THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

December 21, 2022

Merry Christmas!

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Around Christmas time we generally hear a lot about Jesus; as we should. Jesus is the reason that we even have Christmas and who we should be celebrating. We hear a lot about Mary, too. Her life was pretty amazing. Can you imagine becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit and giving birth to God's Son?! Being chosen to mother the promised Messiah must have been pretty overwhelming, but such an honor that God would have entrusted His only Son to her care.

This past week I have been thinking about Joseph, so would like to write some thoughts I've had about him.

When most of us got married, we had exceptions of what to expect from marriage. Granted, prior to marriage and those first few weeks we saw it through rose-colored glasses; thinking that everything would always be perfect and the love that we felt would always wrap around us and make us feel all warm and cozy. Even though others, who have been married for many years, may have told us that there will be hardships or times when love is a choice, we somehow thought that our marriage was going to be "different" and they just don't know!

Kind of like new parents with their first child. They look at other parents and think, "I'll never do that!" or "My kid will never....." or "It's just lazy parenting to let your kids watch a device or TV, I'll never".... then realize if they ever want to shower or get anything done, sometimes you do those things you think you never will do. It's easy to assume how things will be or how you'll feel or how things about your life will go; but we find that things don't always go as planned. In fact, many times, things don't go exactly as we had hoped or planned.

Have you ever gone through a hard time in your marriage or with your kids and thought, "I didn't sign up for this!"; meaning that things weren't going as you wanted or had planned. It was harder than anticipated and not something you ever dreamed of or wanted to happen. It's just a tough, hard situation that you don't like!

I wonder if Joseph ever thought, "I didn't sign up for this!" He was engaged to Mary and probably was making plans for their marriage; dreaming of what their life together would look like.

Mary told Joseph the news of her angelic visit and that she had become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and would become the mother of the Savior. Can you imagine how your spouse would have responded to that message?! He thought, "Okay, I don't want to disgrace Mary and cause problems for her - so I'll quietly break off our engagement." The Bible says that he was a righteous man and wanted to do the right thing.

While he was considering this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel told him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." When he awoke, Joseph did as the angel commanded him and took Mary as his wife.

Joseph started his marriage with a pregnant wife - the baby wasn't his, but was the Son of God. He and Mary weren't intimate until after Jesus was born; so there was no honeymoon for about 9 months. They weren't even in their home town, but had to travel to Bethlehem for a census. He had to care for and protect his young wife while they traveled, then probably felt like a failure when he couldn't find a room for her and she was in labor. Joseph likely was the one who had to deliver Jesus - not in his own home, but in a stable, which would have been a cave.

Shepherds came to see the newborn baby, not family and friends.

Eight days later, the baby was circumcised and they officially gave him the name Jesus. Then it was time for the purification ceremony, which was required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child. So Joseph and Mary and their newborn son went to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, and offered the required sacrifice. Think about it - Joseph and Mary presented God's own Son to Him!

Joseph and Mary were in a house in Bethlehem when wise men arrived to present Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Not your typical baby gifts!

After the wise men left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in another dream. He gave him this message, "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and His mother. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him."

So that night, Jospeh left for Egypt with the child and Mary. They stayed there until Herod's death. Not where Joseph had intended to live and raise a family! I'm sure he felt the burden of protecting this baby, who was the Messiah, and his wife. He had to leave everything and everyone familiar to him and his wife, in order to protect this baby - in a foreign country. I wonder if he ever thought, "I didn't sign up for this, Lord! This is too hard! Why did you choose Mary and me to parent Your child??"

Herod died, and an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, again in a dream. "Take the child and His mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead."

Upon their arrival in Israel, Joseph learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son, so he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. There his family went and lived in a town called Nazareth.

Once again, they were in their home town. We read in Luke 2 that Joseph and Mary had originally traveled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem for the census. It took them a few years to return back home! What was expected to be a short trip to go register for the census, turned out lasting a good long time - with an unexpected journey to Egypt.

We really don't know much about Joseph after this. We do know once a year, Joseph and Mary traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended, as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents thought that he was among the other travelers and didn't realize that he was missing. That evening, when He didn't show up, they started looking among their relatives and friends. When they couldn't find Jesus, they went back to Jerusalem. Three days later they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. His parents didn't know what to think! Of course, Mary was distraught. "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for You everywhere."

