Angelic Christmas Dreams

Just Do It! They were dreamers. One Joseph was young and immature, and his dreams resulted in saving the lives of many people. The other Joseph was a very wise and mature adult, whose dreams resulted in a Savior for all the world’s people. God saw the puzzling thoughts of the second Joseph. God also saw a loving heart who wanted the best for Mary. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, and he obeyed. Don’t Do It! They came from the east and entered Jerusalem in search of a king. Wise men had traveled far, following a star that had led them there. When the existing king got word of such, he was more than a little concerned. In the mind of the king, there wasn’t room for another king. So he quickly sought the wise men’s help in devising a plan of evil intent. However, the king failed to realize that he was not the only one with a plan. The wise men departed, no doubt with the intention of keeping the king informed of their findings. Nevertheless, there was a dream during the night that led the wise men to leave town another way without the king’s knowledge. Get Out of Town! As the evil king Herod plotted, God’s angel kept working with Joseph. Joseph had another dream in which the angel informed him that the life of the Christ child was in danger, and he was to flee to Egypt for safety. So Joseph, Mary, and Jesus ‘got out of town’ as the angel told him. Go Back! The years passed as the little boy Jesus began to grow up in Egypt. In the meanwhile, King Herod had committed unthinkable atrocities in his failed attempt to destroy the Christ child. When King Herod died, Joseph dreamed yet again, and the angel told him to ‘go back’ to Israel. Go North! Not once had Joseph’s prior dreams led him astray. However, there was a pause when he heard that a certain king was in power. Joseph continued to trust God and was not disappointed. He dreamed yet again and was informed by the angel to continue ‘going north’ to Nazareth. May we ‘just do’ the thing we know we have been told to do. May we listen as did the wise men and ‘don’t do’ the wrong thing. Let’s not hesitate to ‘get out’ of a relationship or situation that is displeasing to God. May we know when it is ‘time to go back’ to fix it, restart it, or to complete it. God is ever with us to command, guide, direct, and redirect us to ‘go North’ if need be. 12022016 cj Matthew: chapters 1 & 2