Tag Archives: Joseph

Pray for Our Leaders, December 30, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Well, 2020 is here. The lectionary reading in Matthew this week reminds me of just how politically selfish and self-centered most of our elected federal representation in Washington seems to be. Regardless of your views on the actions, investigations, character, or status of our president, all indications seem to point to the fact that the Senate will soon start a trial that will end along party lines as did the impeachment proceedings in the House. One side will proclaim guilty, the other not guilty and the not guilty side is currently in the majority. Again, whatever your views, it means we will have wasted millions of dollars and thousands of manhours that could have been spent on something much more worthwhile. Both parties knew the outcome before the circus started, and here we are grandstanding before another election, spending millions more and thousands more manhours with known results.

So, what in the lectionary makes today’s news headlines so familiar? The passage comes from Matthew, chapter 2.

After they [visitors from the East] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:

“A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

she refuses to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel.

But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:13-23 GNT)

Herod wanted no competition. He was one of those political animals who wanted his way no matter what. He would do anything to stay in power, even kill his wives and sons. Talk about ruthless.

The wise men, magi, visitors from the East, whatever title you might give them, heard from God after visiting the king, little “k.” They knew the subterfuge Herod played when he wanted the location of the newborn King, capital “K,” and went home another way.

What Herod did cannot be excused. We sometimes believe the slaughter numbered in the hundreds and thousands of toddlers in our mind’s eye. In reality, the small villages in and around the region probably held few toddlers, and most scholars estimate the number killed at around 20. But imagine soldiers bursting into your home, grabbing your young son, dragging him into the street, and killing him in front of your eyes. This happened in all the villages in and around Bethlehem. The census had passed. Most who came for Caesar’s counting left months ago. Mary and Joseph only stayed because Jesus was still too young to travel. That is until the angel told Joseph to go anyway to Egypt.

Herod’s action only added fuel to the fire of hatred the Jews had for this tyrannical King. They were only too happy for his reign to end. So was Rome, apparently, since the empire divided Herod’s territory into four sections ruled by his four sons instead of remaining under one ruler. The kinds of things Herod did to please himself to hold his seat of power doesn’t seem much more self-centered than much of the drama and power struggle we see all around us today.

I’m glad God doesn’t take political sides. He didn’t take the side of Pharisees or the Sadducees. Nor did Jesus say either was wrong because of their belief, only because they didn’t live what they believed and wouldn’t believe what they saw right in front of them. He befriended “sinners,” Gentiles, and outcasts. But he also befriended some in the temple and synagogues. Jesus just lived the two commands he gave us: love God and love others.

In fact, if the Bethlehem story were replayed today, with our country as its background, he would be born in a broken-down shack in Iowa or more likely in Mississippi, in some backwater town no one could find on a map. The politics in Washington would be of no concern to him. However, everyone would ask him which side he preferred, he would never give an answer to such a stupid question. Particularly since all parties have become so corrupt in recent years, no exception.

Every religion would tell us how corrupt he is because he refuses to play by the rules. He wouldn’t raise money for their cause. He wouldn’t join the bandwagon of most of the charities across the country because they put more in the administrations’ pockets than they do their client benefits.

Jesus would be unimpressed by our wealth, our things, our burgeoning economy, our technology, our entertainment, our leisure, most everything we think is great. I think he would look at it and tell us, like the rich young ruler, to get rid of the surplus and give to the poor to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Things aren’t bad. Wealth isn’t bad. Money isn’t bad. Jesus never said any of those things are bad. It’s the priority we put on them. Unless he is above all else, he takes no place in our life. Jesus refuses second place.

Over the next several weeks and months across the country, a lot of people will try to get you stirred up about the circus happening in Congress. Frankly, whatever happens, doesn’t matter. God is still in charge. He doesn’t play politics. Never has. He allowed Donald Trump to be elected. Not the Russians, not the Democratic or Republican Parties, not some computer hacker somewhere. This is God’s world, and he allows people in power to govern.

We might not like it. The Israelites didn’t like it when the Babylonians took them into exile or when the Greeks and Romans ruled over them. But they also understood that God calls the shots, not them. If we understand God, we realize that he still cares for us, and the things of the world never shake him off his throne. We don’t need to get excited about what will happen, or not, throughout the Washington circus. We can be frustrated at the waste of our tax dollars. Still, if our Congressmen and women weren’t spending the millions on this fiasco, they’d probably be spending it on something just as ridiculous and wasteful. So enjoy the new year, trusting God to take care of you when you love him and others. Remember, too, we are directed to pray for our leaders – both parties. Their good means good for our nation. So pray for their good.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Keep Christ in Christmas, December 23, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Here we are at the last week of Advent. Children wait expectantly to open the packages under the tree. Moms and Dads scurry around for those last-minute gifts and the trimmings for the Christmas feast at the family table. Everyone vies for their favorite Christmas movies on one of the six-thousand cable channels. At least it seems there are that many sometimes. The countdown to Christmas has almost finished.

But what do we expect when the countdown reaches zero?

Too often, the climax we expect feels like a letdown. When the paper and empty boxes pile up in the corner, the plates find themselves in the sink, and the leftovers fill the refrigerator, we sigh and ask, “Is that it? All that work and fuss for this?”

In just a few short hours, it’s all a memory and usually a relatively short one at that. We build our hopes around what happens around a Christmas tree or a Christmas dinner and find that what happens there just doesn’t last. The ribbons and bows and shiny paper don’t bring the joy we thought it would in the end. The perfect present we spent days and weeks searching out doesn’t carry the reaction we thought it would. The feast doesn’t create the festival we expected.

There is a reason why, but most won’t agree. You see, we miss the point. We celebrate Christmas, but forget to invite the person we celebrate. We forget to leave a seat for the namesake of the holiday. We welcome all our friends but put an “X” in place of the most important guest of the season. Even those who call themselves Christian miss this essential ingredient in celebrating this holy day. We forget to leave a place for him as we prepare the schedule crammed with fun things to bring special memories for the future.

Matthew records his birth this way:

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.

Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: “The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife. He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 GW)

His short journey with us isn’t one most would want. He began his life marked as an illegitimate son of Mary, born in a cave with a stone bed filled with straw as the only place to lay his tiny head. He knew poverty. Most scholars think his earthly dad died shortly after his temple experience at the age of twelve. He became the breadwinner for his family in a village whose residents often operated on the wrong side of the law. And most of those villagers thought he was an illegitimate child, not the son of holy God they worshipped.

People expected the Messiah. The prayed for him to come to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome. They longed for relief from their long trial of oppression at the hand of godless nations after returning to Jerusalem from their defeat and exile.

But surely God would not send his Messiah through a poor peasant from Nazareth. Surely God would choose the wife of the chief priest or some other notable character in the temple to raise his Messiah. He wouldn’t possibly have some peasant girl from the lowest of towns on the dark side of the nation give birth to the savior of Israel.

For everyone who knew him growing up, Jesus didn’t seem to be anyone special. But he knew, Mary knew, Joseph knew that he would redeem Israel one day. He would bring freedom to the captives. They didn’t understand how. They didn’t realize it would mean his death on the cross, and he brought freedom from the penalty of sin, not freedom from political oppression.

But we know. We look back on two thousand years of history and see what God did through his Son, Jesus. We know the changes he made to the world. We recognize the incredible transformation his presence in one’s life brings. Still, we leave him out of our celebrations at this special time of year.

We stay absorbed in the world’s pleasures and what the world offers instead of the real treasure Jesus offers. We remove his name from Christmas, replace it with an X, or just call it the holiday season, so no one gets offended. Then wonder why there is no satisfaction when we get up from the feast or unwrap the last present.

I invite you in the last days before Christmas to stop and meditate on him. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, our Savior is the namesake of these holy days. He is the reason we celebrate. Be careful preparing the festivities for family and friends that you leave a place for him in your celebrations. Make him the centerpiece in all you do.

If you will, you will find this holiday most enjoyable. If Jesus is in the center of your celebration, this will be one of the best Christmases you’ve ever had regardless of your outward circumstances. Because he never fails, and he never leaves us alone.

Merry Christmas, and thanks for letting me share with you this past year.

The impossible story, March 26, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 27; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 183 through 189

This week we read about the unbelievable for too many people. It’s the thing that makes them pause and say, “It just can’t be true. It’s not possible. The story is just a story.”

