Joseph, a Righteous Man - December 17

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB)

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Jesus was not conceived by an earthly father but through the power of the Holy Spirit so that he was both fully God and fully man. But as with any child, Jesus needed an earthly father to help his mother raise him. God found that father in the righteous, obedient Joseph. Joseph sought to do what is most godly in this situation and at first decided to divorce Mary quietly until an angel, appearing in a dream, interceded to explain the truth. Just as Mary did, Joseph chose to be obedient to God regardless of the shame and pain it would bring.

Jesus is Immanuel or “God with us.” God was with us in the flesh in first century Judah. Jesus also tells us “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NASB) He lives in believers through the Holy Spirit. God is with us and in us. He works in us for our spiritual growth and through us to bless the world.

The presence of God in our lives, as displayed through the incarnation, is the best Christmas gift we could receive. Are we grateful for this gift? Do we make use of this gift? To leave it lying ignored under the Christmas tree is the worst thing we could do! Relish the presence of God in your life this Christmas, blessing others as God works through you.

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Holy God, I praise you for your immanence; I praise you for your omnipresence.

I thank you for loving me so much that you chose to live among us, both in the flesh and in the Spirit. Please help me to delight in your presence every moment of my day for you are the source of true joy. Great is your glory! Amen.

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org”