Joseph—God's yes-man

"Joseph and the Christ Child"  - Murillo (1670-75)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 1:18-25

TO CHEW ON: "Then Joseph, being roused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife." Matthew 1:24

Though the Bible doesn't mention Jesus' earthly father Joseph often, what it does say gives us some insights into the man God picked to be the most influential male in the human Jesus's life. We discover Joseph was:

1. A descendant of King David. - Luke 1:27.

2. Kind. Even though he must have been incredibly hurt and confused at the discovery of Mary's pregnancy, his impulse was to spare her public disgrace and worse by putting her away secretly - Matthew 1:19.

3. Promptly obedient. He took Mary as his wife and left for Egypt in the middle of the night after angelic visits - Matthew 1:24; 2:13-14.

4. Self-controlled. He refrained from having intimate relations with Mary, even after they were married, in respect for the sanctity of Mary's pregnancy - Matthew 1:25.

5. A compliant citizen, obedient to Caesar's decree to register in Bethlehem, even though it "happened" at a most inconvenient time  (for him, but not for God's larger plan) - Luke 2:4.

6. Faithful and devoted in his religious practice, having Jesus circumcised on the eighth day and going up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate Passover - Luke 2:22-24; 41.

7. Sensitive, along with Mary, to the spiritual immensity and mystery of Jesus' destiny - Luke 2:33.

8. Sensible. He used common sense (which was confirmed by another angelic dream) when deciding where to settle on the family's return from Egypt - Matthew 2:22.

9. Trusting. He must have trusted the adolescent Jesus because at Jesus' 12-year-old trip to Jerusalem, he and Mary didn't keep close tabs on His whereabouts - Luke 2:43-44.

10. A responsible father. He and Mary searched for three days for their 12-year-old - Luke 2:45-46.

11. Puzzled? I wonder how he felt when Jesus intimated that His real loyalty was to a different Father - Luke 2:49-50.

12. Ordinary. To Jesus' neighbors and friends, He was known as "Joseph's son." Their surprise at His "gracious words" in the light of His supposed lineage tells us that Joseph was probably a very ordinary, unexceptional person in most ways - Luke 4:22; John 1:45.

I love it that Jesus' earthly father was so humble and ordinary. It gives us hope that all us ordinary nobodies can also be part of God's plan and purpose as we put ourselves at His disposal and keep saying "yes" like Joseph did.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of Joseph. I want my life to be remembered by my yes's to You. Amen.

MORE: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. The liturgy for this day begins with this Collect:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Handel's Messiah lyrics

The lyrics of the contralto recitative "Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive" are taken from Matthew 1:23 (which is a quote from Isaiah 7:14).


In this Tafelmusik rendition, the recitative is followed by the solo "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

A challenge to us as followers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Titus 1:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money." Titus 1:7

Those of us who attend church with pastor leaders are well aware of the hazards of such a position. Pastors get criticized for a multitude of things: their leadership style, their sermons, how organized or disorganized they are, the hours they work or don't, not visiting the sick and shut-ins or visiting too much, driving too big and fancy a car or looking too poor… and the list could go on.

Paul's letter to Titus deals with choosing church leaders and lists some of the qualifications they should have. Paul tells Titus to choose bishops (overseers) who are: (quotes in parenthesis are from the Amplified Bible).

• "blameless" ("of unquestionable integrity")
• "the husband of one wife" 
• good fathers whose children are described as "faithful … not accused of dissipation or insubordination" ("well-trained … believers … not  … loose in morals and conduct or unruly or disorderly")
• "not self-willed" ("arrogant or presumptuous")
• "not quick-tempered" 
• "not given to wine"
• "not violent" ("pugnacious, brawling")
• "not greedy ("grasping … for filthy lucre [financial gain])"
• "hospitable" ("loving and a friend to believers, especially to strangers and foreigners")
• "lovers of what is good" ("of good people and good things")
• "sober-minded" ("sensible, discreet")
• "just" ("upright and fair-minded")
• "holy" ("a devout man and religiously correct")
• "self-controlled" ("temperate and keeping himself in hand")
• "holding fast the faithful word he has been taught"
• "able… to exhort and convict those who contradict" ("able both to give stimulating instruction and encouragement in sound {wholesome} doctrine and to refute and convict those who contradict and oppose it [showing the wayward their error]")

Even though this list is over 2000 years old, it is still applicable to church leaders today. However, rather than using it as a yardstick to point out ways our pastors don't measure up, let's use it as a template for prayer that they do and will.

In their positions pastors and other church leaders are targets of not only us who are followers in their congregations but the watching world. Probably nothing makes the devil happier than when a prominent man or woman of God gets tangled in sin.

So with all our hearts, let's fill our months with intercession for our pastors in these many areas rather than criticism.


PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for my pastor and Your under-shepherds all over the world.  May these men and women stay pure and dedicated as they work as stewards in Your church. Amen.

MORE: Fourth Sunday of Advent
Today the church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Advent. If there is a Christmas story character focus today, I'd guess it would be "Shepherds."

The Fourth Advent Sunday liturgy begins with this collect:

"Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen"

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Some scripture quotes are taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Waiting... waiting...

Micah - Gustave Dore

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Micah 7:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me." Micah 7:7

Micah (in the light of what he has seen and proclaimed:
- that his people continue callously on their course, its rulers thumbing their noses at righteousness and justice - Micah 7:1-4
- that spiritual rot has penetrated the most intimate relationships—friends, lovers, sons and daughters, the members of one's own household - Micah 7:5-6) takes a stand.

What will he do? "I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation."

My Bible's footnote calls these statements "Micah's creed for crisis times. They make specific what the vision, attitude and faith of a believer should be" - W. S. Elijahson, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1211.

This two-pronged response is one we too can make when trouble comes.

• We can look to God instead of focusing on the distressing circumstance, the bad state of the nation, our ill health, our family hurts and dysfunctions.

• We can wait for God, though this might not be as easy as it sounds.

[Wait - yachal means to wait, tarry, hope, trust, expect, be patient, remain in anticipation. Yachal is often translated 'hope' - (Psalm 31:24; 33:18; 130:5,7; 147:11). The correct way to hope and wait for the Lord is to steadfastly expect His mercy, His salvation, and His rescue and while waiting not take matters into one's own hands (cf. Genesis 15:1-17:22 - the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar & Ishmael) - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Bible, p.  1211- ] Emphasis added.

Isn't that the rub—resisting the temptation to take matters into one's own hands? But the very near Christmas celebration reminds us that God does come through when the time is right.

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" Galatians 4:4-5.

Hallelujah!

PRAYER: Dear God, waiting is one of the hardest things for me to do. Help me to wait for You in matters where I'd like to see action, movement, and results, knowing Your timing is always the best. Amen.

MORE: Fourth Sunday of Advent
Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. The liturgy for the day begins with this prayer:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.