Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Joseph....

Joseph......

Matthew 1 New International Version (NIV)

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

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 .

In a few sentences we can describe Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus ....

We know his linage, given in Matthew 1, betrothed to Mary, faithful to the law, did not want to disgrace Mary, he considered and thought through plans, he was obedient to listen and do what was requested, he was caring, he must have taught Jesus a trade of carpentry, he stayed with Mary through difficult circumstances....he died before Jesus did...

Thank YOU for small glimpses of a caring earthly father .....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aKSU9Dbxvrw

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Following....

Following.....

Tis the season for shopping, it seems, Black Friday, cyber Monday .....even my iPad corrects and capitalizes Black Friday....wow...I didn't know it was a capitalized day!!!

We now have holiday trees rather than Christmas trees, holiday or winter break rather than Christmas break ....we are to say "happy holidays" rather than Merry Christmas ....rarely see any nativity "anything" anywhere...

Where is the Christ in Christmas??? He seems to be the forgotten reason for Christmas in many places....

Where do I stand? What am I doing to promote the real Christmas? Who do I follow? What is important? Who is important?

Help me to follow after You...in these hectic days, remembering the real reason for Your coming, living among men, teaching, sharing Your Word, sharing your light, bread, even blood that we might have a life in You....

Exodus 23:2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,

Leviticus 20:8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

Deuteronomy 11:22-25 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him— then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;all who follow his precepts have good understanding.To him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 119:33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,that I may follow it to the end.

Matthew 4:18-22 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 19:27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

2 Peter 1:16-18 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

Jude 1:16-23 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Monday, December 1, 2014

What child is this......

I have had the delightful honor this year of watching one grandson being born and holding a second one as well...watching siblings hold their precious newborn brothers....parents sit in wonder, counting toes, watching facial expressions...cuddling....whispering sweet words...nursing...tenderly handling these tiny miracles....watching dimples appear and disappear in an instant...smiles, frowns....moving all movable parts....stretching, yawning...
What a awesome wonder babies are...life .....tiny life...

But, these babies, precious as they are...welcome as they were, are different from the baby, Jesus, born two thousand years ago...He came as a lowly baby, born in a stable..dark..unsanitary...possibly animals watching...laid in a feed manger...not a clean baby bed in a hospital with a staff of nurses and doctors in attendance, monitoring every move, oxygen mask ready, vitals taken, charts, machinery of all kinds.....

Jesus had his parents in attendance, maybe someone brought water, or maybe even clean hay...as the animals munched contentedly standing nearby...the smells, earthy, instead of antiseptic ....

The scenes dramatically and worlds apart...as well as life paths...one came so that others might live...the others came, hopefully to follow...one to give life to be the bread of the others' lives....one had shepherds running to see the newborn...Angels filling the sky to proclaim His birth...the others were photoed on phones and cameras to proclaim....one foretold and waited for for generations .....one, God/man....the others, men made in his image .....mysteries all....welcomed all....

Thank YOU.....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MC9cbEHjvPs

Luke 2:4-20 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 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, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Sent from my iPad

along the path...