What are we talking about? This week we read about the resurrection. We read the reaction of those closest to him who also recoiled at the thought that it was possible even after watching him do the impossible and them telling them it would happen. We watch Joseph and Nicodemus gently remove Jesus’ broken body from the cross and take it to Joseph’s newly finished tomb. We watch from afar as they race the clock before the sun sets to do some minimal burial preparation of Jesus’ body because nothing can be done on the Sabbath.

We hear of the disciples cowering in locked rooms discussing what they will do now that their king has died. The one they put their trust and hope in lies in a tomb. How could it happen? How could he be the One to rescue them if he is buried in a grave? What happened? Just a few days before, the crowds waved palm branches and cried out their Hosannas. Now he’s dead.

Then we see the Sanhedrin worry about these rebel disciples and the revolt that might arise if they steal Jesus’ body from the tomb and declare that he really did rise from the dead. We watch them plead with Caesar to put his seal and a guard on the tomb so no one would tamper with the body and continue the “farce” this teacher kept up.

We listen to the story of that first Easter morning when the angels meet the two Marys at the tomb and announce that their Messiah rose just as he said he would. We try to empathize with Mary Magdalene as she grieves and begs the “gardner” to tell her where he has taken her master’s body.

But the realization of what has happened begins to dawn on Jesus’ followers. Jesus calls Mary by name and she recognizes her risen Lord. She races back to tell the disciples the good news. Peter and John race to the empty tomb and find the linens collapsed on the bier. Those linens contain no body. The guards recovered from their faint race to tell the priests what happened. The Sanhedrin make up a story to protect the guard.

Two disciples walk toward Emmaus, puzzled by the events of the day, don’t recognized their master walking with them until they sit down to eat and he reveals himself to them. Have you ever wondered about that? I have. I think they were looking for a bloodied, crucified, disfigured man. The one they last saw hanging on the cross. Broken. Bruised. Bleeding. Flesh hanging in strips from the flogging he suffered. Instead they saw the risen Lord. Refreshed. Restored. Resurrected. Perfect. Except for the scars in his hands and side so he could later show Thomas.

Would I have reacted any different? Would I have thought Jesus anything other than a ghost when he suddenly appeared behind closed doors if I were one of the disciples that night? Would I have recognized a restored Jesus if he walked with me on the road to Emmaus? Would I have thought Jesus rose from the dead instead of being stolen by the gardner?

I sometimes we look at “doubting Thomas” and give him a hard time. I think I’d be a lot like him. It takes faith to believe in the impossible. Jesus told them some incredible things over the three years he was with them. He also told them some hard things. “You must eat my flesh and drink my blood to have any part in me.” How do you accept that in the culture you’ve lived in all your life?

If you live you lose your life, you must lose your life to gain it? How does that make sense when you hear it for the first time?

But there it is staring at you. The empty tomb. The reports of the disciples. The more than 500 people who saw him over the next 40 days. The fact that no matter how hard the religious leaders tried to squash the story, people kept it alive. Not just that, thousands upon thousands have been willing to die for this One person. No other figure in all history has changed the world the way this one man did.

All the things people through the centuries have tried to do to stop the message or discredit the story have only served to strengthen it. The risen Lord. The impossible story. It isn’t just a story. It truly is God’s story. His plan to bring us back into a face to face relationship with him. He is a holy God. So much higher in his thoughts and ways that the only way we could come near to him was for him to come to us and become the perfect sacrifice for us.

Hard to believe? So is the perfect balance of nature around us. So is the uniqueness of a snowflake. So is the diversity of humanity around our world. So is the warmth and light of the sun. So is the miracle of birth. All those things are impossible. So is it so impossible that God so loved us that he came to live among us in human flesh so that whoever believes in him will not perish but will live eternally with him?

Impossible? He tells us and shows us in his actions it is not. All things are possible with him. The empty tomb on the first Easter morning is just one more demonstration of the impossible to show us his love for us and his desperate desire to restore an intimate, personal, face to face relationship with each of us. All we have to do is believe.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

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Come on in, I’ve been expecting you, February 19, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 22; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 148 through 154

The story of Jesus’ birth. Everyone knows it. Even those who have never darkened the door of a church. Even those who try their best to get rid of the nativities in public places and change Merry Christmas to Happy Holidays. Mention “no room at the inn” and people’s first thought is that night in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

I think we often get the wrong picture of that night, though. I love the story Randy Frazee tells of an elementary school preparing a Christmas pageant for parents. It makes me think about how God would really like us to respond and how we too often respond instead. Here’s the story Randy tells in his book, “The Heart of the Story.”

