Hi and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The devotional for today titled

The Perfect Name was written by Marvin Williams. On a hot and humid day, one August, my wife gave birth to our second son, but he remained

nameless as we struggled to settle on a given name. After spending many hours in ice cream

shops and taking long car rides, we still couldn't decide. He was simply named Baby Williams for

three days before finally being named Micah.

Choosing the right name can be a little frustrating. Well, unless you're God who came up with the

perfect name for the one who would change things forever. Through the prophet Isaiah, God directed

King Ahaz to ask him for a sign to strengthen his faith. Though the king

refused to ask for a sign, God gave him one anyway, saying in Isaiah chapter 7,

the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. God named the child,

and he would be a sign of hope to people going through despair.

The name stuck, and Matthew breathed new meaning into it when he wrote the narrative of

Jesus' birth in Matthew chapter 1. Jesus would be Emmanuel. He wouldn't just be a representative

of God, but he would be God in the flesh, coming to rescue his people from the despair of sin.

God gave us a sign. The sign is a son. The son's name is Emmanuel, God with us. It's a name that reflects his presence and love.

Today, he invites us to embrace Emmanuel and know that he's with us.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Isaiah, chapter 7, verses 10 through 17. Again, the Lord spoke to

Ahaz, ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said, here now, you House of David,

is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,

and will call him Emmanuel.

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