Who was Joseph? He was never quoted in the Bible, his words were never recorded, yet he had one of the most important jobs in the history of man. We know he was a carpenter, husband of Mary, and foster father to Jesus. He was a righteous man and lived a religious life , otherwise God would not have chosen him to be the earthly father of Jesus. He was a Galilean who probably spoke with a rough accent of that area. As was the culture at that time, a Jewish man did not marry until he had an established trade and since he was a well thought of carpenter, we can assume he was at least 30 years or older. Mary was a young girl, perhaps just a teenager, so how did she catch Joseph's eye. Did he see her at the well, or was she a relative or friend of a relative? It was thought that they had known each other since childhood, and the matter was arranged in the traditional way by their parents. Both of them were happy with the arrangement, and expected to have an ordinary, pleasant life. Joseph was an obedient man, both in his religious and secular life. He obeyed the angel and took Mary as his wife even though he had earlier thought to quietly divorce her. He followed his government laws and took Mary to Bethlehem to register as was ordered by the ruler. He had Jesus circumcised in 8 days as was a religious law. We are told that he went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the Pasch. There were two other major yearly festivals, so Joseph may have gone to Jerusalem three times a year. It was at one of these festivals that Jesus was left behind at age 12. Not much is mentioned about Joseph and we can assume that he dies early in Jesus' life as he is not mentioned again. He was not mentioned at the crucifixion when Jesus told John to take care of His mother. He was an ordinary man who God used in extraordinary ways.
It was a busy week as we prepare for the Christmas. Reading Luke as we follow the story of Christ's birth. Also baking, last minute shopping, a day of decorating cookies with the greats, a visit form Santa who brings the Christmas pj's, visiting relatives of those who will be gone elsewhere for the holiday.
a local church had a Christmas at the Mill day here in Prairie Grove complete with a live Nativity scene
Pizza before cookie decorating - mac and cheese pizza ????
ready to deocrate
the finished product - lots of sprinkles but what is cookie decorating for
all done and snuggled in to watch Polar express
the day before they received their Christmas pj's from Santa
don't they look like angels? not all of the great grands though.
The third candle is the candle of Joy. It is the candle of love and salvation and sometimes called the Shepherd's candle because of the good news of great joy. Joy is part of the Christmas event - Mary's song of joy, joy, the shepherd's joy, Elizabeth's joy upon hearing of Mary's upcoming birth, the unborn John the Baptist leapt with joy in Elizabeth's womb when he heard Mary. Joy is like putting a puppy in a box for Christmas. What does it mean to have joy - not just happiness and favor but pure joy. Joy is much deeper than that. "Joy to the World" was written by Isaac Watts. He loved to make every thing rhyme - even in his everyday life. The lyrics to this song were inspired by Psalm 98. Jesus coming to earth brought joy to the world. The angels coming to the shepherds changes their lives altogether - just as Jesus changes our lives. Fear not the angels told the shepherds, do not be afraid. Fear not is is the most used phrase to us in the Bible. As God's people we are to not live in fear. Fear and anxiety are at an all time high in our world today. Because of this we can lose our sense of joy. The world always has been fragile but it seems that today is the utmost of fragility. There is Good News - imagine the joy in the shepherd's hearts and minds. The Savior was born after centuries of waiting!!! The Child would be Christ, Savior, and Lord. Our greatest need was forgiveness and God sent Jesus because He fulfills all of His promises on which we can rely. There is Great Joy - this is our response to the coming of the Savior. Great joy has a great source. We are filled with joy even though we never personally met Jesus in person. Joy is greater than our circumstances because of Jesus. We can have joy even if we don't have happiness. No one can take away our joy in having Jesus as our savior, Messiah, and King. We can find joy even in the darkest times of our lives. Mary chose joy in the role of being the mother of Jesus. She embraced the joy. We can choose joy because of Christ's being in us. The joy is for all people. God wants all of us to feel the joy in His Son Jesus. Even though Isaac Watts found disappointment in his life, especially when the lady he wanted to marry jilted him, he went back to writing songs about Christ. He understood pain and never married. He continued to write about joy and peace. May we al have lasting joy in Jesus.
A blessed and Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. Find joy in the birth of our Savior.
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