Christmas Crisis!

 God's Invitations bring Dilemmas.
 

Matthew 1:18, “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,”

Jewish marriages took place in 3 stages: The contractual stage / espousal stage / actual consummation.

 Young people had little to do w/ the process as most marriages were pre-arranged. This marriage was likely arranged. A legal contract would be signed w/ details of the dowry put in writing! [ “2 Chickens for your daughter!” ] They grew up knowing who they would marry and didn’t question it. 

After the contractual stage was the espousal stage, what we would call an engagement period, which normally lasted about a year. Now they were allowed to spend time together and start getting to know each other (told to learn to love each other! [not fall in love] Love is a choice, a decision, a commitment! [Eph. 5--God commands men to love their wives…a decision, not just a feeling] Today we make much more allowance for attraction, and none of us would want our marriage completely arranged for us as it used to be, but you have to admit we often err on the superficial side of things as a result. God does not tell us to wait until we ‘fall’ in love…rather, we are commanded to love…because we can ‘fall’ for anything!

In Matt. 1 they are in that espousal stage…they are supposed to spend lots of time together, but must keep themselves pure during this time. So, it was important for Joseph and Mary to spend a quantity of time together, but to avoid allowing things to get out of hand.

That was the espousal stage…next was the actual marriage (huge 7 day wedding feast, w/ consummation to follow.

In Matt. 1 they are espoused, but not married…so how stunned was Joseph when he found out she was pregnant?

If Joseph said the baby was his, it would be a lie…and if he accused Mary of unfaithfulness, she would be stoned. He did not want that. What would they do?

We can read v. 18 and see that the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit…we know that, and Mary already knew that, but Joseph did not know that yet! All he could think, naturally, was that Mary had been unfaithful / immoral. It must have torn him up inside. His heart had already come to trust in her, she seemed incapable of doing such a thing, and it must have felt like his heart just fell out of his chest!

The invitation of God had put Jospeh in a great dilemma!
Great dilemmas are a large part of God's invitations...The crisis force us to TRUST!

What is the great dilemma in your life? Are you trusting God?
 You know I love ya, Don

Is the world in crisis....or am I over-reacting?

Are things in a crisis? With all the politics taking place these last few days, I was think about a event that took place awhile back....stricter laws to protect people from questionable banking practices were issued. Banks had to change some of their policies to comply. To notify me of such changes, my bank sent me a letter. But when I got to the end I had more questions than answers. The use of phrases like “we may” and “at our discretion” certainly didn’t sound like anything I could depend on!

In contrast, the Old Testament quotes God as saying “I will” numerous times. God promises David: “I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-13). No uncertainty in those words. Recognizing God’s faithfulness to His promises, King Solomon says in his prayer of dedication for the temple: “You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand” (2 Chron. 6:15). Centuries later, the apostle Paul said that all of God’s promises are “yes” in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).

In a world of uncertainty, our trust is in a faithful God who will always keep His promises.

Whatever trouble may assail, 
Of this we can be sure: 
God’s promises can never fail, 
They always will endure. —Hess

As for me and my house, we will trust the Lord! I also know without doubt...strength will rise for those who wait on God. You know I love ya, Don

“God uses crisis to unleash the Church”

In the wake of the earthquakes in Haiti I am reminded of one of David's Psalms. In Psalms 22, we are privy to King David’s deeply intimate thoughts. Reading those haunting verses is like looking over his shoulder while he makes an entry in his personal journal. It’s obvious that David is in much distress and oppression. As far as he is concerned, God is on vacation. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” he cries.

But when we look again, we see an even deeper realization that God’s mercies are faithful and true. Even though David feels forsaken by God, he expresses his doubts in prayer. This psalm is a prayer to God. Wouldn’t you think that if David really felt God was nowhere to be found he wouldn’t waste his breath complaining? Not so. There is something in David that causes him to believe that God is still within earshot, even if it seems as though He’s gone for good.

The reality is that God views the entire picture and we see through a glass dimly. David understood that, even though his emotions did not. David had been in a tight spot or two before and the Lord has always come though for him. God and David had a relationship that has reaped a harvest of fruit through the years because they had walked together.

Jesus also used these words on the cross. Our Lord demonstrates that in the most difficult of times all believer's have the opportunity to cling to Scriptures. Jesus is reciting a well known passage and drawing closer to His Father while in a great crisis.

The early Christians persevered through some very difficult times as well. Yet, they knew they could not deny the truth they had seen and experienced. As Christ Followers, we will be worshipping a God that allows persecution and oppression to unleash his power through His people. The Lord is our God as He was to David and the early believers. He can handle our honest doubts and fears. Our response is to be faithful to Him and release our prayers and our faith so that He can unleash them into power. It is good to see the church in action in Haiti. My prayer is that we can also swoop into action at home.

“For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” – Psalm 22:24 NIV

You know I love ya - Don