Decorating my heart for Christmas part 2

Before I begin with part two of this series I have to share that the highlight of decorating my home this year for Christmas was spray paint.  Yes spray paint!  I was impressed by this blog and all the things she spray painted.  I decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised.

 

In part one of this series, I mentioned ways to decorate our hearts for Christmas.  Today I pick up where I left off.  Joseph did not reason he responded…with IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE.   Mathew 1:24 says when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of The Lord commanded.  He brought Mary home to be his wife.   There is much to be said about immediate obedience.  If I think on something too long, the crazier it seems, and the less likely I am to respond  in obedience.  If you know God is speaking to your heart, just do it.  A lack of response shows our inability to trust God.  How can we really serve Him if we don’t trust Him?

Not only did Joseph respond with immediate obedience but the scripture says that Mary remained a virgin until her son was born.  As a husband,  Joseph sacrificed his rights for sexual intimacy in order for God’ plan to be fulfilled.  He was willing to wait and did not insist on his rights.  Sacrifice is such a foreign concept in today’s culture.  It is all about our rights.  We worship at the alter of, “Me myself and I.”  The idea of sacrifice is scoffed at,  our will is glorified…hence the great chaos in our lives and this world.  If you have chosen the way of the cross, sacrifice is mandatory.  But no need to mourn because when you sacrifice for Jesus it is always redemptive.  Always!  It was necessary for Jesus to be born to a virgin and his birth set in motion God’s redemptive plan mentioned in Genesis 3:15, how awesome is that?

Finally after the child is born Joseph named him Jesus  just as he was instructed to d0 in Mathew 1:25.  Joseph said yes and stuck to the plan from start to finish, down to the very name.  Sometimes we start our journey with Jesus having a complete yes but as time goes on we get creative.  We begin to do what God has called us to do in our own way, our own strength, we put our own twist to His plan.  There is no such thing as partial obedience.  Carefully follow All of God’s commands.  Have you deviated from the plans God has given you?  Repent, ask for mercy and get on track.

My prayer is that we will have a desire for more than beautifully decorated homes this Christmas.  A heart decorated with obedience is sure to shine bright!  Be blessed!

Decorating my heart for Christmas

It’s Christmas time again at the Jones’.  I get just as excited as the children at the thought of decorating our home for the Christmas season.  However, I know that it is even more important for me to “decorate” my heart with the truth of God’s word.  With that in mind, I went back to read the Christmas story from the book of Mathew and ditched the mindset of “I have read this so many times and I already know what happens.”

 

In Mathew 1:18-19 we learn that Joseph was engaged to be married to Mary and she was a virgin; not an exception in those days but the expectation.  However Mary ends up pregnant and it was not by Joseph!  It is certain Joseph was hurt and felt betrayed but even in his pain he purposed not to humiliate her.  He instead decided to break it off privately.  It was heavy on his heart and  he went to bed thinking about this thing.  Ever been there, weighed down with concerns as you go to bed…I have. The Lord saw his heart, saw his pain and provided an answer of peace while Joseph was sleeping.   Mathew 1:20 says as he considered this, he fell asleep and the angel of The Lord appeared to Him.  The angel of the Lord brought clarity to his situation.

Here it is Joseph was in a major life altering dilemma.  It is almost certain that he was hurt by Mary’s seemingly betrayal, but he opted not to put her on blast.  Wow!  What is your first response when you think you have been wronged by someone?  Do you look for every listening ear to broadcast the offense, only causing the wound to go deeper?  Do you immediately go on a revenge mission seeking to inflict the same pain you are feeling?

The explanation given to Joseph and his response blesses and convicts me all at the same time.  The angel of The Lord tells Joseph that the child Mary is carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Now let’s just be honest here, the explanation just did not make sense, it was foolish…at least in the natural. A virgin getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit?  What?    Who has ever heard of such a thing?  But Joseph didn’t question the explanation, he knew it was from God and that was enough.   He did not go asking for a second opinion. When God tells you to do something, do you wait for it to make sense before you act.  I have learned that I have to be ok with not understanding all of God’s directives, I have to trust that He is God and He knows best.  We often want to wrap our mind around all God is saying before we sign on the dotted line, give up on that method, it is pretty ineffective.  Truth be told, we often won’t understand it all because the plan is always so much bigger than we can comprehend.  Humble yourself, trust God and say Yes!

Joseph didn’t even know what he had stepped into, here God takes this ordinary boy and makes him one of the key characters in the greatest story ever!  In Mathew 1:21-23 the angel tells Joseph that the baby is going to be a boy, name him Jesus and oh yeah, he is going to save his people from their sins.  Then the angel of the Lord tells Joseph all of this is a fulfillment of the prophecies  that were given about the savior.  I  mean can you imagine, receiving all this news in one night.  Jesus simply means “The Lord Saves.”  So in other words, Joseph’s yes brought salvation to the world!  How can your yes to the seemingly impossible bring salvation to others?  Or consider this, how can your no hinder the salvation of others. Your disobedience does not only affect you.  Don’t hinder the flow, play your part and say yes.

My prayer is that you will be  encouraged to decorate your heart with obedience this Christmas.  Stay tuned for part two of this post.  Be blessed!