Happy Christmas to all our readers.

This post is Day 25 in a series of studies about “Babies and Children”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

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Babies and Children – Day 25

What a difficult time it must have been for Joseph when Mary told him she was expecting a child that was not his! Her visit to Elizabeth would have encouraged her to be bold about her situation. Very soon she would not be able to hide the pregnancy from anyone!

Matthew 1:20-21

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is of 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.

The Thought

What a difficult time it must have been for Joseph when Mary told him she was expecting a child that wasn’t his! He hadn’t seen her for several weeks because she had gone to see her cousin Elizabeth (see day 11). We can suppose that by the time Mary returned home her pregnancy was beginning to show. Very soon she would not be able to hide it from anyone!

Her visit to Elizabeth would have encouraged her to be bold about her situation. The baby Elizabeth was carrying had reacted to the presence of Mary, causing Elizabeth to burst into song (Luke 1:42).

The words in the verse today were spoken by an angel who was endeavouring, through a dream, to reassure Joseph that all was well. The preceding verses tell us a little of the character of Joseph, who didn’t want to cause a fuss. But neither did he want to marry someone who had already been unfaithful to him. That’s how it seemed in Joseph’s mind!

Action

Praise God today that we have the full story.

Let’s celebrate the true meaning of Christmas as we follow our earthly traditions while not forgetting the real reason for this season.

Meditate on what the birth of the Messiah really means for you. He is the greatest gift each one of us has ever received. He deserves more than just a nodding wink!

Speak to some of the people you meet today about the gift of His Son from Father God who came to earth so that we could go to Heaven. Hallelujah!

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