Ramesh C. Reddy
Editor in Chief
Hi everyone :)
May you know Jesus, who wants to be your Lord and Savior this Christmas season and forever!! Amen!
Quiet Times (Psalm 23 & Matthew 1:20-23)
“He gives me strength and helps me do what honors him the most.” (Psalm 23:3)
“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.
What stuck out in my mind is the dream Joseph had when the angel appeared to him to clear some things for him. For Joseph to have had the dream, he had to go to sleep. This meant to me that he did not act right away in haste when he found out about Mary’s situation. Rather, he pondered on what he was going to do but did not rush into judgment. He just had in mind what he was going to do. Since he did not rush into judgment, he now received a new perspective because he waited.
Will Joseph allow the new perspective to influence his decision?
I decided to look at that later!
I saw important implications for my own life.
When things go wrong in my life, I have had the tendency to rush to judgment against other people. Not only that I like to hastily make decisions to rectify the situation especially if I feel I was wronged. I found out that is not the best way to go. Instead, whatever decisions I need to make I should sleep on it rather than rushing into judgment.
This is what Joseph did and got a new perspective. I believe when I don’t rush into judgment the Lord will show me a new perspective on how to approach things. It can then be done in wisdom from the Lord rather than taking unwise advice from the devil. When we do rush into things we do give the devil an upper hand.
I ask you now dear friends, do you sleep on things?
Dear friend, when things don’t go our way it can be tempting to rush into judgment and make something happen especially when we feel we have been wronged. Yet, I learned that could be the worst mistake we make. Rather, we should sleep on things and wait on the Lord. It is possible that the Lord could speak to us through a dream or through other means. When we wait, we tell the Lord that we are trusting in Him and put our complete trust in Him even through the pain. Then, the Lord will work in us and through us and help us make the right decision. Then it will be up to us to act upon that decision rather than giving into the enemy.
Friend, may you depend on the Lord even through pain and allow Him to influence you as you seek Lord's enlightenment everyday peacefully! For the Lord could give you enlightenment even in your sleep! Amen!
Seek Lord’s Enlightenment Everyday Peacefully! (S.L.E.E.P)
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you I learned that I should not rush into judgment but it can help to sleep on things. Oh Lord, thank you that you can speak to us through dreams too to help us make decisions we are pondering on. Give us strength and the ability not to rush into judgment when we have been tempted to go our way. Help us to discern the dreams you give us and seek wise counsel. I thank you so much Jesus for your help. Thank you for being there for us. Help us to wait on you always. Thank you Jesus you have heard us and answer us. I give myself to you and ask you to be in control of my life to guide me and lead me. Thank you Lord you will do that. In Your Precious Name I Pray Jesus! Thank you for dying for our sins and coming back to life to save us. Thank you we belong to you as we confess our sins, repent of our wrongdoing and turn to thee. Thank you when we mess up and turn to you, you are always ready to pick us up and help us! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Ramesh