How Joseph's life was turned around!

 Matt.1:18-25

          Did you every think about how Joseph must have felt before his dream-encounter with the angel?

Joseph was doing what the Old Testament men and women of God did who obeyed God even when it went against all human common sense. 

God knew what He was doing because he was a righteous man of God. When he found out about Mary being with a child, Joseph had a huge decision to make. He could expose Mary publicly as unfaithful because they were "engaged" to be married and the law was very strict for both of them. This would mean she would maybe even be stoned for this!! He could have a private separation or divorce which would be a written certificate in the presence of two witnesses. And the third choice would have been to go ahead and marry her but that would be going against the Mosaic law.(Lev,20:10)

Remember, he was a righteous and honorable man. So he choose to quietly end the engagement so that she would not face public humiliation and that he would be free to continue in his life. 

He had reasoned it out. He had decided what was right for the both of them.

Here they and their families had planned for a wedding and then she got pregnant and everything probably seemed crazy to him! What an emotional time for both of them it must have been. But all that changed one night in a dream!!!

Read what the angel said to him. It was more than just a dream.....it was an angelic encounter that changed his complete line of thinking!!! How could just a dream change his outlook on what he should do? It went against the way he was brought up! I tend to think that during the dream, he felt the commission of something so important. He was to go against all human common sense and make a decision that would change the course of all humanity!

And here is the thing that really stands out to me.....he awoke and did what the angel had said! BIG TURN AROUND!!!! There was a huge transformation!!! A dream did that!!! That happened to have an angel involved!!!  

There is a lot more that I have found going on here that would be hard to share in just one blog but I believe the Lord is saying: Wake up and do what I have told you to do!!!

Joseph's decision was a huge turning point here. Some may say that God would have found a different way. But if that was the case, why would He have sent an angel to him??? 

The "stage" was being set for the greatest gift to all humanity--- the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!! And the obedience to God from one young man help turn the future of all mankind!!!

Has God been telling you something?? Has He been tugging on your heart in areas that don't make much "sense" to you?? 

This coming year I believe is going to be so important to all of us! It is about time for the believers in the Lord (that means me too) to press into His Word, wear out those knees in prayer, worship Him and Him alone, to help those in need, to take care of each other, etc.

It would be a lot better place around here. And it starts with us as individuals. Joseph had a life changing turn around. I am so glad he did!!!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!!!

Paul

Caught up in the moment!

ATTENTION!!!

I was reading Acts 1 when I came across verses 9-11 about the Ascension. I know this is the Christmas season and how could this relate to it but this is interesting to look at. Jesus had already told them that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (v8) and after this, a cloud surrounded Him and carried Him up into the heavens. WOW!!!  What a sight that must have been!!! All eyes were on Jesus as He went up into the sky!!! Think about it. These guys had been through so much with Jesus. All the ups and downs, the cross, being raised from the dead, His appearance behind locked and closed doors, etc. Now He was leaving them and they had their eyes fixed on the moment!! How long did they stare?? Who knows!! Some versions list it as: gazing intently, straining their eyes, concentrating, etc. All their attention was on what had just happened and they were still looking for anything to keep them in the moment. 

But suddenly two angles appear and got them back into the "present". 

How many times do I find myself caught up in something that is "All God" and I want to stay in that moment even when things are going by me?? How about the times that aren't "Godly" and I find myself still in it? 

Just like those followers that day, Jesus told them that they had a lot to do ahead of them. It's nice to "re-live" those great moments that we all have but we still have to "snap out of it" and live in what is going on NOW!!! 

So is this time of the year. We all get caught up in the "natural" that we forget or loose sight of the opportunities that are all around us to share God's Love! 

As much as it would be neat to have a visit from and "angel", I would rather pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying to me and act upon it!

God Bless!

Paul

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT??

I was reading a book this week and the author asked that question. He was looking at John 16:7 which says:" "Nevertheless I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you." HCSB version. 

