December 11, 2009

The Step-Father
Scripture Reading
Matthew 1:18-25 (HCSB) 18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.

Devotion
We don’t know a lot about Joseph, however, if we look close, we will discover some great nuggets of gold about this unsung hero of the Christmas story.
· Joseph was a righteous man.
· He was sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
· He was obedient to God.
· He was faithful.
Joseph was a protector. Joseph was the protector of Mary, and also Jesus. Later he protected Jesus by fleeing to Egypt. I think there is some sort of innate desire of every man to protect his family. Whether that is the case or not, Joseph certainly chose to be the protector. God used Joseph to protect Mary and Jesus from harm and to prepare the way for Jesus to grow up “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people. (Luke 2:52)

Questions
How can you be obedient to God in order to pave the way for someone to know Jesus?

Can you be the protector of someone by showing them the way to Jesus?

Prayer
Dear God, Thank you for Joseph and his willingness to follow your plan and protect Jesus. Help me be a protector as well! Amen.

Carol
“Good Christian Men, Rejoice!”