“…All the important parts were given to the important parts were given to the brightest students. The smartest girl was chosen to be Mary; the smartest boy played Joseph. The next smartest group played the three kings, the angels, and the shepherds.

“There was only one part no one wanted: the innkeeper. Who wanted to be the bad guy who turned Mary and Joseph away? They gave the part to a boy who was a little slower than the others but had a big heart.

“As the day for the big pageant approached, the boy playing the innkeeper began to worry. He couldn’t imagine telling Mary and Joseph there was no room in the inn. What was he going to do?

“Finally, it was curtain time. Parents, relatives, and friends packed the auditorium. They proudly watched the story unfold as their children skillfully carried out their important roles. Meanwhile, the innkeeper grew more and more anxious. The pressure mounted as Mary and Joseph approached. He didn’t know what to do, but somehow he caught a brief glimpse of the Upper Story.

“When Mary and Joseph knocked, the scruffy little innkeeper threw open the door and shouted with a big smile, “Come on in. I’ve been expecting you.” With that the crowd cheered and clapped and the play came to an end.”

Don’t you think that’s really what God has in mind when He shows up? The wait is over. The prophecies are fulfilled. God bursts on the scene in a way no one expected. He used the lower story in some amazing ways to fulfill His upper story. Caesar demanding the census be conducted in each person’s town of their lineage. Bethlehem was just a little village. David left there to build Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom, remember? And born in poverty in what a family that would be shunned because of the circumstances of His birth. Who would believe Mary had been faithful to her husband Joseph when Jesus came early? She could have been stoned. All the bad things that a family could endure, that family endured. The fateful trip to Bethlehem. The escape to Egypt. Life in the gang filled town of Nazareth. The early death of Joseph, the family breadwinner.

God, by coming to earth in the form of a baby, experienced every single part of life we experience from birth to death. Most of His experiences came from the worst society had to offer. I think He did that on purpose. He didn’t want anyone to say He doesn’t know what we’re going through. He has experienced it all. But stayed true to His Father and His mission to redeem us.

The Jews were looking for a king, not a baby. God came to dwell with us. To live among us. To experience every part of life we experience. He felt all those joys and sorrows that come with living on the wrong side of the street. He knew the heartache that comes from the gossip and slander that launched toward Mary and her firstborn. He knew the grief that comes from the death of those closest to you. He knew the pain of misunderstanding from those around Him, even His own brothers and sisters.

Jesus lived among us, experiencing the life we live everyday. Until Jesus was thirty, he went to work in the carpenter shop every day. He paid excessive taxes to the Romans on the wages He earned. He probably carried some of the soldiers’ packs when He was pressed into service as He walked down the road.

His life was never an easy one. I expect the flowing white robes we see Him wearing in all those pictures and paintings on the walls were not part of His ensemble. I expect He really just had a couple of worn out rags from the local thrift store to wear. I expect the softest bed He ever slept in was that bed of straw in the manger in the cave where He was born. After that, maybe a blanket on the dirt floor or a straw mat on that dirt floor when he was older. Jesus’ life was a hard one that none of us would want to swap.

Yet, like the innkeeper in the elementary school pageant, God wants us to invite Him in when He knocks on the door. He has great things planned for us in His upper story if we will just trust Him and let Him lead the way. We don’t need to worry because He has already experienced this life from beginning to end and knows all about it. He can take us through it and give us peace and joy despite the circumstances we face each day.

How about changing your view of the innkeeper and emulate the new role model when God knocks. Swing the door wide, smile big, and answer, “Come on in. I’ve been expecting you.”

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Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh, September 18, 2017

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 3; You Version app, days 15 through 21

This week you’ll read the story of Joseph. You probably remember much of his story if you’ve been around the church. Even if you don’t know much about the Bible, you’ve probably heard something about Joseph. The story of Joseph and his multicolored coat even made Broadway.

