Tuesday; December 25


          Hundreds of years earlier the promise had been made, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).  I imagine that Joseph and Mary had grown up hearing the teaching, but probably never imagined they would be a part of fulfilling this prophecy.  Now, on that special day in Bethlehem they were preparing themselves to raise the Christ – the Deliverer of mankind.  I am sure there were a lot of thoughts racing through their minds:  why us ... what will people think ... why are we looking at the Christ in a manger in a barn ... how will we live up to the expectations ... what do we do now?  They hadn’t read the rest of the book of Luke – they were living it firsthand.  I imagine Mary and Joseph had a lot of questions, but one thing we know for sure is that they accepted their responsibility with faithfulness.  They believed God’s promises to them and were willing to do what they needed to do.
          As much of our world stops to contemplate the birth of Jesus, we face a couple of the same challenges that Mary and Joseph faced that day: 
1) Do we believe in the promises that God made about Jesus?  I am sure that Mary and Joseph had read Isaiah and I know they had heard the firsthand promises of God.  When we consider all the promises made by and about Jesus in the New Testament, we have some pretty incredible blessing awaiting us – if we are willing to believe.
2).  What are we going to do with Jesus?  No, we don’t have to find a place for Jesus in our physical home, but are we willing to allow Him to be at home in our hearts?  Are we going to accept Him – not as a baby in a manger, but as a King on the throne?
          Think About It!

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