Thursday, December 8th

Matthew 1:20  An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”Joseph doesn’t get a whole lot of credit for his great act of faith.  He also doesn’t get much credit as Jesus’ earthly father.  Joseph taught his trade of carpentry to Jesus as he grew into a boy and young man, before Jesus began his ministry.  Working closely together, Jesus would have spent many, many hours at his father’s side.  He would not have grown up to be the great teacher he was without learning more than just carpentry from his father.  Without Joseph’s quiet faith and fatherly care, we would not have the Christ as our great teacher and redeemer.Dear God -- Help me to be humbled by your blessings and to seek to do your work in the world without expecting recognition or credit.  In Your name, AmenDP