“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 spoken through the prophet: “The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel”---which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:20-23)
Joseph had in mind to divorce Mary quietly after he
found out she was pregnant with someone’s child but not his. Yet, he did not
want to publicly disgrace her for what he believed to have happened.
It is into this situation, the angel appears to Joseph
in a dream. In this dream, Joseph is told multiple things by the angel which I
decided to list.
-
Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife.
-
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.
-
Jesus will save his people from their sins.
-
All this has taken place to fulfill prophesy.
-
The virgin will be with child and give birth to a
son.
-
They will call him Immanuel—which means “God with
us.”
Today, I decided to focus on the
angel's actions and what it means for our lives.
Point 1:
Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife.
The angel of the Lord knows what
Joseph is going through and his thought processes regarding Mary’s
pregnancy. To eliminate those thought processes and assumptions that
Joseph is having, the angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary home
as his wife. If the angel stopped just there, it may not have been
reassuring to Joseph but the angel goes a step further! This is evident
by point 2.
Point 2:
What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
The angel of the Lord lets
Joseph know that Mary has not be unfaithful to Joseph but has received
the blessing from the Holy Spirit, the blessing of conception without
any human intervention. Now Joseph knows that Mary’s conception is
divine intervention but the angel does not stop there! This is evident
by point 3.
Point 3:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus.
The angel of the Lord lets
Joseph know that Mary will be giving birth to a son and that it will be
his responsibility to name the child for the angel specifically states,
“you are to give him the name Jesus.” This
is so significant because even though Joseph is not the real father of
the baby but our Heavenly Father is, the angel wants Joseph to raise the
child as his own by adopting him. This however does not mean the baby’s
name would be anything but the name given by the Heavenly Father which
is the name Jesus. The angel does not stop there but gives Joseph the
reason why the baby should be called Jesus. This is evident by point 4.
Point 4:
Jesus will save his people from their sins.
The angel of the Lord lets
Joseph know the role Jesus would play when He grows up, the role of
saving his people from their sins. It is significant to mention that to
Joseph because Joseph was thinking that Mary had sinned against him when
she became pregnant even though she did not. Now, the angel tells Joseph
that Jesus was going to be born to take away the sin of the world. The
angel does not stop there but gives Joseph more assurance by mentioning
prophecy. This is evident by point 5.
Point 5:
All this has taken place to fulfill prophesy.
The angel of the Lord lets
Joseph know that whatever Mary has gone through is in line with God’s
will and whatever he is going through is too because he is in the plan
of the Lord and does not have to worry about how things are looking on
the outside, for his doubts can be answered when he looks carefully into
prophesy regarding the virgin birth which will be fulfilled. This is
also evident by point 6.
Point 6:
The virgin will be with child and give birth to a
son.
The angel of the Lord now
summarizes the meeting He has with Joseph by letting him know that Mary
is still a virgin but will conceive by the Holy Spirit giving birth to a
son which fulfills prophecy. The angel does not stop there but ends the
meeting with what the child will do. This is evident by point 7.
Point 7:
They will call him Immanuel—which means “God with us.”
The angel of the Lord lets Joseph know that when
the child grows up, people will call him
Immanuel---which means “God with us” because they will know God
is with them in the flesh for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The angel of the Lord had a very interesting
meeting with Joseph. Yesterday, I learned that Joseph did sleep on
things which gave the angel of the Lord the opportunity to intervene.
Joseph did not rush to judgment and condemnation but was filled with
true love for Mary. The angel of the Lord saw that and gave Joseph the
awesome responsibility of raising baby Jesus. Wow, that is amazing to
raise the Son of God as his own child!
I saw important implications for my own life. When
we come to know Jesus, He will be with us for He is Immanuel-God with
us. That is so awesome! We can live our lives with Jesus who will take
care of us because He is God. Oh yes, He will! He is the fulfillment of
prophecy and the Savior & Lord of humanity. Now, that is thrilling!
He became a child born into humanity with the
conception by divinity so we could forever live with Him in infinity.
I ask you now dear friend,
how do you feel about adoption?
