The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they enjoyed their wedding night, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 The Message
–image if we have one–
We’ve journeyed together through Christ’s promises for weeks, and now we’re here!
Merry, merry Christmas.
May your day be bright as you celebrate God’s Great Gift — the never-ending, amazing love we have in His son, Jesus.
Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace, and He loves you dearly.
Like the angels and shepherds, we cry, “Glory to God in the highest!”
We’re thanking God for His radical, creative love in sending the gift of Savior, born a baby named Jesus, to walk among us as Emmanuel. May we never get over the wonder.
Merry Christmas, friends, from all of us here at (in)courage!
Reader Interactions
No Comments
We'd love to hear your thoughts. Be the first to leave a comment.