. You don’t get one without the other.
-It’s difficult to imagine the presence of God unless you know what it’s like to be away from His presence, which is what the people in Isaiah’s time would have known. They knew darkness and despair and what seemed hopeless. Thus, the reason for the promise. Immanuel is coming!

It's not that Jesus came to be with you (past tense), it's that His presence is still with us now!

Verses for further study/reflection:
Philippians 2:6-8
Isaiah 41:10
Isaiah 8:8-10