Sunday, January 31, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Dirty Hands, Clean Heart

Matthew 15: 1-20 – Dirty Hands, Clean Heart


God came to earth to keep us from legislating ourselves into oblivion. We see the sins of others and we want to play God so we heap mountains of rules and regulations on the little people thinking this will keep sinful nature in check. Somehow it's not enough. In fact, it makes us even more unruly. Do we really think conforming to some arbitrary manmade laws is going to make us righteous? Earth friendly or even green? Think again!


Can we just wash our hands and still allow our hearts and souls to fester? "Turn your life inside out," Jesus says. Think about washing your heart with some heavenly Chlorox. Only Jesus can remove the stains AND keep it from getting filthy again.


When people say "no" to God being involved in their lives they create their own pitiful rules to try

and clean things up. It just adds to the clutter and they are still as filthy as before.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)



©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Just Get in the Boat, OK?

Matthew 14: 22-36 - Just Get in the Boat, OK?


Jesus was tired, bone tired. The crowds seemed to have worn Him out and He needed to be alone. What to do with the bumbling disciples? Make them get into a boat and go on ahead of Him to another town. Maybe He figured that they might have disturbed His prayer time up on the mountain – or did He? It was nighttime and the Sea of Galilee was fickle and unreliable and could turn ugly in an instant.


"He made them get into the boat . . ." Hmmm. Did He know something? Fast forward a few hours and now it's the middle of the night. He's on the mountain praying; they're in the boat in the midst of a fierce storm. No cell phones, text messages or air raid sirens. He knew they were in trouble and decides to check it out for Himself and goes out into the sea and walks on the water. Huh? Is this crazy or what?


Mark 6 says He intended to walk past them – just checking on them but not intervening. Some friend you are, Jesus! But I digress. Here He is, walking on the water – no jet skis, rowboat, paddle boat - just His feet. They are magic feet. And it scared the bejesus out of the disciples. How can they see Him, anyway? Was He glowing?


Peter thinks it looks like fun and after he determines it isn't a ghost he challenges Jesus to give him these magical walk-on-water powers, too. Peter walks, sinks, is rescued and then Jesus makes the entire storm stop! Is He a weatherman, too? Now He's got the attention of the Twelve. I guess the feeding of the five thousand didn't register. Or else they were slowly moving from ignorant to belief in tiny baby steps. I can't judge them too much. I've never had a friend feed an army out of thin air or make a raging storm stop.


The disciples recognized Jesus for who He was. The people on land also recognized Jesus and spread the word. Crowds came to be touched by Him. They saw Him as healer as well as provider and it compelled them to worship Him. 

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)



©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

The Jesus Pages: Sex, Hunger and Jesus

Matthew 14: 1-21 – Sex, Hunger and Jesus


Herod was a king, but was also a normal man. His stepdaughter danced a sexy, provocative number and he went bonkers and then made a stupid promise. John the Baptist lost his head – and his life – because of it. When Jesus heard, I'm sure He gave a huge sigh over the power of sex making animals out of humans. Our hungers can get us into all sorts of trouble.

 

Jesus can't even grieve in private. Five thousand people show up to see what miracles He can do for them and Jesus can't ignore them, even if they're fickle and only there for the show. He captivates them with His compassion but holds court too long. 


Now they're all hungry at once. The disciples' pockets were empty but Jesus' were not. He takes the meager meal given to him – bread and fish – and shares it with the giant crowd. What magic! How generous! It multiplied to meet the need because it came from the hands of Jesus, the miracle worker. Do you think anyone's spiritual hunger was satisfied, too?

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)



©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Good, the Bad and the Treasures

Matthew 13: 31- 58 – The Good, the Bad and the Treasures


We are God's seeds in the world's garden. We don't get to stay in an exclusive private garden with all the other heavenly seeds. He expects us to integrate and penetrate the evil world. We are God's yeast – well mixed into our culture and blending in – but not so weird looking that people can't mix with us.

 


Why do we insist on staying in our private gardens? We have to mix with the weeds! God will protect us as long as we keep Him in the front of our minds and hearts. How else can the weeds magically become like us if we don't tell them? 


