“Matthew 1:18-25”

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

---End of Scripture Verses---

It is often said that you don’t get to choose your parents. That wasn’t the case with Jesus. Mary and Joseph were hand-selected by God to raise Jesus when He was a child. Mary was chosen to be His birth mother and Joseph to be His step-father (Jesus had no earthly father). So, before “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), He decided who His parents would be.

If you could choose the family you would be born in to, what would you look for in potential parents? People who could give you all the best things this world has to offer? Maybe a millionaire mother or a powerful government official for a father? Maybe any parents would do, as long as they lived in a tropical paradise? The choice of Joseph and Mary shows us what God values most in people. Joseph was a righteous man (verse 19). Mary was a morally pure (Luke 1:27) humble servant (Luke 1:38). If you were raised by godly parents will you please praise God for that?

Jesus was “God with us” (verse 23). God descended to the Earth in the form of a human being, and He had a specific mission in mind when He came. Jesus executed God’s eternal plan in order to “save His people from their sins” (verse 21). Friends, sin is the greatest affliction to ever plague this world, and it is the biggest problem that you have in your life personally. Sin will keep you separated from God and doomed for eternal destruction if you refuse to take corrective action (Isaiah 59:1-2). Let’s praise God that He sent Jesus into the world to do the part that we were helpless to do.

What is our part in God’s plan of salvation? Let’s hear the words of Jesus on this. The resurrected Jesus personally told His Apostles: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” When the Apostles preached the first Gospel sermon under inspiration of the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended back to heaven, we see them carrying out this plan. When the people gathered around them asked “What shall we do?”; Peter answered, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38).

“Repent”: change your mind about sin and purpose in your heart to turn away from it. “Be baptized”: fully immersed in water. “For the forgiveness of sins”: the very things that keep you separated from God. There’s more to the plan than that. We need to live lives of faithful obedience from that point onward. But that’s where it all starts. That’s where you make your life right with God. Then, it doesn’t matter who your parents were. Even if you were raised by a wicked mother or an abusive father, you will have a Father in heaven who will love you and bless you and never leave you. He gave you heaven’s best gift because He loves you so. Can you praise God for His love, grace and mercy?

Please read Matthew 3:1-12 for tomorrow – John prepares the way.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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