Tag Archives: Mary and Joseph

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 stone and it’s waves

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Christmas time…celebrating a birth. The Christ child laid in a manger. The star showing the way. We all know the story, right? Hang on a minute and we will get to that very story.

But first…

Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with a good friend. It seems that every time we talk, something good comes from it. Thanks Nick!

One of the take-aways I had from the conversation was about influence.

We all have influence in our lives. Like a shadow covering the edge of the light, we don’t always see the influence we have on people. Why is that? Does God hide the influence so that we don’t see our total impact on people? Not really sure.

Imagine a stone. Now throw that stone into the water. What happens?

ripples

We have all seen it. The stone creates waves. Those waves are like influence. 

Some thoughts of mine regarding the stone and the waves:

  1. The waves all originate at the place where the stone entered the water.
  2. The waves are uniform in size and shape going out from the stone.
  3. The waves will continue until they hit the land.
  4. The stone, after creating the waves, sinks.
  5. The waves, once began, cannot be stopped, only redirected.
  6. Bigger stones make bigger waves.

Let’s bring this together now.

We are the stone. At least that is the way I feel that God designed us. We were made to splash! Waves of influence are the destiny to which we have been called. 

Will I let God toss me? Once I make that decision, God pulls back His mighty arm and lets go! Can you see Him throwing rocks?

Now that I have been thrown by God, my life is not my own. See Galatians 2:20.

Here is the catch, I am meant to sink. Rocks do not float.

I don’t mean sink as in fail. What I mean is that God uses a rock to create waves.

Waves equal influence.

Okay, back to the Christmas story. I want to recall a few “rocks” of historical note.

Mary.

Joseph.

The shepherds.

The Magi.

King Herod.

Baby Jesus.

If you look in the waters of our history, you can still see waves radiating outward from these rocks. 

God is using the influence of these rocks to impact you and me.

And it is about time we realize that we too, are making waves.

The choice is yours and mine to make. Let God throw you today!

Are you this one?

rock

Or this one?

ripples

 

 

 

One Yard of Christmas, pt. 3

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Shepherds. They saw angels on the night of the birth of Jesus. Can you picture these smelly guys hanging around the fire? They could have been dreaming up stories for their families. Maybe they were thinking of how to make some money off of the angel visit. Perhaps a book deal was on their mind? Actually, we know that they were not doing any of those things. As with the first two parts, let’s go to the Word of God.

Luke 2:16-17 “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,”

Here is how Dictionary.com defines the word feet:

Noun, 1. a plural of foot.

Foot, noun, plural feet

  1. (in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.

 

One of the best parts about the gospel (or the story of Jesus) is that is forces us to make a decision. It seems that the shepherds were among the first to hear the story.

Once they heard, they moved. It was clear to them that what the angels were speaking of was for real. They had a choice and they made that choice without hesitation. It says the “hurried.” And when they saw the baby, another choice was to be made. They “spread the word.”

It is like having a can of paint. It must be spread in order to do the job. It won’t do any good to anyone if it stays in the can.

paint can

Friends, Christmas is all about God giving to us something unique. His son. The other part of that is us giving the world the same gift.

WE MUST TELL THE WORLD ABOUT JESUS. And it is my opinion that this “feet” is the most difficult of the three.

In conclusion,

  •  One Yard of Christmas
    • Feat
    • Fete
    • Feet

Will you wonder in the feat of God giving His son to us?

Will you celebrate the birth of Jesus instead of commercializing it?

Will you be like a paint brush and spread the truth about Jesus?

I hope you have enjoyed a One Yard of Christmas. It has been fun reliving Christmas this January.

Now go, spread the word and enjoy Jesus for the rest of 2015!