We are God's treasure, His precious pearls. He discovered us and sold everything of value so that He could buy us from our slave owners. He didn't do this grudgingly: "in His joy He went and sold all He had . . ." God was tenacious, relentless, intentional in doing everything so He had enough in his pocket to pay the ransom required. Don't ever think God is stingy!

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)



©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Monday, January 25, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Don't Blame the Seeds

Matthew 13: 1-30 - Don't Blame the Seeds


Jesus goes from seeds to weeds. He sets the record straight when He says you can't blame the seeds for not growing. They are dependent on their environment. If a seed shows up in my backyard it can get all sorts of treatment, but only one will make it grow into what it was intended. Good soil is the perfect partner.

Now, weeds love good soil, too. Sigh. 


So, there is a battle raging for space in the garden. And now we know where weeds come from – the Devil! Well, that's what Jesus says here – I'm not kidding. They are imposters. They are green and grow and even have showy flowers, but they are dangerous and can choke out the good seeds. They are worthless because they are good for nothing – just taking up space.

Sometimes you have to leave the weeds alone or you may damage the good plants. In time you can get rid of them and burn them in the trash heap at harvest. 

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)



©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Sunday, January 24, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Faulty Logic and Rotten Fruit

Matthew 12: 24-50 – Faulty Logic and Rotten Fruit


Who you are is who you are when no one is looking. When the tube is squeezed and the stuff inside comes oozing out, that's the real you. If you want better things to come out, forget the outside upkeep. Aim the overhaul on the internal working parts.


Never think you can keep the demons down by avoiding conflict. Conflict comes and what's inside gets forced into the light. I advise you to get your flashlight and go to work cleaning up the inside rooms. Do not call evil "good" and good "evil." Let your aim be to coordinate the inside with the right packaging.


The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)


 

Thursday, January 21, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Law, the Lawyers, and the Law Giver

Matthew 12: 1-23

"Jesus! Don't do this and don't do that, for goodness sake! Why can't you obey all our laws?"

Well, Jesus has an answer for them: "Your laws are cold and harsh and dead. People are more important than your stupid laws." (OK, Jesus didn't use the word "stupid," but I'm sure He thought it).

His disciples eating grain right from the fields? They weren't stealing; they were hungry. The man with the shriveled hand? It's a good deed that didn't hurt anyone except the lawyers who were self-appointed morality police. The demon possessed man? Shouldn't he get release, no matter what special day it was, huh?

The Law Giver is trying to straighten out the lawyers and He has to take them back to the classroom for a refresher course on what the law is and how it's to be applied. He says you get "brownie points" for loving people more than loving the law. (OK, He didn't use the words "brownie points" because that came 20 centuries later, but you get what I mean, don't you?)

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)




Wednesday, January 20, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Jesus' Campaign Manager

Matthew 11

John was in a scary place: dark, cold, dangerous. Is this how he gets rewarded for campaigning for Jesus? I mean, he spent his whole life getting ready to publicize Jesus' appearance on earth. Now, after he introduces Jesus, he gets thrown into the slammer.

"Jesus? Did I miss something? Are you God or not? If you are, then, OK, I'll suffer for you. But, if not, can you spring for my bail?"

Jesus - his friend, his cousin - tells the crowd that John is the greatest prophet. But the people are fickle. No matter how John came, he couldn't have pleased them. Judgement is coming. World events cannot be altered. We don't always get rewarded for living right, doing right. Sometimes we even get our heads handed to us on a platter .  . . I'm just saying . . .

Jesus saw it ahead of time and simply advises: come rest with Me because you can't figure it out anyway.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Misunderstood Jesus

Matthew 10:21 - 42

"Jesus, I thought we were supposed to sit in a circle, hold hands, smoke a joint and sing Kumbaya. What's this about betraying my brother and putting my parents to death? And persecution?!! I thought if I played nice and acted like You we could all get along? Act like You and I could end up in jail or be tortured and put to death? Didn't You come to bring peace and prosperity?"

"And carry my own cross? Excuse me, but I really thought You did that for me! Now You're asking me to stand up on Your behalf when it might be dangerous for me? When my good reputation might get tarnished?"

"And what's this about loving You more than my parents? OK. I can do that. My parents were a little psycho and dysfunctional - not a problem. I think I can do that. But, my children? Wow! Does that mean that I should stand up for Your principles when one of my kids steps out of line? That I let her experience pain - or maybe jail - and not intervene and manipulate things to keep her from hurting?"

