Note: for a variety of reasons, I am changing the format of my devotionals. If you prefer the old format, see the links at the end. I’ll explain why before the links. 

Genesis 4-6 Matthew 2 (New Century Version)

“While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, ‘Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit.’” (Matthew 1:20 NCV))

Joseph had a pretty good reason to be upset. He’d begun the process that led to marriage with a young lady. Then he got the news: she was expecting a child. He knew it wasn’t his, so Mary had been unfaithful to him, or so he thought. The Jewish law allowed him to arrange for her to be stoned. The Romans would have frowned on that, so he decided to divorce her. He could have made a public spectacle of divorce to embarrass Mary like he had been embarrassed. Instead, he was working on a way to divorce her quietly. Then he got the message from the angel while he slept. Interestingly, in most cases an angel appeared, they had to tell the person they appeared to not to be afraid of them. In this case, the angel told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. I don’t know if Mary passed the news to Joseph about her pregnancy along with the information that the Holy Spirit had caused it, or if Joseph even knew until the angel came along. I do know that Joseph believed the angel because he responded in obedience.

It’s an interesting truth of human nature that we act on what we believe. As much as I profess to believe in Jesus, do my actions show that? If I really believe the enduring truth about Jesus, how will I show that through my daily life? That’s the question that will guide me this year, and I have 365 days to answer it.

Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. Let me live out each day in a way that shows others Your amazing grace and love.

Note: (continued) In recent months, I’ve struggled with the format of the devotionals. I like that format in general, but I haven’t felt joy as I struggled in the writing. So, I’m switching Bible versions, the reading plan, and the format so that I can regain that everyday joy of reading and commenting on God’s word. 

Daily Enduring Truth  January – February is available on Amazon and Smashwords. Smashwords has a 50% off coupon until January 3

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Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved