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Lifted Up - part 1 - Mary + Joseph

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I had many different thoughts for what to focus on for this Christmas season. But if we know anything for the Christmas story is that our plans can be shaken up when God gets involved. God flies in and changes things up and that sometimes is the best thing that can happen to us.

As I was sitting in church this weekend, God dropped this idea in my head. So here we go.

As we see Mary and Joseph in Luke 1 and Matthew 1, they are engaged to married. They were both young and thought that they knew how it was going to go. Joseph had a job and was a good man. They probably had plans of how it was going to go. How they would get a place to live and call their own and what the wedding would be. But one night god changed all of their plans.

God sent Gabriel down to have a conversation with Mary. The appearance of the angel freaked Mary out a little bit. I mean let's be honest we all would be a little freaked out if a heavenly being just showed up in our presence. Then Gabriel said this:

“But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'" - Luke 1:30-33 NIV

Mary still a little confused how this would happen because she knew how babies were made and she wasn't in a place to do that activity. But Gabriel told her that this was going to be of the Holy Spirit and would be a good thing. So Mary told Gabriel:

“'I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.'" Then the angel left her.” - Luke 1:38 NIV

Joseph on the other hand was not so receptive.

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” - Matthew 1:18-19 NIV

Joseph was probably hurt at this time. He was probably angry. I mean after all these are humans that we are talking about. Joseph was probably ready to knock a guy out. But then he gets a little visit from an angel as well in a dream and it went like this -

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” - Matthew 1:20-21, 24 NIV

God chose two people and took their life from ordinary to extraordinary. They had their plans and how they thought their life would be. But then one night they found out that they were going to be not only parents - but the parents of the Savior of the world.

What I learn from this is that we can make all the plans that we want, but God can come and blow up our plans because He has something better.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21 NIV

“'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'” - Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

How will you let God lift you up this Christmas season?
____________________________
This blog post references Matthew 1 and Luke 1 in the New International Version of the Bible. 
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