December 18
Scripture of the day: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, 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. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' ... 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 called His name Jesus." Matthew 1:18-25
Thought of the day: There isn't much written about Joseph in the Bible. But there are important facts about him in today's Scripture. He was "a righteous man". He had abstained from pre-marital sex with his fiancée. And when he learned that she was pregnant, he planned to send her away secretly. He could have publicly challenged her morality, Deuteronomy 22:13-24 ... but he was more concerned about not disgracing her than he was concerned for himself. And then, after the angel had spoken to him, he obeyed by marrying Mary ... and by naming the baby Jesus.
Challenge of the day: God chose Joseph to be Mary's husband and Jesus' stepfather. Why? God chose him because he was a righteous and obedient man. Joseph was more concerned about Mary, Jesus, and obeying God than he was concerned for himself. Men ... be like Joseph. Follow his example!
THIS DAILY BYTE OF THE WORD, COPYRIGHT 2014, WAS PRINTED LEGALLY FROM WWW.EBREAD.ORG. YOU MAY COPY IT, UNCHANGED, BUT ONLY WITH THIS SOURCE AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ATTACHED ... AND ONLY FOR FREE OR AT-COST DISTRIBUTION. BIBLE QUOTATIONS ARE FROM THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.