But we need to look at Joseph’s story the way it fits into God’s story. Remember we’ve been talking about the difference between the lower story we live in and the upper story God plans. We can’t see farther than the moments we live in. We can’t see around the bend in the road to know how the events of today will really impact our lives tomorrow. But God sees the panorama of eternity. He knows how ever moment of our lives, every moment of suffering, can be turned into good for us.

Joseph could not understand how his brothers selling him into slavery could be good for him. But God knew how he would use it. Joseph didn’t understand how being accused of rape and thrown into prison could be a good thing. But God knew how he would use that horrible event that could mean Joseph’s execution to save the nation He promised to build through Abraham.

Joseph didn’t understand how the broken promise of the baker and his languishing in an Egyptian death row prison could be anything but bad, but God knew how that event would eventually put Joseph in front of Pharaoh at just the right moment to make Joseph second in command of the whole kingdom and become the salvation for not only Egypt, but many of the surrounding nations as well.

Joseph had dreams as a teenager that he would rule his brothers and parents. Those dreams seemed to be dashed when his brothers sold him into slavery. He couldn’t see the big picture of God’s upper story. All he could see at any given moment were the days of suffering in slavery or prison. But Joseph kept his eyes turned upward and trusted God.

That’s why when his brothers came to get food from Egypt during the famine that hit the region he could tell them, “It was not you that did this, but God did it to save all of us.” His brothers might have meant to do Him evil, but God had a bigger view and turned that evil into good and saved Israel through those actions. God’s plans cannot be thwarted.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened had Joseph’s brothers not thrown him into the pit and sold him into slavery. Would Joseph still become the leader of the nation? Probably. God set him apart as revealed in the dreams he had a young man. There was something special about Joseph that God saw that few others did. It caused a lot of friction in his family and as a teenager, he didn’t handle it very well. Neither did his father.

The obvious favoritism in Jacob’s family created horrible internal family dynamics. I can’t imagine the difficulties a family counselor would have trying to straighten that crowd out. The jealousy, infighting, favoritism…everything that all the books tell you creates a bad family happened in that one.

Maybe God let all that happen to get Joseph away from the continued influence of the family dynamic in Jacob’s family. Maybe God needed to teach Joseph some humility through suffering before he could become the great leader God knew he could be.

We don’t know how God works or why we go through the things we do because we can only see the lower story. We see linearly and have all those obstacles in the way. We have to pay our bills, eat, go to work, deal with all of our own family dynamics and our neighbors and our co-workers and church members and, well, …life. We are stuck in this two dimensional view of life and cannot see what is next.

God on the other hand sees all. He is not bound by time. He exists eternally. Past, present, and future. He can see around the bend and can intervene in our lives to make His dreams collide with our lives to make sure His plans are carried out.

Often we have dreams as kids or as teenages that God plants in our heads and we let life destroy them just as Joseph did. I doubt if he thought he would ever become a ruler after he was sold into slavery. I doubt if he thought his dreams would ever come true after he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. I imagine he set those dreams aside and just worked as hard as he could knowing that is would God would expect of him.

But those dreams did materialize for him as he followed God’s ways. Have you ever thought that God might use you the same way? That all things really do work for good for those that love Him and work according to His purpose? They do. There are many examples we will continue to see as we continue to read through God’s story. But remember the two conditions that go along with God’s promise.

First, we must love Him. And second, we must work according to His purpose. That means He must come first. Does your checkbook show that He comes first in your life or does God just get leftovers? Does your calendar reflect your love for God? Do your social activities show God is first in your life? Does your library and reading and listening habits show that you want to hear God’s voice more than anyone else in your daily communications?

God’s promises are almost always conditional. If you don’t really love God and don’t work according to His purposes (not your own), don’t expect this promise from Romans chapter 8 to apply to you. God might do some good things for you just because He is a gracious God, but the promise doesn’t apply. Don’t expect it.

But if you do love Him. If your life reflects you love for Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, you can be assured everything that happens in your life will work toward something good in your life. I can’t tell you when or how, but God’s promise applies to you and He never breaks His promises.

Just like with Joseph, all things work for good. He spent 22 pretty tough, rotten years suffering at the hands of his brothers and then at the hands of masters and prison guards. But he then spent 71 years as Pharaoh’s second in command. No one had more authority in the known world at the time except Pharaoh himself. He traded 22 rough years for 71 years of luxury in Pharaoh’s palace. God turned bad into good. Both for Joseph and for the nation God was building through the covenant He made those years earlier with Abraham.

