Category Archives: Bible characters

I now present to you…

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One of my favorite parts of performing a wedding ceremony is to present the new couple.

At the wedding, I go through the vows and rings. Usually, some sort of sermon or homily is given. There are readings sprinkled in as well. Then, by the power invested in me…husband and wife…kiss!

I enjoy weddings because they are always happy and joyful!

The very last line I say, after everything else has been done and said, is this:

“It is my honor and privilege to present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. X!”

Today, however, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jospeh and Mary!

Last names were different in Israel 2000 years ago. But their last name is not really important for my purpose here.

I am more interested in their mindset.

What’s on your mind? What do you think about all day?

When it comes to the almost newlyweds (almost), they could have had one of three different mindsets.

Because of the pregnancy and impending divorce, they could have had a cultural mindset. Society would say get divorced. Cultural norms would tell Joseph to get rid of Mary.

But Joseph and Mary did not have a cultural mindset.

They could have had a conflict mindset. How would these two get married with her being pregnant? What if Joseph dismissed the dreams as mere wishful thinking? Should they move away? Many conflicts would be swirling through their minds.

Nor did they have a conflict mindset.

They did the right things in this rocky start to a life together. They traveled down the right path. God guided and they followed. They possessed a Christ mindset. Despite all of the pressure to go astray, Joseph and Mary obeyed God in their actions. This was God’s plan.

As we looked at before with Just a Simple Carpenter and Treasure and Ponder, Joseph and Mary acted exemplary in times of trial.

It would have been easy to have a cultural or conflict mindset given the circumstances in which they found themselves.

But they possessed a Christ mindset.

So let that be an example to you and me.

Let me circle around to the beginning of this post.

Friends, it is my honor and privilege to present to you, after some 2000 years, Joseph and Mary!

Just a Simple Carpenter

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Mary and Joseph. Joseph and Mary. The parents of the God-child.

But they are just people like you and me.

That amazes me.

My last post focused on Mary. Today, Joesph gets the spotlight.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: 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 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 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” (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.

This block of verses is from Chapter 1 of Matthew. The underlined portions are my doing. These will match the points that I will make about Joseph.

Alright. Ready, set…Go!

  1. Joseph had Divorce in his mind. And I agree with him. From his perspective, he was doing the right thing, at least culturally speaking. How difficult would it be to believe that God really made Mary pregnant?! It seems that divorce was his only option. According to the text, he was not mean or vindictive about it. He cared, even loved, Mary and did not want to hurt her. But pregnant…any other news might have been an easier pill to swallow. What was God doing here?
  2. Joseph had Dreams in his sleep. Do you dream? Typically, I don’t remember the details of any of my dreams. There have been a few times when I had a dream that was divine. For me, day dreaming is also a thing. I just hope I am not driving at the time! Joseph goes to bed one night, perhaps feeling concerned about his situation. Then, an angel shows up in a dream. The angel speaks and Joseph remembers. I could imagine that he would have been amped-up the next morning! He now had a plan. God had been faithful!
  3. Joseph had Discipline in his actions. No doubt there was still some apprehension about Mary. People were bound to rumor and speculate about these two teenagers. But Joseph had discipline enough to follow the orders given to him. If we were to read the rest of the chapter, this dream-followed-by-action pattern would be repeated a few times. God entrusted Joseph with this situation and Joseph passed in exemplary fashion!

Where Mary treasured and pondered, Joseph had to listen and act.

Two very different approaches.

I really enjoy the creativity of our God when he communicates to us.

There are times to move forward and act upon His word. Other times require solitude and rest.

Whether we relate to Mary or Joseph it does not matter. Just be ready to listen to God.

He just might have something for you.

Treasure and Ponder

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“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,” Matthew 1:18

Some versions say espoused or betrothed. We would say engaged.

That means a wedding is on the way!!!

Mary was engaged to Joseph. They were committed. There may have not been a ring like we would typically use today but nonetheless, a wedding was coming soon.

Sometimes the engagement would last up to a year. This was a time to prepare for marriage. The couple would be able to ask God’s blessing on their relationship as husband and wife. Household affairs would have been taken care of at this time. Even the building of a house could be happening. Although not physically together, unfaithfulness at this point would have been considered adultery.

I have performed almost 300 weddings. It is a privilege to sit with couples during their engagement and speak with them. There are some great stories of how he proposed. It really is a special time for young couples. I know life happens but I always encourage each couple to enjoy this time because it goes fast and can be exciting. Hopefully, it is the only time they are ever engaged!

In the case of Mary and Joseph, I think they had similar feelings. Knowing that the time is relatively short before the wedding probably induced (no pun intended here) emotions and feelings of love, honor, respect etc.

And then the bomb dropped.

Pretend you are a fly on the wall when Mary and Joseph are having that conversation. You know, the one where Mary is pleading with him that she has remained pure. The child is from God, not man!

