Joseph's Visitation

After the angel Gabriel visited Mary—and after the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary—Joseph must have been a confused man. We read that, not willing to make her [Mary] a public example, [he] was minded to put her away secretly. (Mt. 1:19b KJV)

Scripture also says, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (Mt. 1:20)

This was not a standard dream, but Joseph accepted the strange supernatural message about a strange supernatural event. He changed his plans and was obedient to God's Word. The Bible tells us, being raised from sleep [he] did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. (1:24)

Joseph's troubles were just beginning. The road ahead included the trip to Bethlehem with Mary giving birth to the baby in a stable. Then, when Herod threatened to kill the Christ, the angel spoke again. This time Joseph took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. (2:14b) Because he did not know how long they would be gone, his plans could only be incomplete.

Throughout the infancy and childhood of Jesus, Joseph played a key role in a deadly struggle. God selected this complex man to fulfill a huge task. It was the hour of his visitation.

Originally published December 17, 1982 and December 16, 1988.
Picture: Viewed from the street, Fargo, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

Become Human Again?

Someone once said that God became flesh—came to earth as a baby—so people can truly become human again. That might seem like a strange idea. But because we are sinners, our humanity or human-ness often falls short of what it should be. Jesus came to change that.

Jesus lived His entire life in perfect harmony with Father God the way God intended all people to live. Through His perfect life and His death, Jesus brings us life. When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, the angel said, And she [ Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Mt. 1:21 NKJV)

When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive a portion of His life—as much of Him as we can accept by faith. Our fallen human nature is always a disappointment. When we look at Him and His life in faith, we reach out to grasp a higher, more complete life ourselves. God’s power in us can overrule our baser instincts. He changes people who follow Him into people who are more fully human.

Originally published December 18, 1992.

Oil Poured Forth

A widow struggled to meet financial obligations after her husband’s death. Finally, she had nothing left to her name but a jar of oil and she was about to lose her children—creditors demanded they be turned over as slaves to pay her debts.

But the prophet of God named Elisha had a word for the widow. He told her to borrow as many vessels as she could. Then he told her to shut the door upon yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels . . . Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (II Kings 4:4b, 7b RSV)

She obeyed God’s Word through His servant Elisha. As she poured her small amount of oil into the many vessels, the oil increased and she filled every one of the vessels she had borrowed. God gave the widow a miracle and supplied all her needs.

Our resources might also be small. But when our inner life is poured forth—lived in response to God and His Word—He brings an increase. Current needs will be met and we will be able to live on the rest.

Originally published July 31, 1981.

Solemnly Forewarned

After the prophet Samuel had served many years as the Israelite’s judge—years during which he judged the people fairly—they decided they wanted a king like the nations that surrounded them.

Samuel was distraught. He felt they were rejecting him and his ministry, but God spoke to Samuel and provided a different viewpoint: they have rejected Me . . . However, you shall solemnly forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign. . . . ( I Sam. 8:7,9 NKJV)

Samuel obeyed God and warned the people as God said he should. He listed the cruel demands and devices of kings. But when they persisted, and when God arranged the circumstances, Samuel followed God’s Word to him. He anointed Saul—and the people of Israel made Saul their king.

But Samuel was still disturbed. Although he had warned the people once, he warned them again: if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel . . . that Lord will be against you. . . . 12:14,15) He emphasized that the people must serve and obey God rather than the king, but he knew it his heart, that his warnings would not have a lasting effect. He knew the people would turn to their king. And yet, as a prophet, he felt compelled to warn them. (12:14,15)

Originally published September 19, 1986.

The Enemy Within

The Israelites struggled for 400 years after entering Canaan before they actually possessed the land God had promised. During many of those years, they endured hardship. At one time, the neighboring nation of Midian was so strong that the Israelites lived in mountain crevices and caves. Often, when they planted their crops, the Midianites or other nations would raid them and take their harvest.

But when the Israelites turned away from idols to their true God—when they cried out to the Lord for help (v. 6)—He answered their prayers.

One day the Angel of the Lord came to an inexperienced youth named Gideon, telling him he would lead the Israelites in battle against the Midianites. But the angel's first assignment was a special task. Before he could defeat an enemy from another nation, he must defeat the enemy within. God said, Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord. . . . (v. 25,26 NIV)

This was no small test. Gideon knew people would react in anger and he was afraid for his life. He asked for signs to reassure him all would go well before he followed God’s instruction—and God, who knew his heart, honored his ultimate obedience.

