Friday 13 Dec 2013

Friday Reading: Matthew 1:19-21

Key Verse: Matthew 1:19
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

Devotion:
One of the greatest things about God is that when He wants you to do something that sounds unbelievable He will always make sure that you hear this things from other sources. I know that He has asked me to get involved with some things over the past decade that I would never have dreamed about doing and He has made sure that I know He wants these things because of what He has shown me and who He has brought into my life at the right moments. God is real and you had better start listening to Him!

Mary and Joseph were in love and wanted to get married, but you may be able to imagine what was going through his head when he found out that Mary was pregnant. Our bibles tell us that he just wanted to take her away and hide her so that others would not talk about them. His love for her did not stop because it was a real and deep love; no circumstance ever changes that love and if you have ever been faced with something that has ‘changed your love’ then I put it to you that it was not real love to start with.

The love that God has for us is a real love that goes beyond what we may be able to imagine and so He makes sure that we hear about this love from many places and many people. As we grow with Him we begin to accept how much He loves us and we can then grow in that love, believing it and relying on it. That does not mean that we can abuse it! Love must never be abused!

Mary and Joseph may have each had their doubts to begin with, but when they both heard from angels that this was all God’s plan, I think they would have come ever closer together than they were before. When God places people in our lives we need to grow with them and nurture them as God has done with us. Whatever age they are and whatever relationship you may have with them, God has a plan and we need to listen to Him and move forward with that plan. We do not know the time and the place, but we do know God loves us and guides us every step of the way. Trust Him. Love Him.

Points to Ponder:
Do you love others?

Do you return God’s love?