Matthew 1:18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
During this Christmas time I thought about Joseph and in the role, he played in Jesus life. The thoughts that must have went through his mind when he learned the young lady he was engaged to marry was with child. We can read about how loving he must have been to protect her even when he must have felt he had been betrayed. This is against human nature; however, we see in Joseph (before the dream) a man who does not want to cause harm to Mary but quietly wants to get out of a bad situation. After the dream Joseph had the peace to take Mary as his wife. Oh, the faith that Joseph must have had to trust in a dream, but it was more than a dream because he acted upon it and made it happen.
God had a purpose for Joseph and that was to be the man who would raise Jesus. We are not told much about Joseph, but God chose him. So, at this Christmas time look to Joseph as an example to serve the Lord, quietly and behind the scene. Be the one who provides daily support to those around us. As in Joseph’s example, we need not find a purpose for our life, but just be prepare for when God choses that purpose for us we are ready. For it was God guiding Joseph in dreams in the early part of Jesus’s childhood. God spoke to them or to Joseph through dreams on when and where to move to escape Herod (Matthew 2:12,19,22). Be faithful in the small purpose that God has given you in this life.

Promises

Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son on David, the son of Abraham.
Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
We are given the genealogy of Christ in Matthew chapter one and Luke chapter three. Matthew chapter one probably is the genealogy of Joseph and Luke chapter three that of Christ through Mary’s line. The difference is that Joseph lines is traced from Abraham to David and through David’s son Solomon, and Mary’s line is trace from Adam to David and then from David’s son Nathan. God kept his promise to Adam, Abraham, and to David. He also kept his promise that Jeremiah made to Jehoiakim and Jechoniah that their descendants would not sit on the throne of David.
Promise:
Genesis 3:14, 15
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 12 1-3
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curse thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
II Samuel 7:14-17
He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

Jeremiah 22:24-30
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fears, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus, saith the LORD, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
God kept His promises to these four men through the birth of Christ. However, as we enter this Christmas season, we must look at one more promise found in John 3:10-21. This promise was given to everyone who believes in Christ to receive the gift of God (eternal life). This is one promise that no one should turn down, but many do. This is the Christmas message.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Philippians 3:7

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ”

In Philippians chapter three Paul describes his heritage, training, and the great achievement he had as a Pharisee. They were remarkable, and yet he counts them loss for the knowledge of Christ. Paul had to unlearn the former way of life which is not an easy task. One of the reasons I believe that Paul spend three years of his early ministry in Arabia was to take all his early training and apply the new understanding of Christ to his training. It was probably in these three years that God through his spirit opened the old testament scriptures to Paul to an understanding that changed his walk forever.

It is amazing once we truly seek God and began our journey with Christ as our Lord and Savior how many of our past beliefs just fade away. As we grow in Christ the things of this world are not as important as they once were. Our focus becomes on the things of heaven and presenting the gospel to these of a lost world that does not know Christ. To Paul his past was counted as lost because he found the gift of eternal life. Sometimes we like Paul must get away and let the Holy Spirit works through the scriptures to get us to go in a new direction.

So that Men are without Excuse

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what is made, so that men are without excuse.

A story was told of a man who life’s purpose was to seek after truth but after he found it, he turned away and followed his our heart. This is the story of the men that Paul describes in Romans chapter one.  Paul’s purpose was to present the gospel of God to all, but not all believe.  As we go forth on our journey in this life, we must realize that all men and women will be without excuse on the day of judgment.  We must present the simple truth of the gospel as Paul writes in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

What happens to those that reject the gospel? Their life becomes their own, they become the one who controls every aspect of their life. They become wise in their own eyes, but their hearts become darken and they become fools before God.  God then gives them over to the sinful desires of their hearts.  To me this means God steps out of their life.

Another story was told of a man who life’s purpose was to seek after truth, and when he found it, he realized his sinful nature. But he also found the way of salvation from God.  He could now be made righteous by placing his faith in Jesus Christ.  This was why we live a daily lifestyle that reflects Christ in us as our hope in glory.

There is only two ways. As in Psalm chapter one there is the way of the Righteous or the way of the wicked.  Which story will reflect your life?  The choose is yours.