How do you explain that one!?!?

Right from the get-go, God is using the low things of our world to usher in Jesus. This continues with the inn with no rooms, the stable, and the animals. Even a feeding trough for the baby.

Really God, shepherds as a herald for the King of kings?

And Mary is in the middle of all this stuff. She, being a teenager, most likely just passed her adolescence years, is having to carry this ordeal. Again, no pun intended.

But Luke tells us that she treasured and pondered these things.

Parents, how do we deal with the stuff of life?

When we are at a low point, do we treasure and/or ponder?

What is our knee-jerk reaction?

Let’s take a cue from Mary.

Whether we are a parent, soon-to-be-parent, or future candidates for parenting, we can certainly learn from this young but mature woman.

Follow God. Treasure things. Ponder the possibilities.

Who knows what God will bring into the world through us. (Pun intended there)

A Few of My Favorites!

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Over the next few weeks, I am going to re-post some of my favorite posts.

I am spending my mental energy on a bigger project right now.

So for today, enjoy A Winepress and a Warrior!

A Winepress and a Warrior

POSTED ON  BY TIM SORBO

This post is a continuation of some Old Testament people. Click on Abraham or Joseph to read the other two Old Testament posts.

Gideon. As with most of these people, their stories are filled with crazy, supernatural stuff. Angels visiting, people testing God, battles begin fought. It all seems unreal to me. But yet it is real. And that is what strikes me. These people, especially Gideon, are normal people. And by normal, I mean normal-every-day-average-unremarkable people. 

Just like me.

But before we get to the angel visit, the testing, or the fighting, we find Gideon hiding. 

He was hiding from the enemy. Why? So they would not take his wheat. The enemy of Israel was oppressing Gideon and all of Israel. For seven years this was happening. The first 11 verses of Judges 6 give us the account. It was all the Israelites could do to stay alive. They hid in caves. Their crops and livestock were under constant attack. It was bad. 

But that is what happens when, “Again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,”. God let the enemy invade and oppress.

Is the enemy of your soul invading and oppressing you? Are you doing evil in the eyes of the Lord? Just a thought.

Back to Gideon. He was in a winepress threshing some wheat. This picture shows an ancient winepress. The next one shows a threshing floor.

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threshing_floor

Note the difference. The threshing floor is an open area where the wind can blow easier (perhaps like the Holy Spirit?) . Gideon was in a winepress. He was trying to thresh the wheat in a secret place. Only fearful people do such things. Wheat was meant to be tossed into the air out in the open. This way, the wind could separate the wheat from the chaff. It is much more difficult if you are hiding in an enclosed space.

But that is what happens when doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. We are meant for one thing but we are doing another. Our actions are secret or hidden instead of being lived out. But if you are discouraged about that, the story is not over. 

Verse 12 shows how God feels about Gideon. Here is the verse, “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Boom! Gideon was not a warrior, he was in a winepress! However, God feels differently.

Your surroundings should not dictate your status. Your circumstances do not negate your christianity. Your foes can’t take away your faith.

Gideon needed a supernatural reminder of his position. I think that you and I could use reminders now and again, don’t you?

Well consider this your reminder. God created you. You are a mighty warrior! Get out of your winepress and get to the business of God.  

One of 2 things…

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Plans change. Sounds like life, doesn’t it?

If you read my post form last Tuesday, you would not be expecting any new content today.

Plans change.

Here is a link for last week so you can catch up. Summer break!

My original plan was to not post anything new until September. I wanted to focus more on a novel I am trying to write.

Plans change.

A thought came to mind while I was reading a book. I try to do this on a regular basis.

The book is entitled 33 A.D. It is the second of two in a series.

Ted Dekker, the author, blends the life of Jesus into a fictional story. I am almost done with the second book. They are really engaging and thought-provoking.

There are no spoilers here just some praise for a good read.

There is one section that describes the scene at the Garden of Gethsemane. The night before the crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden after the last supper.

Two things take place.

  1. Jesus wept. (Luke 22)

Jesus went to God with his pain, concern, anxiety, and troubles. He knew that he was destined to be killed.

But his flesh did not want it to happen. After all, he was fully human as well as fully God.

2. Peter slept. (Luke 22)

He was tired. Maybe he was trying to stay awake but he failed. We know that later that night, he denied Jesus.

His flesh was also pulling on his mind. And he yielded to it.

When we choose to be like Jesus, we become adept at getting through trials.

If we behave like Peter, we stay inept while being tempted.

Isn’t it nice how those four words rhyme?

Jesus wept and in doing so, became adept at overcoming temptation.

Peter slept and in doing so, was inept to fighting the temptation.

We all have Gethsemane moments in our lives. Sometimes daily.

One of 2 things is happening: sleeping or weeping.

Which one are you doing?