Daily Devotional – Day 8 of Christmas

Daily devotional

Our scripture for the Daily Devotional today is taken from Matthew 1:18-24. Often, life throws us a curveball. Even if we did not anticipate the event of our life, God knew all about it. We would not respond with hatred to those that speak against us, so we should not fight sin with sin.

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: 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[e] 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,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”

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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”[g] (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.”

Joseph followed the angel’s instructions.

Joseph faced a dilemma as he stood beside Mary. He and his wife would be ridiculed and rejected by the community for life. Mary’s pregnancy of Jesus placed their lives at risk. I can imagine the religious leaders listening to Mary and Joseph’s testimony. “We promise that Mary is a virgin, even though she is pregnant!”

It would have been easy for Joseph to step aside and let the religious leaders condemn her. Joseph chose to stand with Mary and his promise. He did not allow the inconvenient time to overcome his character.

We do not hear much about Joseph throughout the rest of the gospels. We do know that his sacrifice and character played a critical role in the birth of Jesus. He even named Jesus without the family name!

Let’s Pray

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you, Father God, for the example of Joseph. There definitely was a reason that You entrusted Your son’s life into the hands of Joseph. Help me by Your Holy Spirit to be a person of such great character and trusted with Your working.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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Daily Devotional – Day 8 of Christmas
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