All went well when he followed God's instructions. After that, with a unique and remarkable strategy he led the people and defeated the Midianites. Then he served as an Israelite judge (governmental leader) for 40 years.

Originally published October 5, 1984.
Picture: Como Park, St. Paul, MN, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

Civil Disobedience?

Groups of people were killed in Europe during World War II and few rose to defend or rescue them. Doing so would have been dangerous, because that would mean disobeying evil laws established by an evil government. After the war, some defended their lack of Christian love by claiming the Bible teaches people to support their government.

The Bible does teach that people are to support their government. But would it surprise you to know the Bible also directs people to participate in civil disobedience at times? When Peter and John were imprisoned, God sent an angel to open to the prison doors and lead them outside. Then the angel said, Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people the words of this life. (Acts 5:18-20 NKJV)

The disciples obeyed the angel. The enraged authorities asked, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name [of Jesus] And look you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. . . .

Peter and the other apostles answered with a truth we cannot forget: We ought to obey God rather than men. God’s Word instructs us to obey leadership when it provides protection and order. When that is lost, our duty is to obey God—and to change the law if possible.

Originally published August 30, 1991.

When We Forgive

Sometimes God asks us to do hard things and we would rather disobey than obey Him. It was not easy for Ananias to pray for Saul. He objected when God told him to meet the man. He even listed Saul’s activities before God. Saul had persecuted Christians in Jerusalem—and he had authority from religious leaders to send Christians to prison. (Acts, 9) Surely God knew that Saul’s character made him an obvious enemy of God’s people.

But God overruled Ananias just as He had overruled Saul: “Go, for he is a chosen vessel . . . .” (v. 15a ) Ananias had to put personal feelings and fears aside. He had to forgive a man he thought was his enemy.

Ananias struggled, but God knew Saul’s nature, and God knew Saul’s future—how Saul would respond. Saul’s conversion was both immediate and drastic. He began preaching in synagogues and everyone was amazed because the man who persecuted them had become a believer.

Saul went on to become Paul. He traveled the Roman Empire for Jesus and he wrote much of our New Testament.

And Ananias? He is remembered as the person who obeyed God when it wasn't easy. Through his obedience he helped launch the ministry of the remarkable apostle Paul.

Originally published November 13, 1992.
Picture: Commercial landscape, Grand Forks, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

No Partiality

Leaving prejudice behind is never easy; it’s part of our human nature to desire superiority over others. Rich are prejudiced against poor and poor against rich, educated are prejudiced against uneducated and uneducated against educated, men are prejudiced against women and women against men, ethnic groups are prejudiced against different ethnic groups, etc.

The Apostle Peter was prejudiced, too, and he couldn’t change his mind on his own. He needed a revelation from God to do the work for him. When on the roof of Simon the Tanner in Joppa, he experienced a trance. He saw a sheet come down from heaven not once but three times. Each time the sheet was filled with creatures that he, a Jew who observed dietary laws, could not eat. Then he heard a voice say, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (Acts 10:13b NKJV)

Almost immediately—while he pondered the meaning of the trance—men sent by a Gentile named Cornelius who was a Roman centurion came to the door asking for him. They told their story and said God had revealed he should preach to them.

But the Gentiles were not Jews. They were of a different ethnic group and a different religion. In that moment God gave Peter opportunity to receive and obey the revelation he received as well as the revelation the Gentiles received. And he rose to the occasion. In truth, he replied, I perceive that God shows no partiality. (v. 34)

Peter recognized that the kingdom of God through Jesus belongs to all people.

Originally published April 14, 1989.
Picture: Tulips, West Fargo, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

Surprised by the Message

God knows how to make life interesting by surprising His followers. Peter had no desire to minister to Gentiles. After receiving the Holy Spirit, he traveled around Palestine where he shared the gospel of Jesus with fellow Jews. In Lydda, he healed Aeneas who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. (Acts 9:33b NKJV) In Joppa, he raised Dorcas from the dead and presented her alive to the saints and widows. (9:41b)

When he was in Joppa, however, life changed. While staying with Simon the tanner and waiting for dinner one evening, he went up on the housetop to pray and fell into a trance. (10:9a,10a)

God spoke to Peter in the trance, and the message was couched in food. But its significance extended beyond food into every aspect of life: What God has cleansed you must not call common. (10:15b)

Peter had always lived an observant Jewish lifestyle. He resisted the message because it offended practices he'd learned as a child and lived as an adult. But when Gentiles came seeking his help, he capitulated: "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." (10:28b)

Only God can bring about deep, abiding change in people. Peter's worldview was forever altered; he had to leave his former mindset behind.