Do you have some old dreams that don’t seem to be happening? Maybe you just can’t see around the bend. Look up. God works in the upper story. Follow His will. Work toward His purposes. Love Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. He works in ways we will never comprehend. Like with Joseph, God can turn our dreams into His dreams and His are so much beyond what we could ever imagine.

Just do your best (Matthew 1:18-25), November 19, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Matthew 1:18-25

Set – Matthew 1, 4

Go! – Matthew 1-4

Matthew 1:18-25
¹⁸ So here, finally, is the story of the birth of Jesus the Anointed (it is quite a remarkable story):
Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, son of David. They hadn’t married. And yet, some time well before their wedding date, Mary learned that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, because he was kind and upstanding and honorable, wanted to spare Mary shame. He did not wish to cause her more embarrassment than necessary.
²⁰ Now when Joseph had decided to act on his instincts, a messenger of the Lord came to him in a dream.
Messenger of the Lord: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to wed Mary and bring her into your home and family as your wife. She did not sneak off and sleep with someone else—rather, she conceived the baby she now carries through the miraculous wonderworking of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will have a son, and you will name Him Jesus, which means “the Lord saves,” because this Jesus is the person who will save all of His people from sin.
²⁴ Joseph woke up from his dream and did exactly what the messenger had told him to do: he married Mary and brought her into his home as his wife ²⁵ (though he did not consummate their marriage until after her son was born). And when the baby was born, Joseph named Him Jesus, Savior.
²² Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus:
²³ A virgin will conceive and bear a Son,
and His name will be Immanuel
(which is a Hebrew name that means “God with us”).

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Did you ever think what it would be like to be in Joseph’s shoes? Your parents arrange a marriage with one of the local girls in Nazareth. She’s young, not too bad looking. You’ve known Mary most of your life. She won’t be too bad a catch, but her parents are rich or anything. They are the appropriate exchanges of gifts and doweries to solidify deal and now you wait for the years to pass by so Mary can become your wife.

Then just a few months before the magic day arrives you find out she’s pregnant and you know this baby isn’t yours. You haven’t had a chance to talk with her because the culture doesn’t let you talk privately. So what are you supposed to think. How could she shame you and your family this way. But then you know Mary. You know her character and that of her family. You know she would not go out and do this willingly.

So you believe someone in the little village must have taken advantage of her when she was away from her parents. You’re not sure how it could happen, but that must be the explanation and you want to keep her from any further embarrassment and try to figure out how to move the wedding up to save her any further shame.

Do you understand how Joseph might have felt? He must have really loved Mary, though, because she would deliver before the expected time and the two of them would be labeled as having sex before marriage. Strictly taboo in their culture. Joseph could tell people the child was his and he could save Mary from stoning, but he couldn’t keep her from the snide remarks, the suggestive looks and comments, the isolation at the public well, all the things that went with the shunning that was sure to happen to both of them because of the supposed indiscretion between them.

Joseph would feel the pressure as much as Mary once Jesus was born. Yet until the angel came and explained her situation, he still supported her and wanted to avoid any shame and embarrassment she might endure. And then the angel came.

How could Joseph handle raising My Son? How could he support His education and mentoring as an earthly father? How could Joseph treat Jesus the same as his other children knowing who Jesus was and who his real father was? Did you ever think about how inadequate Joseph felt for the task ahead of him? But Joseph did what I ask any of you to do, your best. That’s all. No more, and no less. Just that and I’m satisfied.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

A lesson in forgiveness (Genesis 50:1-21), Jan 20, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Devotional

Today’s background scripture comes from Genesis 50.

I’m always surprised when someone truly forgives another, but the guilty cannot forgive themselves. That’s what happened with Joseph’s brothers. Joseph learned many years before I was working all the events of his life to save his family. Some of his trouble came because of his behavior, the proud announcement of his dreams to his brothers, the flaunting of the coat his father gave him above his brothers.

I know his father contributed to Joseph’s early problems with pride. I used his brothers’ envy to help humble him. The methods I used probably seem pretty harsh to you, but I had Joseph under My care the whole time. He needed to understand humility. He needed to understand forgiveness. He learned to forgive his brothers while in the service of the prison guards and came to understand I knew what I was doing in his life.

