By Bishop John D. Milam I saw that title while doing some research for a holiday series a few years back and immediately knew I had to borrow it.  Besides being a great play on words, it truly holds the essence of the meaning and purpose of Christmas.  In the second chapter of Luke verses 10-11, the angel declares to them/us “…Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”  The Angel’s message was that this baby is born to YOU.  Jesus is YOUR Savior, YOUR King, YOUR Christ. Jesus was the very first Christmas gift.  If He would have had a tag on him it would have read to YOU, from your ABBA FATHER. But He is so much more than just a present to us, for He is a “presence” with us.  In Matthew 1:23 He is called Emmanuel (God with us); some modern translations have “God is with us.”  This is truly the most amazing miracle of miracles. Unfortunately, so many people miss, because it is possible for us to be aware of the “present” of God without having the “presence” of God. We celebrate the miracle that God came to be with us and yet, somehow, we miss the miracle that He is still with us. At this point, we need to acknowledge two very true statements no matter who we are: (1) there’s nothing that we have that we didn’t receive from God and (2) there is nothing that you have that you will not one day lose, except the presence of God.  The Bible confirms these thoughts in 1 Corinthians 4:7 and Luke 21:33 where we read respectively “…what do you have that you did not receive (from God)…”and “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My Word (Logos: Living Word) will not pass away.”  John 1 tells us that the Living Word became Flesh and is Jesus, Emmanuel.  John confirms this truth in 1 John 5:7 “There are three who testify in Heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Spirit and the three are one.” Now we can see that all that we have is a gift, a present if you will, from God and the presence of God is the true gift that we will never lose. Remember Jesus statement “I am with you always, even until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20) and the promise of God to His children “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6) So, recognizing these wonderful promises, may we always be intentional with our awareness and gratitude that He is with us; and not just with us, in us (John 17:23).  Ponder this: In what ways would your days be different if you were acutely aware that God is with you?  How would you approach your tasks and assignments?  How would you deal with difficulties and problems knowing that Emmanuel is there?  How would we respond to and treat others?  How differently would we view every breath we take and opportunity we have if we really knew that He, Emmanuel, God, was right there with us? Well, Glory to God, He is; and in that we have reason to rejoice and take great comfort. Because of His presence with us, we can trade our duty for devotion, we can lay down our sacrifices and walk in joyful obedience, we are not bound in the law of religion, but we live, breathe, and have our being in the overwhelming joy of relationship with our redeemer. So, this Christmas, as we give and receive with those that we love, and we rejoice and celebrate the gift of God (His birth) let us be glad that Emmanuel is with us! Christmas Presence is the greatest present ever! Blessings to you all and De Colores Bishop John D. Milam, is the lead pastor at New Life COG in Milledgeville, GA, and serves a clergy coordinator on the advisory board of the International Secretariat’s Policy Committee.