Jesus' answer was, "But why did you need to search? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" Mary and Joseph didn't understand what He meant. But Jesus returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.

Have you ever had a child get lost from you? There's this moment of incredible panic!!

A few years ago, I was taking care of my niece's four kids while she and her husband was on a cruise with his family. I dropped the oldest daughter, who was about 11-12 at the time, off at basketball practice. When I went to pick her up, practice had ended early and she wasn't there. I had no idea who to call, where she could be, and I panicked! I went back home and she wasn't there. Long story, but it took me probably 30 minutes to an hour to finally track her down and find her. I was terrified! It was the worst feeling!! By the time I found her, I was in tears and shaking and my heart pounding. When I saw her, all those emotions poured out.... yet so much relief, knowing that she was safely back in my care.

I can only imagine how Joseph and Mary felt when they realized that Jesus wasn't with them and no where to be found. For three days they couldn't find Him! Did Joseph think, "I'm responsible for protecting and caring for the Messiah, the Son of God, and I've lost Him!" Panic and fear had to have filled Joseph and Mary's hearts as they were searching for Jesus. Yet when they found Him, He seemed unconcerned and they didn't understand His answer. But how can you argue with "Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?"

That's the last that we hear of Joseph. He died sometime between Jesus being 12 years old and the age of 30, when Jesus began His ministry.

Sometimes in life, we encounter those moments of the unexpected.... the "I didn't sign up for this" circumstances. It can sometimes be difficult, heartbreaking, stressful, or perhaps just frustrating. After each thing that happened after Jesus was born and an angel appeared to Joseph to give instructions, the Bible says, "This happened so that scripture/prophecy could be fulfilled." God had a plan, and He orchestrated everything so that His Word and His will would come to pass.

It's the same in our lives. Things happen that we often don't understand or things that we never dreamed of or wanted to happen. But they happen so that God's Word and will can be fulfilled for our life. They happen to mold and shape our life... to promote spiritual growth and maturity... to direct our steps. We may not like it and it may seem like an inconvenience or hardship, but God will be with us through it all - always!

Throughout this next week, leading up to Christmas, take a few moments and think back on a few of those "I didn't sign up for this" times you've gone through. Do you see how God was with you and helped you through them? Do you see how He was working out His plan for your life? God loves you so very much and is always with you.

Merry Christmas! Let's celebrate Jesus and thank Him for being willing to come to earth, so that we could have salvation and the promise of eternity with Him!!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Joseph had to go through one unexpected life change after another for Jesus. But God gave him instructions each time, and provided gold and other wealth, provided by the wisemen from the east, for the family.

Those weren't the only surprises Jesus brought. The Jewish leaders were expecting a mighty warrior as the Christ. Even though they had prophecies saying He wouldn't be attractive, they were still expecting a handsome man. They even seemed to assume He would be raised in a church leader family. Again and again, they were sure Jesus couldn't be the Christ.

He spent time with sinners, and preached repentance, forgiveness and love. The Jewish leaders didn't understand any of that, and took it as proof Jesus wasn't the Christ.

He wasn't perfectly clean and orderly, and wasn't carried by servants. They were sure the Christ would be wealthy and behave like they did. Even though every prophet before lived a humble lifestyle.

If we get stressed over circumstances being different from our expectations, we will live a life filled with anxiety. We need to go with the flow, and adapt again and again.

ON THE MENEWE:

Christmas Candy

Mix cereal, fruit and nuts. (You can add a bag of cranberry pecan "salad toppers" as addition to, or in place of the fruit and nuts.)

Melt white almond bark or white chocolate melting wafers; pour over other ingredients.

Chill and break into bite-sized chunks.

Store in airtight container.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Jon and I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! We pray that you and your family are healthy, happy, and that you know how much Jesus loves you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our newsletters and allowing us to share what's on our hearts each week. May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, fill your heart and mind during this Christmas season.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Don't leave Jesus in the manger. Don't remember Him only at Christmas.

Instead, learn to walk with Him every day. - Billy Graham

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org