"I am getting a different picture of you, Jesus, and it is very stark. I honestly thought you were the Maharashi Kumbaya Jesus. You're sounding like a harsh task master. It sounds like there's a battle going on between good and evil and evil is brandishing its sword. You want me to enter the battle for You? But, I'm a peacenik! Can't you see my peace sign?"

"You say the Devil is coming right for me? Can't you do something, Jesus? You already did? When? Oh, I forgot . . . the cross. Well, that was so messy and so yesterday. And blood's still being spilled today?"

"I honestly got things so confused. This life is not all there is. This is just a blip on the radar screen in light of eternity. Jesus, open my eyes so I can see King Jesus and help me keep my armor on so I can "whup" the devil!"

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Monday, January 18, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Cloning Jesus

Matthew 10:1-20

Maybe Jesus was feeling a little tired, having to do all the work himself. Or maybe He just wanted to share the wealth. So, He cloned Himself 12 times and let them loose to do His magic. Their limits? Only go to to certain people (Jews) whom He calls "lost sheep." 

But, I don't think He considers them sheep; He calls them wolves later on. So, He's really setting something up here. Making His case for going to the whole world because He knows the sheep will reject Him. After all, sheep are basically stupid and only care about the next meal and the next place to lay their dumb little heads. Jesus wants that to be understood so they (the Jews) have no excuse. 

The Twelve have power to heal the sick, raise the dead!!!, take away leprosy and exorcise demons. Jesus is cloning Himself into them. And the amazing thing is there still will be people who reject them. Surprise! And I get all bent out of shape today when people don't want anything to do with the Gospel? Get over it!

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Saturday, January 16, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Extreme Faith

Matthew 9:18-38

I don't know of any people who ask Jesus to raise their loved ones from the dead. But I understand why the "ruler" tried - it was his daughter. He figured if anyone could do it, that would be Jesus. And He did!

The woman with the bleeding problem? No one for 12 years could heal her. But she knew Jesus could do what the doctors couldn't. All she had to do was touch Jesus - now that's extreme!

Are you blind? Let Jesus touch you. Demon possessed? Only Jesus has the power to cast them out. An extreme physical infirmity requires extreme asking. Notice who they did not ask: the powerless religious leaders. They went to the Power Source. Faith was the switch they threw to access the limitless power.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Friday, January 15, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Words Mean Things

Matthew 9:1-17

Our troubles drive us to Jesus. Our faith gets His attention. And then we wait for Him to speak to our need. "Please, Jesus, say something," we cry. That pleases Him because it shows we recognize His power and authority. So, He speaks to our need and takes away that part of it that paralyzes us. We are set free and the feeling is glorious.

Sometimes there are those close to us who mock and scoff: "Stupid you! Who is this Jesus? You're deluding yourself thinking He's going to help you." 

Watch out, because Jesus has words for them, too. The scoffers are deluded themselves, thinking their own words are all they need. They need to take their tired rules and regulations and bury the book and start fresh. Or they will be ruined. Jesus' words don't make sense unless you strip away your tired layers and ask Him to make you new, starting from scratch.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Thursday, January 14, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Too Much Jesus

Read Matthew 8:18-34

We naively put our hands out and ask Jesus to fill them. When things begin to spill over and we get more Jesus than we bargained for, we panic. "Oh! I only wanted a little bit!" we shriek.

But Jesus says, "If you want any part of me you have to take all of me. You want to follow me? Then get behind me and follow. Go where I go. Ride in the boat and take whatever ride I give you. Stay in the same hotels or tents or sleeping bags on the ground. And if I choose to do something radical and miraculous - like clean up your life and set you free from your choke chain - then don't back down and tell me it's too much. It's all or nothing."

We want the Sometimes Jesus or the Part-Time Jesus. But the All-or-Nothing Jesus? For some of us, that's Too Much Jesus.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Currency of Sickness

Read Matthew 8:1-17

Even sickness has a purpose. The leper had nothing to lose because he had already lost it all: family, community, comfort. He had one last chance and it was Jesus. But what did he have to bargain with? He couldn't pay Jesus anything. Neither could the centurion. How dare they come to Jesus and ask for healing? Why should Jesus pay attention to them? 

