“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 named Him Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25).

Joseph awoke and believed.  He believed what the Lord told Him.  This is an example of genuine faith.  One of the most amazing stories, in fact, truly a one of a kind, and he believes.  We are told the overarching story and so many reject it in unbelief.  Will you be like the crowds who shouted to have Jesus put to death, or like Joseph who heard what the Lord said and believed?

Lord, I would like to be a person of Your making rather than simply be a part of the crowd.  Lead me in Your goodness to see through the pressures that are upon me in this age so that I may humbly walk with You in belief.  No matter how You speak to me, help me to listen and heed Your word.  You have said that I am saved by the blood of the lamb.  Help me to believe that and stop acting like I need to save myself.

Jesus, You paid the price for my sin, so there must be more.  Move me beyond trying to overcome my sins to the place where my character is being shaped by You, the author and finisher of my faith.  You have guided me in the past and You guide me now.  Lead me in Your grace to walk with You all the days of my life toward the goal of being like You, listening to the Holy Spirit, for the glory of the Father.  Amen.   

“Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23).

The prophet Isaiah foretold these events centuries before they happened.  Modern skeptics want to dismiss Isaiah, but the oldest copy of Isaiah is still four hundred years before the birth of Jesus.  The Lord tells us everything we need to know.  He will come amidst a circumstance that can only happen because of Him.  He shall be called the name that tells us who He is, “God with us.”  It really cannot be said more succinctly.

Jesus, God with us, You have into our midst and You understand us better than we understand ourselves.  You have experienced the human life.  You spoke beforehand so that we could believe.  Why is it, then, that there are so many who do not believe? You have told us that, “As many as believe,” are they for whom You have come.  You are with us so that we can be with You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to create, sustain, and fulfill a relationship with all who come to You.  You must take the lead, for I am filled with unbelief.  You must save me, for I do not even know where to begin.  Lead me Lord in the way You have prepared so that I can be in You as You are in me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in the truth of Your salvation in order to be with You forever.  Amen.

“She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Joseph had a specific assignment. Marry Mary, be the father to the son whose name shall be “God’s Salvation,” which is what the name “Jesus” means in Hebrew.  God’s salvation shall save God’s people from their sins.  “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Our Lord is purposeful with everything He does.  He has prepared the way for as many as believe to become children of the Heavenly Father.

Lord, amidst all the difficulties of this world, help me to believe in all of these things.  You are the Savior, and You have saved me from my sins.  Now that I have been given salvation, lead me into the journey of becoming like Christ.  I confess that I still sin and I am nowhere near to being like Christ, so there is much to be done in me.  This is where I need to live by faith, trusting that You have and will accomplish all that needs to be done.

Savior of the world, You died so that I can be a part of what You are accomplishing.  I only know part and You know all that needs to be done.  Strengthen my faith so that I will move as You lead.  Lead me to take the steps of Joseph and Mary, who’s story is filled with living by faith obediently.  Teach and lead me so that I may have this kind of faith.  Guide me in Your goodness to perceiver in faith to become holy even as You are Holy.  Amen.   

“But when he had thought this over, 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” (Matthew 1:20).

Will you listen to an angel of the Lord, or will you believe what you think is true?  Is this not the question we all face when choosing to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, died, was resurrected, and is coming again?  It takes a bold act to move into faith.  Some waffle and waver, or so it seems, but what about you?  Will you take that step into firm faith, stop asking questions that are not yet be answered and believe?

Lord, I know that my unbelief needs to be dealt with.  There are so many things that stop me short.  Yet, I do believe.  Help my feet to move into the territory of living by faith where, like Joseph, I do not fear, but move ahead even in the face of what seems absurd.  My wife is pregnant and still a virgin.  Let me become like Mary and say, “Be Thou done to me according to Thy will.”

Holy Trinity, in the grand mystery of life, there is still much I need to learn.  But what I know or do not know does not matter.  What matters is that You are leading me all the days of this life and toward the life to come.  In Your providence, guide me this day Holy Spirit to be conformed to You Jesus so that in all I do, I may do what is pleasing in Your sight Heavenly Father.  Help me to step out in faith in, through, and by and in Your Holy Name.  Amen.

“And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly” (Matthew 1:19).

What would you do in Joseph’s place?  In all seriousness, you would be heartbroken, feel betrayed, and unsure what to do.  In his time, he could have had Mary stoned for this perceived infidelity.  But he was a good man.  He did not want to exonerate himself, but he also wanted to do the legal and right thing.  He was going to do what had to be done quietly to minimize the damage.

How often are we in a situation such that it is lose-lose?  We seek to do what is right, but also, to minimize the damage.  It hurts and often taints what others think of us.  But Joseph was a good man.  No wonder the Lord chose him to be his step-father.  In the mystery of the Incarnation, never lose sight of the mystery surrounding all of our Lord’s choices in how things will unfold and with whom.

Lord Jesus, I would like to have character like Joseph where, even when I believe I have been egregiously wronged, I am willing to do the right thing quietly to minimize damage even to the party that I believe is wrong.  Help me to move in this direction so that I seek what is right and not what I feel ought to be done.  Move me beyond my feelings and into the place where I trust Your leading and the goodness You are pouring into me.  Amen.

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).

This has only happened once and we cannot begin to imagine the difficulty for Mary of being a virgin and being pregnant.  Who would believe such a preposterous story?  As with all things the Lord does, there is great intentionality, if even for us it is a great mystery.  What the Lord has done is break the bond between the old Adam and the new person raised in Christ.

Lord, I may not fully understand why this was necessary, but I do trust that You have a reason for everything.  Guide me Lord in the way You know I need to go without my spending too much time speculating on things that are mysterious to me.  I know there are many who have speculated away, but what I believe I do need to know is that God is so thorough that He leaves nothing undone that needs to be done.

Lord Jesus, in Scripture You seem both easy to approach, but also tough as nails for what is right and fitting.  I’m often not sure which to choose.  But that is a part of the problem isn’t it?  Like me, You are a whole and complex person.  Even more so because You are God in the flesh.  Help my spirit to take comfort in the fact that You take care of the smallest detail, if even in ways that I do not fully fathom.  Lead me to live by faith trusting You always.  Amen.

“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:17).

In forty-two generations, the fulfills His promise to Abraham.  Through Abraham, we are blessed.  “And the Lord reckoned righteousness to Abraham because of his faith.”  He reckons to us through faith and by grace, that same righteousness.  Born as and where we were born, we have been called into the presence of the Lord to walk with Him as our generation’s history unfolds.

Lord, these are not just names, but brothers and sisters who walked the earth as I am walking the earth.  They lived life as I am living life, filled with all of its difficulties.  Lead me by the example of the saints who have gone before to learn what lessons I may from the mistakes of others so that I can walk down the path of righteousness which You have set before all who believe.  Continue to be the light I see shining that leads me.

Lord Jesus, light of the world, You have come to call each of us into the promise You hold before us all.  The generations pass before You and You see us all as our life unfolds.  Guide me to always walk in the faith You have given me, knowing that only in You is there true hope.  May my life be a testimony to those who follow after me of the true faith which has been revealed in the Gospel.  Amen.

“Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 1:16).

Joseph, a carpenter, lived in the unrespected village of Nazareth.  Of the lineage of David, but now obscure.  The literal lineage mattered to fulfil prophecy?  Count on the Lord to cover all of the bases.  Mary too was of the lineage of David.  This point in time is one thousand years after David.  We are all related if one goes back far enough.  Such is human history.  Legitimate or illegitimate?  Is that not the real question that confronts us all?

Lord, in the clarity of reality, You present to us the ability to become legitimate by being adopted into Your family.  We come from the roots from which we come, but You are the One who calls us into a new life as children of God.  Let me not be hung up on the particulars, but learn to trust that You have covered things so well that there are many things most of us are probably unaware of.

Lord Jesus, You came in obscurity, but we all know the story.  What was covered is not in the full light of day.  So it will be for all of us.  Teach me to not worry about circumstances, but to live into the truth of what You have offered me in salvation.  Guide me in Your goodness Lord to live the life of faith into which I have been baptized.  May I humbly walk with You Lord knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Amen.

“After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor.  Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob” (Matthew 1:12-15).

After the deportation, the line was no longer royal, but became quite ordinary.  As it began, so it ended.  Is that not often the truth of the matter?  We tend toward pretense, when we are all just ordinary after all.  We are all connected and in our family tree are both those we admire and those whom we’d rather not be associated with.  We are, above all else, human right down to our toes.

Lord, it does take a dose of humility to bring me to the place where I realize that I am just like everyone else.  Guide me in the way You would have me go.  Lead me according to Your purpose so that I see that You love everyone equally, but never let me mistake that love as an excuse to sin away.  You paid the price with Your life on the cross so that I could be redeemed to live the new life.

Savior of my soul, whether I am at the top, or at the bottom in this world, I am where You have placed me.  Amidst the circumstances in which I find myself, guide me this day so that I may humbly walk in Your presence.  You are the author of my soul.  You are the One who paid the price to redeem me.  You are the One who has promised that You would make of me a child of the Heavenly Father.  Teach me to love and praise You now and forever.  Amen.

“Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah.  Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon” (Matthew 1:10-11).

Once again, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Chronicles and Kings speak of the tenure of these kings.  There is a reason the Lord allowed the Israelites and Judah to be carried off into captivity.  The Lord was not trying to punish them so much as seeking to gain their attention.  What will it take to gain your attention so that you take seriously the faith you’ve been given.  Your hope is in the Lord, your Creator, Savior, and God.

Lord, how easy it is to shrug off history as boring and then turn right around and do the same dumb thing that leads to destruction.  This is the case presented by Scripture as we are told how the children of Abraham went about their business and ignored what You have taught us all.  I am no different.  Sometimes, in church, I may as well be in the place I am fantasizing about and give up my place to someone somewhere else who would desperately like to be in church, but cannot be.

Lord Jesus, You alone are the Savior of my soul.  You have come so that I may have life and have it abundantly.  I follow the path of those who have gone before me and become bogged down by the cares of this world.  Help me dear Lord to take seriously the gift You have given me so that I may walk the path of faith You have prepared.  Guide me in the Gospel way to live into the life You offer.  Amen.