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Matthew 1:16-24

08 Sep
Statue of the Holy Family at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Port Aransas, Texas


16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:16-24

Dear God, I saw this statue this past week while I was on vacation in Port Aransas, and I really liked it. I love the idea of Joseph completely covering and protecting this family you gave to him. A wife who must have been scared of what was going on. A helpless baby who was you incarnate. The responsibility you gave him was immense, and yet he seems to have lived up to what you needed from him.

Regarding this statue, I like how small Jesus is represented. He looks more the size of a newborn. What really strikes me is how small Mary looks. It’s another reminder that she was tasked with something unbelievably immense as well.

I’ll confess that I lost some sleep last night as I get ready to go back to work today after almost a week and a half off. I was/am stressed because I have a lot of work to do. I know of about 10 different things that need done and addressed to keep our nonprofit moving forward. And they are all important and have a sense of urgency regarding timing. It’s almost like if I can get through this week then I can get through a lot of it. I mention all of this because I feel overwhelmed right now, but it is nothing compared with what Joseph and Mary were facing in raising Jesus. Relocating from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Running from Herod to Egypt. Coming back and figuring out where to settle down (back in Nazareth). Not to mention raising this wholly unique child into a man.

Father, first, I thank you for people like Mary and Joseph from the Bible. They were good people. Joseph is my favorite Bible character with Jonathan and Nicodemus running a close second and third. Good people, indeed. Help me to learn from them. Help me to worship you well today in my work. Help me to lead today. Help me to offer everything I have to you for the work you have for me to do. And let that start with loving my wife and giving her what she needs from me. What you need her to have from me. And then help me to go one step at a time from there.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2026 in Matthew

 

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“Mary Picked the Roses” by Andrew Peterson (Rich Mullins)

02 Jun

“Mary Picked the Roses” by Andrew Peterson (Rich Mullins)

Mary picked the roses
Early in the morn
Mary picked the roses
As the day was being born
Mary picked the roses
To smell their sweet perfume
Mary picked the roses
But Jesus made them bloom

Joseph carved a table
From a piece of wood
Joseph carved a table
It was his livelihood
Joseph carved a table
Where kings could sit to eat
Joseph carved a table
But Jesus made the tree

And I write songs
These songs I sing (Hey, la la la)
I’d have none if not for Him
And I know whence came the tunes (Hey, la la la)
Because Jesus made the roses (Jesus made the roses)
Jesus made the roses bloom

I will soon be leaving
I will soon be gone
I will soon be leaving (I will soon be leaving)
But I leave for you my songs
Though this life is fleeting
And time is no one’s friend
I will soon be leaving (I will soon be leaving)
Jesus never ends

So I’ll write songs
These songs I sing (Hey, la la la)
I’d have none if not for Him
And I know whence came the tunes (Hey, la la la)
Because Jesus made the roses (Jesus made the roses)
Jesus made the roses (Jesus made the roses)
Jesus made the roses bloom
Made the roses bloom
Made the roses bloom

Written by Rich Mullins, Andrew Peterson and Gabe Scott

Dear God, I was talking to the guys in Christian Men’s Life Skills last night about “ego” and how it can get in the way. How it can “Edge God Out” (E.G.O.). We talked about accomplishments and who gets the credit. We talked about David and Goliath and David giving you all of the credit while everyone else put their trust in the idols of armor or other people.

Then I heard this song this morning. There’s an intro that Andrew Peterson gives at the beginning of the included video, and he mentions that a young, early 20-something Rich Mullins wrote this song but never recorded it. I imagine Rich might have started with the concept of the chorus. I see him sitting and praying and writing songs and wondering about this unique gift he had. In that moment, he was able to take a beat and recognize it was from you. Then he probably started looking for parallels in the Bible. Mary and roses aren’t necessarily in the Bible, but the idea is certainly part of Catholic tradition. His mind linked Mary and roses, Joseph and wood, and then himself and songwriting to the same idea: none of it would exist without its creator.

