Do You Feel Christ With Us?
Good Morning Friends,
We don’t know a lot about Joseph but we can learn from him never the less. Here we have a man who does not speak, but whose life speaks volumes. Here we learn how he survived the amazing experience of God being born here on Earth. And here seeing through Joseph’s perspective we learn to open the gift of Jesus, the Son of God. We learn to open the gift of God’s care and grace and the gift of life itself. Here we marvel in the plan of salvation. So today we explore through the eyes of Joseph. A father. And we think of Emmanuel and our thoughts are drawn to Christmas and then to the importance of God being with us each and every day. So the point is that it must have been a powerful experience for Joseph and Mary too. It must have been both confusing and exhilarating. So, Do You Feel Christ With Us?
Scripture: For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 (NRSV)
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:16, 18-21 (NRSV)
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Matthew 1:23 (NRSV)
Message: In the midst of change it is sometimes… almost always difficult to have all the right emotions…they come later. The challenge during times of change is to have the right perspective…one that embraces the promises of God. For example, Mary had no guarantee that Joseph would understand and be sympathetic to her being with child. She grew up in a poor town just four miles from a Roman garrison…a town known for sin. Joseph was a righteous man with a legal betrothal to Mary. What was he to think? But even though they both were born 500 years after the golden age of Israel’s proud history, even though no king of David’s family had ruled in Jerusalem for half a millennium, the promise of a Messiah had not been forgotten. Their willingness to suffer ridicule and contempt based solely on an assurance that no one except God could fully understand is an amazing act of trust. Here we discover that finding favor with God, like getting through times of uncertainty, requires a trust that has staying power. God’s response to this trust is grace. The events that change our lives look different and feel different when seen in the rear view mirror. We like Mary are a bit perplexed by angels when we do not know what to anticipate. Joseph must have had similar feelings. Only in retrospect when we have past the troubled times do we see the awesome reality of God being with us during times of uncertainty.
Pray we have faith for the Kingdom to come in our ever changing world. Pray for acts of grace in our lives as we confront the unexpected. Pray that when we wrestle with the consequences we have the right perspective. Pray that our faith and trust are in the promises of God. Pray we learn to prepare our attitudes for the coming of Jesus. Pray we like Joseph have an allegiance to God. Pray we like Joseph display moral courage in our personal lives and spiritual courage in a corrupt world. Pray we like Joseph spend time with family. Pray we be touched by the presence of Christ in our decisions and feelings.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 