KNOWN BY HIS DEEDS
Daily Devotion for Advent 2020 | Wednesday, December 23
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His Name Jesus.
(Matthew 1:24-25)
Do you realize that we never hear Joseph speak? Not once do we hear a word from his lips in the whole Gospel story. But that doesn’t stop us from feeling like we know him very, very well. We know Joseph by the actions he takes.
Look at his response to the angel’s message! He doesn’t hem and haw or hang around agonizing about whether the dream was real or not. No, as soon as he wakes, he goes to do what the angel said; he brings Mary home to be his wife. He respects her situation all through her pregnancy. And he names the baby Jesus, just as he was told to do.
Joseph was a faithful man. God entrusted His own Son into Joseph’s care, and that trust was repaid with simple, straightforward obedience. Joseph was reliable, trustworthy, and loving. His deeds speak for him.
God’s deeds speak for him too, don’t they? Look at the daring of a God who would give His very Son into the hands of human beings, frail and fallible as we are! Look at the love that drove Jesus to come to us, laid to sleep in a manger that was already overshadowed with the coming cross.
Our God is faithful—and He is loving. We can rely on Him to the uttermost. He will never fail us.
Lord, help me to remember Your deeds, and to see what they say about Your heart. Amen.
Reflect & Discuss
- Think of someone you know and love. What kind of deeds do they do?
- What do those deeds say about them?
- Which of your own deeds show that the Holy Spirit is making you more and more like Jesus?
Brought to you in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries – lhm.org/advent
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About These Devos
GOD WITH US Advent Devotions 2020
Christmas is a time for reflecting. We think of holidays past and the one that’s upon us. As you read the messages of God With Us, consider the many ways that God is present in your life—through His Word, your loved ones, the fellowship of believers, Holy Communion, and more. His love for us is personal. He proved that in a Bethlehem manger—God’s only Son born for all mankind, so that through the Christ Child we might know life with Him forevermore.
Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church.