God's Mission
Matthew 1:18-25
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.
Pondering Point
We are saved from sin, but saved for sonship. Jesus was born of man that we might be born of God (see John 1:13). He became a child of man that we might become children of God – and that is what we are, praise God! Christmas is a time when families often come together. Make plans to spend time with your family over the Christmas season – including your ‘Jesus’ family. Take time to eat together, laugh, worship, visit, share – all in the name of Jesus!
John 1:12-13
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Prayer Prompt
We come from vastly different families. Many of us married into families quite different from what we knew. Spend a few minutes in prayer with God about being part of His family and what that means for you. In a sense we “married in” through baptism*, becoming part of the bride of Christ. Has it been what you expected? How are you participating in that family? How are you relating to that family? What role do you have in the family? (*Romans 7:4-6)
Romans 7:4-6
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Micro-Meditation
Psalm 127:1-5
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
- Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain. - In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. - Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him. - Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth. - Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Read the versus of the Psalm.
Mark the words or phrases that catch your attention.
Meditate: talk (or better, write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect responses.
Teaching or Command of God
Ephesians 2:21
In [Christ Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
The Promise
Ephesians 2:22
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Pondering Point
Bring to mind the church that you count yourself part of, the micro-relationships and small groups
and other spiritual teams you serve among. Commit them to the Lord in prayer and ask that their work is not in vain but to His glory.