Joseph understood forgiveness. He could have shown anger and bitterness toward Potiphar’s wife for falsely accusing him. Instead, he forgave her and became responsible for caring for all his fellow prisoners under the direction of the captain of the prison guard.

Joseph could have complained about the cupbearer who forgot him for two years after he was restored to his position with Pharaoh according to the dream Joseph interpreted for him. Instead, he continued to patiently carry out the duties the captain of the guard gave him each day. He forgave the cupbearer long before the cupbearer remembered his oversight and told Pharaoh about one who could interpret the dreams I give men from time to time.

Joseph understood the power of forgiveness. But his brothers never forgave the way Joseph did and so didn’t understand their brother could forgive the way I forgive. They didn’t understand I worked through the events of his life to bring good to all those around him. They didn’t understand I could weave the evil events into a greater good and bring restoration and peace into broken relationships. Even after Joseph welcomed them into the palace and told them. They could not forgive themselves and felt they must create a story to avoid punishment from Joseph for the guilt they carried. Joseph’s forgiveness of their actions extended grace and mercy, not punishment. Just like My forgiveness.

Today’s Scripture

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Genesis 50:1-21
Set – Genesis 50; Luke 20
Go! – Genesis 49-50; Psalms 8; Luke 20

Genesis 50:1-21
¹As his father passed on, Joseph threw himself onto his father’s face, crying and kissing him. ² Then Joseph told the physicians in his service to embalm his father and prepare him for the journey. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ It took 40 days to embalm him because that’s how long it takes to embalm a body properly. And the Egyptians paid their respects by mourning and weeping for him for 70 days.

⁴ When the time of mourning had passed, Joseph addressed Pharaoh’s household.

Joseph: If I have found favor with you, please speak to Pharaoh on my behalf. ⁵ My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I am about to die. I want you to bury me in the tomb I made for myself in the land of Canaan.” So I ask that you allow me to go out of Egypt to bury my father. When I have honored his request, I will return to Egypt.

Pharaoh: ⁶ Go up to Canaan, and bury your father as he made you swear to do.

⁷ So Joseph went up to Canaan to bury his father. And all of Pharaoh’s servants went with him in a long procession that included the elders of Pharaoh’s household and the land of Egypt. ⁸ Joseph’s own household, his brothers, and his father’s household joined in the solemn march. Only their children, flocks, and herds were left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Both chariots and charioteers accompanied him as well. It was a grand procession. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad near Canaan but still beyond the Jordan River, the great company of mourners paused to observe seven days of mourning for Joseph’s father. The weeping and lamentation grew so loud that ¹¹ the people who lived there, the Canaanites, could not help but notice the profound grief expressed on the threshing floor of Atad.

Canaanites: The Egyptians must have experienced a terrible loss to mourn so deeply.

This is why this place of mourning that lies beyond the Jordan was renamed Abel-mizraim.

¹² So Jacob’s sons carried out his last instructions as he had directed. ¹³ They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite so he could have a place to bury his family. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph gathered his brothers and the vast company of mourners who had journeyed with him to bury his father, and they all returned to Egypt.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers began to realize the implications of their father’s death, Joseph’s brothers began to worry.

Joseph’s Brothers: What if Joseph still bears a grudge in some way against us and decides to pay us back in full for all of the wrong we did to him?

¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph.

Joseph’s Brothers’ Message: Your father gave us this instruction before he died. ¹⁷ He told us to say to you, “Please, I beg you. Forgive the crime of your brothers and the sins they committed against you. They were wrong to treat you so badly.” So please do what your father asked and forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of your father, committed against you.

Joseph cried when they spoke these words to him. ¹⁸ And his brothers approached and fell at his feet.

Joseph’s Brothers: Look! We are your slaves.

Joseph: ¹⁹ Don’t be afraid. Am I to judge instead of God? It is not my place. ²⁰ Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today. ²¹ So don’t worry. I will provide for you myself—for you and your children.