Originally published June 12, 1992.

Pierced Ears

Since Cain and Abel, people have tried to find favor with God by offering sacrifices. But God desires obedience. He accepts sacrifices when they come through acts of obedience.

Sacrifices were in line with God’s established practices in the Old Testament, and they’re still around. In today’s society, sacrifices might include monetary gifts, abstaining from something, good deeds, or an act of self-surrender. One of the things they accomplish is helping us recognize our vulnerable, weak nature.

A psalmist used a vivid image to portray the ultimate sacrifice: Sacrifices and offerings you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced. . . . (Ps. 40:6a NIV)

The image is based on the Old Testament practice of temporarily selling yourself into slavery to cover debts or some other need. When the time of service was done, a man could volunteer to remain a slave permanently. If he did, the owner would pierce his ear as a mark of his permanent status. (Ex. 21:4-6)

The point is the total commitment of an unending sacrifice. God's great desire is not merely temporary gifts or sacrificial offerings; He wants us to give the sacrifice of ourselves.

Originally published September 17, 1982.
Picture: Lindenwood Park, Fargo, 2008. Photo by Solveig.

Perfectly Trained

Jesus said, A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. (Lk. 6:40 NKJV)

The reality of human experience is that although we might be trained, we aren’t perfectly trained in our walk as Christians. Training requires obedience, discipline, industry. We all fall short because we don’t have it in us to fulfill those requirements or to follow our Him perfectly. And so, none of us becomes perfectly trained.

Jesus was the one exception. Of all the people who have ever lived, only He was totally obedient, totally disciplined, totally industrious. Only He did not fall short, because He followed His Father perfectly. He understood training.

The writer of Hebrews says, though He [Jesus] was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. (Heb. 5:8,9)

Because he was perfectly trained, Jesus revealed the nature of His Teacher. He was not above His Teacher; rather, He was like His Teacher. And He revealed His Father in Heaven.

Originally published June 19, 1987.
Picture: Flowers, Las Vegas, 2008. Photo by Solveig

Rise! Let Us Go!

Jesus spent much time talking with God the Father. Although many of His prayers are recorded, we often fail to understand their importance. He was God, but He needed to receive strength and direction through prayer because He was also human, just as we are human.

Insight into the interaction between Jesus and God the Father is especially evident in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Passover meal. Jesus was distressed, and He recoiled at the cross. "Abba, Father," he said. . . . Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will. . . ." (Mk. 14:36a,c, NIV)

Although He was submitted to the Father, Jesus would have liked another plan of salvation.

He withdrew from the disciples three times that evening as He prayed, coming to terms with God's Will. Finally He said, "The hour has come, Look, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." (v. 41b)

No longer seeking another plan, He was ready for His destiny. "Rise!" He said. "Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" (v. 42)

Originally published June 22, 1990.
Picture: Roadside thistle, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2008. Photo by Solveig.

Free from Tyranny

Because Jesus spoke God’s Word, the people hoped He would miraculously remove Roman soldiers and tax collectors from their land. That’s one of the reasons why the early ministry of Jesus attracted a great a deal of attention. The people were looking for a Messiah, a man who would set them free from Rome’s tyranny, and they hoped Jesus was the man.

But some of the followers were surprised by the things Jesus said and did. He challenged them in unusual ways. He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Lk. 5:4 NKJV)

As an experienced fisherman, Peter knew better. He tried to explain to Jesus why the effort would be useless. Then something about the person of Jesus changed his mind. He replied, “nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” (v. 5)

When he obeyed, Peter learned that Jesus does set people free—not necessarily from foreign powers or tyranny but from personal limitations. For, when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was braking. (v. 6)

Soon after Peter’s act of obedience, Jesus chose Peter as one of His disciples.

Originally published October 5, 1990.
Picture: Flower, Hawaii, 2004. Photo by Patty.

His Perfect Obedience

Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience. He always!—always!—did His Father’s will.

Imagine. We might be willing to submit our will to another person’s will for an hour—or maybe an afternoon or a day. But even then, inside—in our heart of hearts—we wait for our time of servitude to end so we can relapse into our own ideas, our own agenda. A lifetime of submission? Impossible.

