Author: admin

One of the greatest challenges of our life stems from our unwillingness to trust God and his timing. When we sense something should be done, we want it to happen now! We can grow frustrated, even angry, when things do not go the way we think they should.

If someone offends us, we want to see them experience just retribution immediately. If someone proposes a plan contrary to our own, we want to ensure that people soon recognize the brilliance of our plan and the foolishness of theirs. If we feel that we should undertake a certain task, we become agitated when people or circumstances delay our progress.

But becoming angry at others reflects our lack of belief in God. For if we truly believed God was sovereign over the affairs of people, then we would trust completely in His timing. God in His grace, often is not in a hurry to mete out judgment as we would like Him to be! (at least with others). When we sense what God’s will is for our life, we can often be impatient for Him to accomplish it. But our impatience is a sign of a lack of faith. If we truly believed God loved us, we would trust that His timing is an expression of His love also.

How does your patience, as well as your anger, reflect on your faith in God?

Make no mistake; how we begin something has enormous ramifications on how we conclude. However, how we begin something matters not if we do not end well.

It is much easier to begin something than it is to bring that project to a proper conclusion. Beginnings don’t always require great effort or cost. Perseverance and determination are not prerequisite to commencements. They are, however,crucial for completions. While the launching of something new is often met with fanfare and enthusiasm, the often, laborious effort to bring it to completion attracts far less attention from others.

Yet the measure of someone’s life is not so much in how many things you began, but how many things you completed. True satisfaction is coming to the end of a project and seeing your dream become a reality! At times we celebrate prematurely. Genuine celebration is not at the launching, but at the completion of a major effort. Do you have as many successful endings as you have exuberant beginnings?

The scriptures alert us that Joseph was a righteous man, but we see evidence of it here. An angel had just told Joseph the most amazing, unbelievable, frightening news he would ever hear. Yet there was no argument. There was no prolonged discourse on his inadequacies. There was not even a question for clarification. Joseph simply arose and obeyed.

One could not blame Joseph if he had been hesitant or even reluctant. But he was neither. In fact, despite numerous trials and dangers, we never hear of Joseph complaining. He simply does what needs to be done. Such simple, practical faith has a charming quality to it. It does not strike us as complex or brilliant or insightful. Joseph models something even more pleasing in God’s eyes. He demonstrated obedience. In heaven’s eyes there is no substitute for it. No speech can take its place. No future promise or good intention can replicate it.

While Joseph may not have been perfect, he did have that one quality that must be found in God’s servants: obedience. He could be trusted to do what God told him. As a result, Joseph was entrusted with the greatest assignment a father has ever been given.

What does the quality of your obedience to God qualify you to do?

The events that swirled around Joseph during that first Christmas season may have seemed unexpected and bewildering, but they should not have been a complete surprise. They had been predicted hundreds of years earlier. Numerous prophecies had been made, foretelling numerous details of the Messiah’s life. What was surprising to Joseph was not that it happened, but that it had happened to him.

When we read the Bible, it is easy to believe the events could happen to someone else. After all, throughout history there have been spiritual giants walking about. But to see everything the Bible says about living victoriously, and then to have God express those truths through our life is an entirely different matter!

The truth is that God has been relentlessly working out His purposes on earth since the first man and woman walked in the Garden. He has given ample notice of His intentions. He has made abundant promises. He has sent many prophets. But ultimately we must adjust our lives to what God is doing in our generation. We cannot be disoriented to the Bible, for in it is everything we need so we can know what to expect. God has said what is coming. Are you prepared?

Joseph had the most daunting fatherhood task ever given: raising God’s only Son! But he did not have to do it alone. God guided Joseph, going so far as to tell him what to name the child. The name “Jesus” was significant. It meant, “salvation.” Jesus would fulfill the meaning of His name like no one had before! His name in Hebrew was “Joshua.” The famous Joshua of the Old Testament had delivered his people too, but only for a time. Jesus’ salvation would be far more thorough.

But, like Joshua, Jesus’ salvation was for His people. That is, those people who placed their faith in Him and became His follower. If you had been an enemy of Joshua, there was a good chance you would end up dead! Those who were on Joshua’s side could expect victory, and booty. But again, with Jesus, there was so much more.

Those who belong to Jesus can expect salvation from their sins, as well as unimaginable rewards to be enjoyed throughout eternity. But for those who oppose and reject Christ, their punishment shall be far more severe than anything Joshua meted out.

Jesus came to save His people from their sin. There is no sin or bondage or addiction too severe for Jesus’ salvation. He can save us from them all. Has He?

