Guys, when everything hits the fan never forget God is greater than ANY circumstance. Trust his leadership, guidance, and sovereignty. This was my Devo tonight, just thought id share... While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”). Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25 MSG) Joseph is my hero. The Holy Spirit brought about a virgin pregnancy in his fiancée, but God allowed Joseph a miserable stretch of time in ignorance during which he must have assumed that his dear Mary had been unfaithful to him. How bitter it is for a man to think that another mans baby is growing within the woman he loves. At just the right time, God sent an angel messenger to bring Joseph into the plan. Even though the details were unbelievable, Joseph believed. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife (Matthew 1:24). I love this man. He stuck with Mary and endured the looks and comments of the Nazareth peanut gallery. He put his career on hold to take the family to Bethlehem for the Roman tax registration. When Herods death threats made Bethlehem unsafe, he took the little family to Egypt to lie low until Herods death. He cheerfully accepted his role as stepfather. He himself, not Mary, was of the royal bloodline of the kings of Judah, and he gave to his stepson the right to be called the Son of David, the last and greatest King of the house of Judah.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 02:55:24 +0000