Happy New Year!
May the days ahead be filled with peace and an unmistakable awareness of Father’s presence. May you have the confidence in knowing that you are in His hands doing His bidding. Release doubt and fear. Release worry and insecurity. He has called you and has equipped you for the task before you this year. Remember, what Father orders, He pays for.
But he who listens to me [wisdom] shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. Proverbs 1:33
Like last year, I’m reading a Proverb a day for January. My son is learning to write so I will give him a verse out of each chapter to copy. This wasn’t it, though. He started with 1:7.
We viewed The Nativity the other night. Very good! I would recommend it. Babe got onto me for critiquing the Biblical inaccuracies after the movie. She thought it was a bad influence on the kids. I hope that I instill in them a constructively critical eye with a right attitude. I don’t get if they are going to the expense, why not get it right? What impressed most about this movie is that it brought to life Mary and Joseph. They lived in a real time with real stressors. Mary or Joseph didn’t have the angel to back them up when they faced the community and their extended family. They lived a life of ridicule. This probably extended to their other children. Remember how Jesus’ brothers ridiculed him before he went to Jerusalem? Mary and Joseph got a direct word from an angel. What about James and the other siblings? They had to grow up on the wrong side of tracks. “Hey James,” the other boys taunt “I here that your mom’s a slut.” Kids are so cruel you know. Not civil at all. I wander how many fights James got into for Jesus? Did Gabriel visit James in a dream at night? Probably not. He had to endure a faith without sight. But we know how the story ends with James. I always view everything from the template of developmental psychology. This would have set the kids back before they were even born. Except for one thing…faith. Faith begets faith. We all have to receive faith for our life regardless of the developmental set backs we contend with. These kids were no different.
Anyway, this story has got me thinking about what it would be like to be Joseph or Mary. What incredible faith. “Be it unto me according to your word.” And Joseph…what a man. The word that comes to my mind from times past is, “what a wuss.” He probably lost some esteem points from his friends. But the voice of the Father makes all the difference. We are called fools for Christ now days. We take the ridicule because we know the Truth. We know Jesus. May I live my life always resting on the Word of the Lord. This would be my hope for the new year.
But he who listens to me [wisdom] shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. Proverbs 1:33
Like last year, I’m reading a Proverb a day for January. My son is learning to write so I will give him a verse out of each chapter to copy. This wasn’t it, though. He started with 1:7.
We viewed The Nativity the other night. Very good! I would recommend it. Babe got onto me for critiquing the Biblical inaccuracies after the movie. She thought it was a bad influence on the kids. I hope that I instill in them a constructively critical eye with a right attitude. I don’t get if they are going to the expense, why not get it right? What impressed most about this movie is that it brought to life Mary and Joseph. They lived in a real time with real stressors. Mary or Joseph didn’t have the angel to back them up when they faced the community and their extended family. They lived a life of ridicule. This probably extended to their other children. Remember how Jesus’ brothers ridiculed him before he went to Jerusalem? Mary and Joseph got a direct word from an angel. What about James and the other siblings? They had to grow up on the wrong side of tracks. “Hey James,” the other boys taunt “I here that your mom’s a slut.” Kids are so cruel you know. Not civil at all. I wander how many fights James got into for Jesus? Did Gabriel visit James in a dream at night? Probably not. He had to endure a faith without sight. But we know how the story ends with James. I always view everything from the template of developmental psychology. This would have set the kids back before they were even born. Except for one thing…faith. Faith begets faith. We all have to receive faith for our life regardless of the developmental set backs we contend with. These kids were no different.
Anyway, this story has got me thinking about what it would be like to be Joseph or Mary. What incredible faith. “Be it unto me according to your word.” And Joseph…what a man. The word that comes to my mind from times past is, “what a wuss.” He probably lost some esteem points from his friends. But the voice of the Father makes all the difference. We are called fools for Christ now days. We take the ridicule because we know the Truth. We know Jesus. May I live my life always resting on the Word of the Lord. This would be my hope for the new year.
posted by brent at 9:54 PM
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