Joseph faced the most perplexing dilemma of his life. The woman whose purity and chastity had appeared above reproach, was now pregnant. How could this be? Mary would have been the last woman on earth Joseph would have ever suspected of infidelity. But the evidence was irrefutable. There could be no other explanation. Yet Joseph did not act rashly. Could anyone have blamed him had he lashed out at his unfaithful wife and sought to retaliate against her? Could he be blamed for hurling painful barbs at his treacherous partner? But he didn’t.

Instead, Joseph thought about what to do. That is always a good approach when we face a difficult situation! As he pondered what he should do, God sent a message. An angel enlightened Joseph to the truth of his situation. The heavenly messenger also encouraged the humble carpenter to not be afraid to take Mary to be his wife. Why would Joseph have been fearful? It would have been because it would have been scandalous to keep a wife who was adulterous. Joseph would have been subjected to constant ridicule and second-guessing. It would have tormented his righteous soul. But as Joseph sought direction in that critical moment, God answered.

There are certain moments in every person’s life where what they do next is critical. If they are rash, or careless, or hurtful, they will miss the amazing work God is preparing to do through them. Take time to consider what it is your life is currently facing. And be sure to take time to hear what God has to say about it

Joseph clearly was a righteous man. God would certainly not have entrusted His holy Son into his care if he were not. But Joseph was also compassionate. He acted righteously, but also lovingly.

The Law stated that if a woman committed adultery, she should be publicly stoned in order to warn other woman of the dire consequences of such sin. The righteous indignation of a cheated husband might have clamored for such a course. But not Joseph. Instead, he commenced to put her away privately. Even while thinking she had cheated on him, Joseph was being thoughtful of her. He did not want to harm the woman who had seemingly committed the most hurtful crime imaginable against him.

Perhaps that is why God commissioned Joseph to raise His Son. Just as Jesus came to earth, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14), so Jesus’ father acted in the same manner. He sought to respond to the truth of the situation, but he also did so with grace. Such a balance of truth and grace in Joseph would characterize his most famous Son as well.

Do you respond to hurtful circumstances with equal measures of grace and truth?

God’s timing is always perfect. At the time, it can appear to us that He is late, or perhaps early, but in retrospect, we realize His timing was masterful.

Mary was found to be with child after she was betrothed to Joseph. If she had not yet been betrothed, Joseph might have immediately discarded her, feeling no binding obligation to her. But since she was betrothed to him, he felt a greater obligation to her, even if it first appeared she had betrayed him.

Yet Jesus was also born before Joseph and Mary had been intimate. The evidence would clearly exclude Joseph from being the father. God’s timing assured that.

The journey to Bethlehem by Joseph and the very pregnant Mary, once again was in God’s perfect schedule. If Mary had been less pregnant at the time, perhaps Joseph would have made the quick trip without her. But, with a baby coming soon, he wanted her near, so he could care for her. Joseph may not have intended to move to Bethlehem after he registered in the census. But after Jesus’ miraculous birth, the couple decided to remain. So many seemingly “coincidences” guided Joseph and his wife to be right where God wanted them to be, at just the right time.

Have you been trusting God’s perfect timing in your life?

It would appear as if only a masochist would seek a rebuke. Chastisement is never pleasant. It reveals where we have fallen short or done inferior work. We want to focus on the positive, not the negative. We covet peoples’ praise, not their critique. We are naturally drawn to peoples’ praise and affirmation of what we are doing and saying.

Yet the wise person knows that the praise of fools has no intrinsic worth. Their high estimation of us is worthless. Their opinion contributes nothing to us. It is like eating ice cream. It is momentarily pleasant but it adds nothing of value to us.

The rebuke of the wise, however, is a different story. It is like receiving an immunization. While it may sting at the moment, it can also protect us for many years to come from potential suffering. The wise understand what benefits them most and they embrace it.

Don’t be too quick to cherish the praise of fools or to avoid the rebuke of the wise. Crave personal growth more than meaningless affirmation. Listen to anyone who can help you to grow, even if what they are currently saying is painful to hear.

Our problem is often not a lack of possessions, but a lack of satisfaction. Without satisfaction, no amount of material wealth or comfort is adequate. Most people want something. Some want more money. Others desire a position in a company. Others crave a nicer house or an appliance, or recognition. If God were to peal back the layers of our heart, it would expose all manner of desires that have yet to be fulfilled.

The problem can be that our desires can drive our lives more than our satisfaction. We can spend more time wishing for more than we spend enjoying what we have. To the one who is never satisfied, no amount of possessions is adequate. Some of the most miserable people on earth are those who own the most!

Your desires reveal your heart. If you are constantly talking about all you still desire, it may indicate that you are dissatisfied with what you currently possess. Be careful! God has already blessed you. He has granted you much. Take time to fully enjoy what is already in your hand. You might even discover that, as you enjoy what God has already given you, that it is actually more than enough.