Advent Day 20 –  Joseph
If using and Advent log, light days 1-20.

Joseph

Holy Family wood

Joseph.
We know very little about him, and yet, enough.
A Carpenter.
Asked for Mary’s hand in marriage.
We know he is a Godly, compassionate man, for when his bride to be is found with child(and has some cockamammy story about being impregnated by God),
he decided to divorce her quietly – so she won’t be stoned. Or would she? Anyway – he’d made his decision, and he got visited by an angel!
Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about^[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ 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. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[d] (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph was told that he was the stepfather to the Son of God.
And he was to name him Jesus, God with us. or was it Immanuel?
The folks over at Christian Apologetics and Research have a great explanation of the two names of Jesus and why, therefore, I won’t go into it!

Joseph provides the flesh and blood father that protects Jesus when they have to flee to Egypt.
He provides training for Jesus and provides for the family as a carpenter.
Apparently, he, also, was chosen for his role in Christ’s life, and by taking Mary into his home as his wife, and not ‘knowing’ her as was his biblical right, Joseph said yes to God!

The angel thing again. But seriously, if I met an angel that told me that such and thus was going to happen, especially if I had been in bed, I would second guess myself. Of course, Mary was with child. Joseph could believe or not believe. He said yes.

I believe.

How did Joseph manage? He did just what he knew to do – believe.
Because he believed, he became the step-father of the Son of God.
Now THAT is an intense position!

Joseph’s Song by Michael Card – lyrics
More Advent Devotions
Advent Day 19 – Mary

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

• Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
• Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
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• Naomi’s Heart Ministries
• Obed’s House Ministries
• The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.