This is Jesus telling His disciples that it is better for them if He went to His Father in heaven. If He didn't, the Holy Spirit would not come to them. 

Think about it. The disciples must have been so confused as to what Jesus was saying. They had spent so much time with Jesus, seen so many miracles, heard so many teachings and now they would be better off without Him!?!

Seems like it doesn't make sense! But we know that the Holy Spirit would be sent down to all who accept Him.

The disciples mind set was that they knew of how the presence of God was with so many of the prophets of old and that to have Jesus leave would be a devastating to them!

Up to that time, the presence of God was displayed with smoke or fire. This was so foreign to them. You could say that the Old Testament was "God with us". Like Jesus was with them in the flesh. The Holy Spirit had not yet been given out in the full and powerful sense that was promised for the new covenant age.

I always wondered that when I went to Heaven, I wanted to ask the prophets of old what it was like to see the presence of God in the form of smoke or fire. But with Jesus being with the Father, we now have the Holy Spirit in us! In Romans 8:11, that's the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! Now that's pretty awesome!! Maybe the prophets will be asking us about what was it like to have the Spirit inside of us!!!

So it went from "God with us" to "God in us"!  How many times I have forgotten about the Holy Spirit in the things going on in my life. Do we really know what we have?? 

This study I am doing has brought back to me the importance of the Holy Spirit in my life. 

How about you?

Blessings,

Paul

I couldn't sleep so God took me to Ecclesiastes----WOW!!!

OK....the title might throw you off but I couldn't sleep this morning (day off---go figure!) so I got tired ( no pun) of rolling around in bed and decided to get up and get some good early study time in! And here I am in Ecclesiastes!!! I haven't been in this book for quite some time!! ( and for those who won't admit it, I did have to look it up to where it was!).
So I am reading in the first chapter and I got to verses 12 -18 and I started to pray about my priorities. I can get burden down by the ever changing "topics" of the day. The "emergencies" of daily life. The worries and troubles that we all walk through. Some of them are "big deals". Some are conformed to our present state of mind and/or spirit to be elevated to a higher emergency level in our daily walk.
Right then God was speaking to me about being so consumed by all of this stuff! I don't really take the time to spend with Him more during these busy days that I should. I don't look at it as a priority. I am spending to much time dealing with all of this stuff that I don't take a "spiritual time out" to gather my thoughts and emotions and fix my eyes on the One true Comforter.
I spoke about this in a past blog on how we should take the time everyday to recharge our spiritual batteries. I look at this busy holiday season that we all have and this is a real good time to "exercise our spiritual bodies" and make it a priority in these busy days! We have to say "No" when we become "overcome" by these things that come flooding into our lives.
Seeking wisdom and understanding in the Kingdom of God is a lot better than trying to get through this stuff on our own!
It is so amazing what God will speak to us when we make the time to spend with Him.
Now, what is God saying to you about your day??!!

(I got to get back to reading Eccl.!!! I don't think this is over yet!!)

God Bless!!

Paul

Gravel, Weeds, and Good Soil

This is a new blog that I am doing to invite conversation about Sunday's message as well as what the Lord is revealing to us within our hearts and lives during the week. It will be exciting to hear from many within our fellowship as well as others in different parts of the world!! And, it will stir up inside us more desire to read the Word and Pray for discernment and understanding as we strive to grow in our daily walk in the obedience of Christ.

So, let's begin!!! This morning, Pastor Derek shared out of Matthew 13:18-23 in the Message version about what ground are we when the Lord speaks to us or gives us desires in our hearts. Do we start out full of energy and life or do we kinda drag our feet? Do we loose "steam" after a short time because things do not turn out the way we expect it to?

I know that many times, I find myself starting off great but after a while I loose momentum for one reason or another. Staying into the Word and a consistent prayer life helps. But do we keep the vision in front of us???

Derek went over a lot of stuff this morning but this is something that really spoke to me.

What do you think??

Paul