Sometimes we become addicted to our own stories and we forget to be still and quiet and listen.

Jesus was born into the earth, fully human and fully God, sinless and without blemish. His story should overshadow all the things we “think” should hold center stage in our worlds. His story should come into ours and the Light of Truth and Love will be revealed for the whole world as we shine that light into our own situations and testimonies are born! The strength of what I believe is measured by how much I am willing to suffer for those beliefs.

This story is about Joseph, a quiet and humble man, who had been pledged to the love of his life. I can’t imagine the pain he must have felt, the immediate thought of betrayal, when he went to pull Mary close and felt a hard mass underneath her clothing , when he saw the roundness of her face or the glow about her that wasn’t there before, when recognition of reality came into view. I can’t imagine the confusion he felt as she tried desperately to explain how a virgin like herself could be with child. It’s almost too much to even comprehend, the the child his fiance was carrying was the child of God. WOW!

Joseph was left with two choices….divorce her…or have her stoned to death.

Matthew 1:18-19 – 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.19 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.

His decision would affect the lives of the rest of the world for the rest of eternity, so God made the decision for him and the Savior of the World took on human form and came through the firmament above us and into uncomfortable settings. I wonder what it must have felt like for this perfect being, God Himself, to take on our human characteristics yet still be fully God. I can imagine as His Spirit descended from heaven while the angelic host and army formed a tunnel of praise and prayer for their Creator as He made the ultimate sacrifice so we would no longer be alone. I try to imagine the very young Mary as she knelt alongside farm animals and dung in a dirty cave not meant for the unveiling of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. I can imagine what the angels sounded like above the earth as they announced His birth to the multitudes listening and the heartbeat of God began to rhythmically pump through the world. As Mary hummed her newly born son a song, could she hear the symphony of angelic voices singing with her above her head? Our Creator, God Himself, came to our wounded earth for ME. For YOU!! For everyone willing to LOVE like He loves.

Joseph chose to obey God rather than to seek the approval of others. That is a hard pill to swallow for someone like myself who has an incessant need to please everyone around me. Would I have done the same? Would you?

After the celestial miracle announced the birth of a heavenly King, another angel appeared…

Matthew 2:13-23 – When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

How easy life would be if angels stepped in from time to time to tell us what to do and where to go and how long to stay. Joseph was meek. He did as he was told to save a child that wasn’t his born to a wife that was still a child herself. Someone had to tell him what to do. The good news is that the Holy Spirit is available to us all, since the death of that child ushered in the new covenant. All we have to do is open our eyes, ears, and hearts to receive guidance and encouragement from the Light of all Truth and Love!

You can read Matthew 1-4 about the birth of our Savior as well as John the Baptist and the great temptation in the wilderness at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Matthew

To further your reading, consider this from:

John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus brought God’s presence into the world along with protection and guidance. It’s our choice whether or not to walk in this truth and light. Is Jesus the light of YOUR world? Have you allowed Him into your heart? For so long I went to church hearing all about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and I never quite understood the Trinity.  It’s because I wasn’t open to understand…and I wasn’t walking in Light.  Revelation comes with knowledge and prayer.  We can’t understand what we don’t seek to understand.  

Related Scriptures: Proverbs 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 John 1:7