Yet that’s what Jesus did, how Jesus lived. Locked into an earthly body, He submitted to His Heavenly Father. Not because He had to, but because He wanted to. Love for His Father and for His Father’s people were His motivation. He didn’t forget—even on the cross when He cried, “Father, forgive them. . . .” (Lk. 23:34)

Jesus’ perfect obedience, even obedience to death on a cross, is our salvation. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ . . . for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (Heb. 10:10, 14)

Originally published March 26, 1993.
Picture: Roses, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2008. Photo by Solveig.

A Positive Influence

History indicates God is a positive influence upon society. For example, the Renaissance and the Reformation occurred almost simultaneously and greatly influenced each other. Many scholars think the revival sparked by John and Charles Wesley aborted an English revolution.

So we shouldn’t be surprised when stories in the Bible link obedience to God with peace and prosperity.

Consider King Jehoshaphat. As is true for all individuals, he wasn’t above reproach but he did try to walk in God’s commands. He instituted significant reforms for his people. And listen to the advice he gave his judges: “you do not judge for man but for the Lord . . . there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.” (I Chron. 19:6b,7b NKJV)

Lest the judges become discouraged by the high standard, Jehoshaphat added a final thought: “Behave courageously, and the Lord will be with the good.” (v. 11b)

Oirignally published February 6, 1987.
Picture: Como Park, St. Paul, 2008. Photo by Solveig.

Acting upon God's Word

In this country, most people have ample opportunity to hear God’s Word. That was also true during Jesus’ life and ministry in Israel. People could regularly attend a synagogue—and if a special preacher was in the area, they could go to special meetings. During the early days of His ministry, Jesus often preached in the synagogues in or near Galilee. He also preached along the shores of the Lake of Galilee and then, multitudes pressed about Him to hear the word of God. (5:1a)

But it isn’t enough to simply hear the Word of God. We must also respond to it. After finishing a message one day while preaching near the lake, He turned to Simon Peter who stood nearby and said, “Launch out into the deep [waters] and let down your nets for a catch.” (5:4b)

This didn’t make a lot of sense to Peter. The command contradicted both reason and conventional wisdom, but Peter responded anyway. He dropped the net; He didn’t lose the opportunity to act upon God’s Word.

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. (5:6)

Originally published May 3, 1991.

Motives of the Heart

Parables are often hard to understand, but if we think deeply about them, they reveal hidden motives of the heart.

Jesus told about two sons. Their father asked both to work in a vineyard. The first said no—but worked anyway. The second said yes—but did not work.

Torn between obedience and personal desires, the first son responded poorly. Nevertheless, in the end he did the right thing.

The second son might have thought his motives were right. Perhaps he desired to work until he was distracted. Most likely, however, he deceived himself. Had his love been pure, nothing could interfere with keeping his word.

When Jesus asked the religious leaders which son did the father’s will, they knew the right answer and they replied, The first. Yet Jesus was comparing them to the second son. They served God with their mouth—not with their heart.

Assuredly, said Jesus, tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. (Mt. 21:31b NKJV)

Oirignally published February 5, 1988.
Picture: Flower in Arizona desert, 2008. Photo by Patty.

She Released Him

Have you ever wondered why Mary told servants at the wedding in Cana to follow Jesus’ instructions? After all, Jesus seemingly rebuked her when He said, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” (Jn. 2:4 NKJV)

Perhaps Jesus created the moment because He wanted to bless and strengthen His mother. His ministry was beginning. He would be leaving her and their home, and she would be feeling her loss. He gave her opportunity to move in faith by giving her opportunity to release Him.

There are legends, but no historical records of earlier miracles, and there is no indication the family lived anything other than a normal life. This was a poignant moment. Mary told Jesus about a need and revealed her faith in His ability to fill the need. She said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (v. 5)

If Mary had focused on her loss, the miracle would have been different. But she focused on Jesus, and her faith became a key ingredient in Jesus’ first miracle.

Originally published August 16, 1991.

Joyful Obedience

The rewards of obedience can be exciting, and they’re worthy of consideration, especially at a time of the year when many re-evaluate their lives and make resolutions.

But human nature resents restraints. After all, who gets excited about obedience if it means doing something we would rather not do—or not doing something we would like to do?

Nevertheless, listen to this picture of obedience and see if it isn’t exciting. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you . . . If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. . . . "(Jn. 15:67,10a NKJV)

Obedience to God is exciting because it’s part of our relationship with Almighty God. If we disobey Him, our love for Him and our relationship with Him wanes. But if we love God our relationship leads us into a life of joyful obedience

Originally published December 30, 1988.