So Joseph reassured them and continued to speak kindly to them.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Music by the Booth Brothers from Room for More, “Faithful One” ©2008.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Watch and see what happens (Genesis 41:37-57), Jan 16, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Devotional

Today’s background scripture comes from Genesis 41.
Lots of stories circulated about Joseph when he was young. He didn’t use the best judgment as he told his brothers and his father about his dreams. I was beginning to give him some insight into his future. I would use dreams as a way of speaking to him later and needed him to begin to understand how to interpret the information that I sent to him in his dreams. But telling his brothers they would bow down to him really got him in trouble.

Of course, I used their jealousy and evil plots to My advantage and worked out My plans anyway. I allowed Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery. I felt some compassion for Jacob, but Jacob’s blatant favoritism for Joseph and Benjamin brought some of his troubles on himself, too. Those I also used to carry out My plans. You might not understand how I can use the evil in the world to My good, but since I ultimately control all things, I really can work all things for good.

As with Abraham, I began to work in Joseph’s life to prepare him for an assignment he could never accomplish otherwise. He needed some humbling early to understand how important I was in his success. He learned his lessons well. He leaned on Me in Potipher’s household. He leaned on Me in prison. He leaned on Me during those dark dungeon days, imprisoned for doing nothing wrong, but falsely accused by a sinful woman.

Joseph learned to depend on Me completely, just as his great-grandfather, Abraham did. Just as Isaac and Jacob learned to do. But unlike his ancestors, I wanted to use Joseph to show the rest of the region that the God of the Hebrews really could make a difference in all of their lives. So I set Joseph up as the second in command of all of Egypt, the most powerful nation in the world at the time.

I can use you the same way I used Joseph, if you will let Me. Will you lead in the time of famine? Maybe not, but I still have a plan for your life. You may go through some tough days, or months, or even years to prepare you for that special task that I have for you, but understand that I know the plans I have for you. They are good plans if you will stick with Me. Like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, I won’t let you down. You’ll succeed if you follow Me. You’ll do some incredible things if you’ll pay attention. Just watch and see what happens.

Today’s Scripture

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Genesis 41:37-57
Set – Genesis 41; Luke 16
Go! – Genesis 39-41; Luke 16

Genesis 41:37-57
³⁷ Pharaoh and all his advisors liked Joseph’s suggestion.

Pharaoh (to his advisors): ³⁸ Is there anyone else you know like Joseph who has the Spirit of God within him?

³⁹ (to Joseph) Since God has shown all of this to you, I can’t imagine anyone wiser and more discerning than you. ⁴⁰ Therefore you will be in charge of my household. All of my people will report to you and do as you say. Only I, because I sit on the throne, will be greater than you. ⁴¹ I hereby appoint you head over all of the land of Egypt.

⁴² As a symbol of his power, Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s. Then he dressed him in fine linens and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command, and servants ordered everyone, “Kneel!” as he rode by. So this was how Pharaoh appointed Joseph head over all of the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ But Pharaoh had one more declaration.

Pharaoh (to Joseph): I am Pharaoh, and I decree that no one may do anything in the land of Egypt without your consent.

⁴⁵ Then Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah, and arranged for him to marry an Egyptian woman, Asenath (daughter of Potiphera, priest of On). So this was how Joseph gained authority over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was 30 years old when he entered into Pharaoh’s service. He left the king of Egypt’s presence to travel throughout the land. ⁴⁷ For seven years—the years of plenty—the land produced abundantly. ⁴⁸ Joseph gathered up all of the food he could during those seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt and stored the grain in the cities. He arranged for every city to store the food grown in local fields. ⁴⁹ And he stored up so much grain—as much as the grains of sand on the seashore—that he stopped measuring it. It was more than anyone could measure!

⁵⁰ Now before the famine began, Joseph had two sons by his wife Asenath (daughter of Potiphera, priest of On). ⁵¹ Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh because he said, “God has made me forget all about my hardship and all of my father’s family.” ⁵² He named the second son Ephraim, because as he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.”

⁵³ Eventually, the seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine settled in, just as Joseph had predicted. Although the famine extended to all the surrounding lands, in Egypt there was still food stored away in the cities. ⁵⁵ When the people in Egypt became famished, they appealed to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh directed them all to Joseph.

Pharaoh: Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.

⁵⁶ So when the famine had spread across the land of Egypt, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. But he waited until the famine had become severe in the land. ⁵⁷ When the surrounding peoples heard Egypt still had food, they journeyed to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because by this time the entire world was in the grip of a severe famine.