Now it’s time to look at my life and wonder where I might be trying to take credit for things I shouldn’t. How do I look for glory for myself? Compliments for things that should only point to you and glorify you? I was talking Sunday in Sunday school about the angel talking to Manoah and his wife in Judges 13 and how the angel always deflected glory to you. Do I really do that?

Father, help me to direct all glory to you. I my thoughts and in my words. In what I do and what I don’t do. Please, Father, use it all to bring glory to your name regardless of what it costs me. May my life be about your glory and your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 2, 2026 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Joseph

20 Feb

Dear God, I am preparing my Sunday school lesson for this week, and I want to spend some time going over the things I’ve learned about Joseph over the last 24 years, since I first wrote God, Family, Job: In that Order?: A Study of Joseph, Jesus’s Earthly Father. Of course, my interest in Joseph started when I was at a retreat, and I started looking for a biblical man I wanted to emulate as a faithful worshipper of you, a husband, and a father. The list was short. Ultimately, I landed on Joseph and the Prodigal Son’s father. Since the Prodigal Son’s father was a representation of you, I ended up with Joseph. And I’ so glad I did. I’m so glad he was there to be Jesus’s earthly father. I’m so glad his example is there for me to follow.

When I think about Joseph off of the top of my head, here are my thoughts on an outline. Please guide me as I think about this, Holy Spirit:

  • His first decision: Divorce her quietly.
    • This decision would cost him and make him vulnerable
    • You needed Joseph to make this decision for your plan to work
  • He believed the dream and acted on it.
    • He married Mary but did not “consummate” the marriage
      • Did doubts ever linger?
  • He had to find a place for them to stay in Bethlehem
    • With family? In a tent outside of town? We don’t know.
    • What were their conversations like during the journey and before the birth?
  • The baby is born.
    • Had to improvise a difficult situation
      • Helping Mary made people unclean
      • Needed a better place but couldn’t find one
      • Doubts? What am I doing here? Was the dream real?
  • The shepherds.
    • Affirmation that this was all real! I cannot underscore this enough. If there were any doubts, the shepherds removed them.
  • The Temple (Simeon and Anna).
    • More affirmations.
    • Simeon’s warning to Mary.
  • The Wise Men
    • They created more problems than they solved.
    • More affirmations some months later.
  • The Dream and Escape to Egypt
    • Believing the dream
    • Survivor’s guilt?
    • Starting a new life? Gifts from the Magi?
    • Living in Egypt
  • Time to go home
    • More dreams.
    • Couldn’t return to Bethlehem because of Herod’s son. Ended up in Nazareth.
  • Lost in the Temple
    • He’s gone!
      • Where could he be?
      • Did Herod’s son, Archelaus, get him?
      • What were the conversations with Mary like for those three days of searching (four days of him being missing)?
    • Found!
      • He’s in the Temple and amazing people
        • Was this a surprise to Joseph and Mary? Had they already been amazed by him? When did Jesus start to display his knowledge and come into his mental maturity?
      • How inadequate did Joseph feel in raising your son?
  • Presumed dead
    • Sad that Joseph wasn’t around to comfort and help Mary during Jesus’s ministry.
      • Brothers and sisters seem to have been a hinderance
      • Would Joseph have been a hinderance too?

Father, there is so much for me to learn from Joseph. The least of which is that he, ultimately, considered his life nothing to him, even before his angel visit. He made a huge sacrifice just in his decision to divorce her quietly. I was just reminded of the scene in the first Captain American: The First Avenger movie when Steve Rogers, before the super serum, throws himself on a grenade to save everyone else, revealing the character the doctor was looking for in the man who would get this great power. That’s Joseph. Before you have him this great responsibility, even then, we are allowed to see his amazing character. Oh, Father, help me to be a man like that.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2025 in Luke, Matthew

 

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