The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for He shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

What an assignment God was bringing to Mary and Joseph! Through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived her Son. Joseph would have the incredible task of raising the only perfect Child. God even gave Joseph the name of the baby. He would be called Jesus. That precious name means, “Jehovah is Salvation.” How important it will be in all of the busyness of the season that you and I do not lose track of the central message and the greatest blessing of Christmas. The cards are nice. The services are wonderful. The gifts are very special. But they all pale in comparison to the wonderful person of Jesus. He came to save us from our sins. I am going to be asking the Lord to help me to really focus on this awesome truth. How about you?

For today: Dear Lord, please help me to keep focused on You. You are the reason for the season.

“But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20).

What an incredible time of the year! We have the opportunity of celebrating our Lord’s incarnation. As a husband, I have often thought of Joseph in the Christmas story. I respect Joseph. He was a man of compassion. After believing the worst, he was still moved with compassion and was going to put Mary away quietly and privately rather than make her a public example. Then when the angel of the Lord assured him that he should go ahead and take Mary to be his wife, Joseph obeyed! Who would believe such a story? Many would be the accusations. More than just a few folks would whisper behind Joseph and Mary’s back. Yet Joseph quickly obeyed. What a great lesson for us! To obey the Lord and to follow His instructions are the greatest blessings and the greatest opportunities we will ever experience.

For today: I want to obey the Lord. How about you?

“She was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately” (Matthew 1:18-19).

It must have been the worst day of his life! Joseph loved his Mary. She had been promised to him and no doubt he looked forward with great anticipation to their marriage and life together as husband and wife. Perhaps many times Joseph dreamed of that wonderful day when he would hold Mary in his arms and they would become husband-and-wife. Now it was the worst day of his life. Mary was found with child. Joseph thought the worst! What would any fiancé think? There is a great lesson in this for us today. Sometimes we need to slow down and give God the opportunity and time to work in our situation and show us His plan. What can appear to be the very worst thing in the entire world sometimes is God’s appointment for His good and our blessing. It is very true that at times our greatest disappointment is actually God’s greatest appointment, if we give Him time to work it out.

For today: God has a plan. Don’t run ahead of Him. Don’t lag behind Him. Watch what God is going to do.

“The Lord reigneth, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith He hath girded Himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved” (Psalm 93:1).

Three college students were walking to the cafeteria for lunch. Two of the students were absolutely convinced of global warming and were nearly radical in their views. “Mankind is ruining this planet,” said Mary Anna. She was totally convinced that the world would soon be destroyed because of mankind. The other student was not nearly so radical but was still formulating his opinion. What a great opportunity Susan had to lovingly say, “This world belongs to the Lord. I really believe God’s Word the Bible. It says that the world is established that it cannot be moved until God is ready to change it.” It was a lively discussion over sandwiches and chips that day. Susan did not convince either of the students of her theological position. However, it gave her a great opportunity to talk about the Lord and how wonderfully clothed with majesty and strength our God is.

For today: Thank the Lord with me as we remember He’s got the whole world in His hands!

“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16).

No matter what he did, Tom could not please his ungodly employer. The work environment was so stressful. While Tom did appreciate the fact that he was still employed while others were let go, he came to the point where he dreaded having to go to work. Tom’s boss was rude, never appreciated him, belittled his faith, and made life generally miserable. One Sunday morning after church service, Tom spoke with his pastor and said, “I just don’t think I can take it anymore, Pastor.” With that the pastor stopped and put his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Tom, I promise I will be praying for you. But you need to remember that believers have always suffered at the hands of those who hate our Savior. I suspect it’s not so much that he dislikes you, Tom, as it is that he really dislikes our Lord. As a believer, you do not have to be ashamed; you can actually glorify God in this hard time.” With that the two men walked to their cars. The next day Tom’s boss was still as unpleasant, but Tom had a whole new outlook. He had an attitude of gratitude toward the Lord and a special grace that came from the Lord Jesus. How about you? Is there an unbeliever who is making life miserable for you? Oh how that person needs the Lord!

For today: Let’s resolve to glorify God even in the hard times.