Good morning,
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us. (Matt. 1: 23)
Joseph was one very happy man when he was able to arrange an engagement with one very special young woman named Mary. Joseph was a man who genuinely loved his God so when he he found a women who shared his love for God, as well as for himself, Joseph felt wonderfully blessed. He did have to make an adjustment when Mary had to go help an elderly relative, Elizabeth, who had suddenly become pregnant quite late in life. He was glad when she was able to come back three months later but was devastated when she sat him down and told him that now she was pregnant. He really loved Mary and the last thing he wanted to do was disgrace her. He tried to sleep, but was overwhelmed with this new set of circumstances. He had just drifted off to sleep when he had an angel appear to him in a dream. The angel told him that the baby wasn’t an accident, this baby was God’s idea. She was going to have a special son who would save his people from their sins. Then the angel quoted a prophecy that was 700 years old that identified this child as Immanuel which meant ‘God is with us.’ Joseph proved his faith in God when he woke up, took Mary as his wife and had no sexual contact with her until this special son was born. What Joseph and Mary discovered was that they had been chosen by God to carry out a very special assignment that had been planned before the world began.
What we call the Christmas story was full of all sorts of people who were also chosen to be a part of what God had planned. God planned to deal with the sin that was designed by a wicked angelic being to keep us eternally separated from the God of creation. God had decided to send his only begotten Son to live with us in our world, in a body like ours and face all the temptations we face without ever sinning even once. This perfect son, Jesus, willingly allowed cruel men to nail him to a agonizing cross, die a willing death and come back to life three days later. This Jesus is the Savior of all mankind, alive and well for all the rest of time and eternity. What we find hard to believe now and easy to forget, is that God has continued to choose people during all the time since he was here to fulfill his plan for each generation that followed. The Apostle John tell us that Jesus pointed this out when he said, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you.” It’s true that we must decide to accept Jesus as our Savior, but we dare not forget that God has always known what choice we would make. Jesus went on to say, “I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit,” Each of us who are now a part of God’s family are here for a special reason known only to God. We are encouraged to ask our Father what to do with the assurance that he will answer our genuine requests. Oh yes, and then he gives us this command: Love each other. Dear Lord, please keep helping us, your chosen kids.
John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Roy Wisner