Dear friend, I do not know whether you have been
adopted by your parents or not but this I know, the Lord Jesus loves you
so much and wants to adopt you as His son or daughter. He wants to raise
you as His own and be your Heavenly Father to take care of you. It is
for you that He was born into humanity. It is for you that He was
conceived by divinity! It is for you so that you could forever live with
Him in infinity. This means whatever belongs to the Lord, He will give
it to you as His inheritance. Yes, He will! He wants to adopt you my
friend this season. Now is the time of Salvation. If you do not know
Him, you can come to know Him this Christmas season! Yes, you can
friend! He is there for you and wants to adopt you. He will not force
himself to adopt you but gives you the free will to decide whether you
want to give your life to Him. When Jesus died on the cross to save
humanity by shedding His precious blood and came back to life, it is to
give you access to His House. Jesus did His part so you can come to Him.
Jesus prepared the way for your entrance into His adopted family.
The Bible says, “To all
who received Him, He gave them right to become children of God, all they
needed to do was to trust in Him to save them.” (John 1:12)
When that happens, friend you are born-again into
the family of God. That is so exciting friend. I know it is for me! You
have to receive Him. If you have come to know Him but have gone your own
way, you can come back to Him for He waits with open arms. Yes, He does
friend! He loves you so much and being adopted into the family of God
can be so awesome! It does not mean we won’t face any trials or
tribulations while we are here on earth, for they will come, for Jesus
never promised a peachy life but He did promise to be with us always and
never leave us nor forsake us.
You maybe scared to come into a new family
especially the family of God because you have lived your life apart from
the one who made you! You do not have to be afraid! As the angel told
Joseph not to be afraid but to take Mary home as his wife, Jesus does
not want your heart to be troubled.
Jesus goes on to say, “I
am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except
through me.” (John 14:6)
If you already are adopted into the family of Jesus, that is great and
awesome! If not, Jesus wants to accept you friend so won’t you accept
Him into your heart and be adopted into the family of God. You do not
have to wait for a special time or day. You can do it right now! Yes,
friend if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior, let
this be the moment you change your life. You will never be the same
again, never ever for you will have a new life in Christ! May you
receive this life this Christmas season filled with His love no matter
what you have done or where you have been for you are never out of His
love, never out of His reach! For Immanuel has come to ransom you, yes
He has for all days our Prince of Peace totally intervenes offering
nurture!
“All Days Our ‘Prince of
Peace’ Totally Intervenes Offering Nurture!” (A.D.O.P.T.I.O.N)/
”How do you feel about your adoption?”
Pray this prayer and mean it in your heart as you
give yourself to Jesus.
Prayer:
Jesus, I heard that you want to be part of my life. I want you in my
life. I do have a lot of baggage with me. Most of the baggage is damaged
goods and only you can set me free. I want to have your presence in my
life, for you say when you come in, you will never leave us nor forsake
us. I am so sorry for my sins Jesus. You know all my sins what I have
done, you know where I have been in my life! You alone can give me new
life. I don’t expect everything to be peachy when I come to you but I do
know you will be with me and help me through whatever I have to face in
life. Thank you Jesus! Please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with
your cleansing blood. I believe you died on the cross to save me from my
sins and came back to life to give me new life. I accept all that you
have done for me through your grace! Thank you for your grace, you want
to impart in my life. Please come into my heart now this Christmas
season and make my heart
your home forever! Adopt me into your family Jesus! Please live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve
you the rest of the days of my life as you help me through the power of
the Holy
Spirit. Fill me Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus for coming
into my heart and making my heart your home! Thank you for being part of
my life as I acknowledge you as my Lord and personal Savior! I am not
alone but you are with me guiding my path! Thank you Jesus I am
born-again into your family and when I have backslid you have brought this
prodigal son or daughter back to you. Thank you Jesus for being my Lord
and Personal Savior! Thank you, you have heard my
prayer and answered me! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
No matter what you feel in your
heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not
alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer
talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to
talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them
into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the
Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark! It is also important to be part of a body of believers
to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that
preaches Christ crucified and risen to bring us hope, healing, and help!
As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too this
coming new year!
Feel free to email me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible,
pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My
number is 412-720-4579
"This is
my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
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