What a Dream! (Pt. 2)

I see personal fears on many levels: health, finances, etc. Many people
are paralyzed with crippling fear. But living in a state of fear is not of God.

What a Dream! (Pt. 2)

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit."

(Matthew 1:18)

I see personal fears on many levels. So many people are paralyzed with the crippling emotion of fear: fear for their lives, families, finances, and on and on. But this emotion of fear is not of God. Sure, we all have bouts of fear, and that is natural, but we should not live in a state of fear. It is unhealthy and most unwise. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

The story of Joseph in the Christmas narrative is an inspiring one. We are focusing this week in our devotions on how God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to explain to him what God was doing and how he must not be afraid.

Here is some context for today's verse, some important information:

"Matthew's explanation can best be understood in the light of Hebrew marriage customs. Marriages were arranged for individuals by parents, and contracts were negotiated. After this was accomplished, the individuals were considered married and were called husband and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together. Instead, the woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his for one year. The waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity given concerning the bride. If she was found to be with child in this period, she obviously was not pure, but had been involved in an unfaithful sexual relationship. Therefore the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would then go to the house of the bride's parents and in a grand processional march lead his bride back to his home. There they would begin to live together as husband and wife and consummate their marriage physically. Matthew's story should be read with this background in mind."

(Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 18–20). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

I can't imagine the difficulty Joseph was experiencing when news broke that Mary was pregnant. You may have recently gotten some unexpected bad news as well. Can I encourage you to hang in there? God is up to something right now. He specializes in turning difficult and dark days into days of praise and blessing.

Take a minute and listen to this powerful song, "God Turn It Around", by the band Church of the City:

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Podcast of the Week

No Fear this Christmas, Pt. 1

Pastor Danny takes a break from the Beatitudes series to deliver two special episodes for Christmas, based on the message delivered by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would be the mother of Christ. Danny focuses specifically on Gabriel's instruction to not be afraid and its relevance and application for all of us today.

Listen on your preferred platform: