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December 11: Luke 2:6-7 NLT Who is the Innkeeper? The Bible doesn’t tell us much about him or her. In fact, the Bible doesn’t even clearly mention an innkeeper, just that there was no room at the inn for Joseph and a very pregnant Mary. Over the years there has been speculation about the innkeeper and what kind of man he was. One view says he was uncaring and unmoved by this couple’s predicament and let them stay in a cave where the animals rested just to get them out of his hair. He probably charged the same rates as a regular room. That old scrooge! The other…

December 9: Read Psalm 139 NIV When I was about 6 or 7, my family traveled to Tennessee to spend Christmas with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. I worried the whole drive to Tennessee and in the days before Christmas Eve that Santa wouldn’t find me so far from home. This meant, in my little heart, that I wouldn’t get any presents from him. That night when I went to bed, I remember talking to God and asking Him to make sure Santa knew I was in Tennessee at my aunt’s house and not at my home. That way, he knew where to bring my presents. I mean,…

December 9: Read Luke 2:41-42 NLT As we conclude our look at Joseph’s journey in God’s plan, we read in Luke chapter 2 the only story recorded of Jesus’ childhood. Jesus was mistakenly left behind in Jerusalem. After a frantic search by his parents, he was found in the temple. After this story, Joseph is never mentioned again in the story of Jesus. So, what happened to Joseph? Here are two possibilities: What happened to Joseph is a mystery. What is not a mystery is Joseph’s righteousness, integrity, and obedience to God. All of us should be guided by Joseph’s example. We should all give thanks if we…

December 8: Read Matthew 1:24-25; 2:14, 21-23 ESV As we have looked at each telling of Joseph’s encounters with God through dreams and angels, the common theme we see is Joseph obeying what he hears. Scripture never records that Joseph hesitates, stops to ask more questions, argues the instructions, or throws in the towel when the directives are hard. Joseph does as the Lord guides. I’ve often wondered how Joseph could have such faith and obedience. What does he know about following the Lord that I haven’t learned yet? What experience has motivated such faith? What history of God’s character does he lean into to believe so clearly?…

December 7: Read Matthew 2:19-23 NLT Joseph has two more dreams where important instructions are given. First, to go back to Israel with Mary and Jesus because the threat to their lives is over—Herod is dead. Then, after Joseph arrives back in Israel, he is directed to go to Nazareth because of potential danger from Archelaus, Herod’s son. God is working out His plan, as Jesus would be ‘called a Nazarene.’ What a remarkable series of journeys for Joseph’s family. Go to Bethlehem, then Egypt, back to Israel, to end up in Nazareth. What about us? Whether we have lived and worked in many different places or lived…

December 6: Read Matthew 2:3-15 NLT I do not know about you, but I have never had someone trying to kill me or any of my family members. So, it is hard for me to understand what Joseph was feeling—the fear and worry—when he experiences a second dream that warns him about a plot to kill his son, Jesus. King Herod was so paranoid about losing his throne and the power that went with it that he would murder anyone he perceived to be a threat. Once again, as discussed earlier, the world Jesus was born into was full of evil. People were power hungry and money hungry,…

December 5: Read Matthew 1:20-25 NLT Have you ever been accused of living in a dream world? Maybe you are unaware of what is happening around you because you are drawn into your own world of imagination? Joseph was not in his little dream world but experiencing real messages from God through an angel. These messages guided him through his future journeys.  Why dreams? Joseph lived in a time and culture where dreams were accepted as an avenue for God to communicate with his people, albeit through messengers. God knows our personalities and the best way to get our attention to pass on instructions to us. God may…

December 4: Read Matthew 1:18-25 NLT  Over the next days we will explore Joseph’s part in the Christmas story. Did Joseph ever dream he would have such a choice? Mary, Joseph’s intended wife, finds herself pregnant and Joseph is not the father. Therefore, Joseph must choose, in his way of thinking, between divorcing Mary quietly or having her stoned to death as his legal right under Jewish law of not coming to the marriage pure. At least in normal circumstances this would be legal, but these are not normal circumstances.  You may have heard or read the tale of Christmas so many times that maybe you never really…

December 3: Luke 2:1-5 NLT In the United States a census is taken every ten years to provide equitable representation in the U.S. congress and state governments. The census was not to be a burden on anyone. I can remember when a census taker came to my family’s home to get an accurate count of the household. Today a form can be filled out online. This was not the case at the time of Jesus’ birth. A census was a hardship, as people were required to journey back to their ancestral town or city. There could be problems along the way, such as robbers and weather issues. Also,…

December 2: Read Luke2:19; 41-51 NLT As a mother, I often wonder how Mary could so gracefully journey this road the Lord has led her on. While her physical journey to motherhood and the journey to Bethlehem as a nine-month pregnant woman must have had their challenges, what I wonder more about is her spiritual journey. For nine months, did she ponder the words of the angel? Did she try to break them apart and decipher the future meaning of them? Did she struggle with the words of God as she thought about the potential future for her child? The Bible doesn’t record much about Jesus’ childhood and…