• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Faith column: Grasping more meaning from the Christmas story

Posted at 12:29 pm December 16, 2012
By Anthony Collins Leave a Comment

“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.” (Matthew 1:20)

The reason that Christ came to Earth was so that we might have life and have it to the full. He wanted us to learn from Him how to live a life that blessed us. He wanted to show His great love for us and His ability to do anything.

The only way for us to have abundance in our lives in a way that really matters is to please God. The only way to please God is to be obedient. And the only way to be obedient is to live our lives based upon God’s word.

As Christians, it is our obligation to God Jesus Christ to live our lives according to the word of God as it is written in the Holy Bible. Most believers would not argue that point. Where we most often struggle is not in the “what,” but in the “how.” How are we to accomplish what appears to be almost, if not, impossible?

How do I live according to God’s word when everyone around me is going their own way? What are people going to think and say? What if I’m not liked by my friends? How can I do what I’ve never done before and what I’ve never seen anyone else do? How can I forgive when I’ve been mistreated and talked about? How can I love those who don’t love me? How do I live according to God’s word when it makes me so uncomfortable?

These are at least some of the questions that Joseph had to deal with in the scripture above. These are the feelings that challenged him as he purposed to do the will of God in his life. Joseph, who found that his fiancée was pregnant though he had never been with her, is told by God to marry her anyway because she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

No one is going to believe that. Everyone is going to think that he slept with her out of wedlock and to accuse him of fornication, which held the possibility of being stoned to death. How do you swallow this pill? How do you move forward in obedience in spite of the anxiety that he must have been dealing with?

Obviously, it would have been easier and safer for him to quietly divorce her and move forward. But instead we find him living his life according to God’s word. What does Joseph know that we need to know?

  1. Joseph knew that God’s word is a promise from God. He knew the character of the One who made the promise. He knew that God was worthy to be the object of His faith.
  2. Joseph knew that if God made a promise, that God was obligated to make the necessary provisions to take care of the obedience that secured the promise. He trusted God and he knew that no matter what it looked like, that God was going to take good care of him. When we walk in obedience to God’s word, there is always a promise of blessing attached. He also knew that when we disobey God’s word, there is a curse attached. Joseph chose life.
  3. Because Joseph realized that God’s word was a promise from God to make provisions for the obedience that secured the promise, Joseph was at peace. He didn’t have a lot of anxiety. He didn’t spend a lot of time being afraid of the “what ifs” of life. God said it. That settled it.

Joseph moved forward in obedience, never wavering, and he was blessed and blessed indeed by the faithfulness of God.

That is our encouragement today—to stay focused on the word of God as the promise of God, understanding who it is that has promised to provide for us, if we will only trust in Him. Praise God for His graciousness toward us.

The House of Worship prays for you and this community that we will all be captured by the true meaning of Christmas; that we who have much, will go out of our way to bless and even rescue those who have little. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Remember, Jesus really is the reason for the season. To God be the glory for the great things that He has done!

Anthony Collins is the senior pastor of The House of Worship at 190 Manhattan Avenue in Oak Ridge. For more information, go to www.thehouseofworship.com.

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: Anthony Collins, Christmas, House of Worship, Joseph, Mary, meaning of Christmas

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Recent Posts

  • Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life
  • REAC/TS welcomes new team members: John Crapo, Josh Hayes and David Quillen
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program seeks early career and senior scientists for prestigious fellowships at its locations across the U.S.
  • ORAU names Brandon Criswell associate general counsel
  • Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday
  • TVA has virtual open house for Clinch River Nuclear Site
  • Science and supercomputers at ORNL topic of Mar. 8 talk
  • First Presbyterian offers free meals & groceries on Mar. 10
  • Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats
  • ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today