Ah, but they did have something very valuable, currency Jesus loves to get: FAITH. In exchange for their faith in not only Jesus' power, but in His compassion and willingness to heal. How awesome is that? Can you imagine asking a doctor to heal you in exchange for your belief that he could do it? Sickness throws us on our knees before God and our faith is all He asks for in return.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

The Jesus Pages: On the Outside Looking In

Read Matthew 7

You've spent a lot of time, money and resources building your life and now it's time to step outside of yourself and see what you've done. Do the outside and the inside match in style, decor, personality? How much pretension is going on? Do you cultivate the outside and let trash pile up on the inside? Pick at others' exteriors while neglecting your own interior? Have you invited God to be your partner or are you content to do it on your own?

Did you realize that He is more than happy to help with the yard work, painting, clean up? He has a 24/7 service! How does your garden grow? Do you have plants that have to be pruned? Then stop watering them and start lopping off those parts that are worthless and aren't producing anything! And, are you taking care of those cracks in your foundation? You better hurry before the bad weather comes and your basement fills with water.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Monday, January 11, 2021

The Jesus Pages: At the End of the Spending Spree

Read Matthew 6:19-34

How do I spend myself? How am I investing my personal resources? Oh, not so much the money, because the money only follows what my heart has settled on. Follow the money! It leaves an unmistakable trail that tells a tale of either waste or wisdom. All that I gather into my storehouse on earth will go back in the box at the end of my life. I can't take a single thing with me. It's better to divest myself of as much as I can before it's too late and someone else makes that decision for me. 

What lasts for eternity? Those things that I can take with me! People and deeds of goodness done for God's approval. Break open the checkbook. Sure, there are earthly things that I have to spend money on: food, shelter, clothes, car insurance. But do I go overboard on those things? Audrey told me she has 70 pairs of tights! I still can't get over that number unless you can beat it by Mildred's 100+ pairs of Ferragamo shoes! How many can you wear at one time? 

You cannot serve God and Money. We try, we try all the time and we deceive ourselves by thinking that our pursuit of things is harmless. Use your things to serve God. The "things" in my house, my garage, my closets represent that which I traded my time, my heart in exchange for. I get paid for my "work." In return I spend that payment on something. We deceive ourselves when we view that in terms of percentage instead of intensity. 

Poor people can be just as deceived as rich people. Jesus reminds us that God will take care of us. See how He manages the animal and plant kingdom? He values us more. Quit worrying about stuff. Stuff poisons us, blinds us, paralyzes us, buries us under and then smothers us. Store up treasures in heaven - it's OK to gather, just gather the right stuff. When you get up there you'll see what really matters, so why not see it NOW, change course, and then go on an eternal spending spree.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Saturday, January 9, 2021

The Jesus Pages: How Not to Be a Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-18

Why are you doing what you do? Who is your audience? Jesus says to be careful that our motives be to influence the right audience. To impress people, then that's your reward. To get God's attention, then God will reward you because your motivation is right. 

If you see needy people, you don't need to put on a show. If you really care about meeting their need, then do it without anyone knowing. Kind of hard, right? But isn't that what God does all the time? He sees a need, a million needs, fills them and doesn't sit up in heaven wringing his hands hoping that people will notice. He gives without thought of return. That is how we are to live. That is diametrically opposed to how a hypocrite lives. 

Jesus is our example. There was more witness in how He lived than in the deeds and empty words of a hypocrite. God doesn't fall asleep; He sees everything we do. And he will be the one to reward us, not the fickle bystanders we think we want to impress. Get over it. Impress the right person!

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Friday, January 8, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Words of Warning

Matthew 5:27-48

"You have heard it said . . ." And everything you heard was wrong. You followed rules you thought would make you righteous and Jesus comes along and knocks you down from your self-proclaimed throne of righteousness. He says, "Start over." 

Start over? You mean I've been wasting my time? And I have to do better, be perfect? Well, now I'm paralyzed. I can't do all that extra stuff. I'm not God! Exactly! Only righteous people can be righteous and perfect and anything less God will not accept. 

Give as God gives, live as God lives, love as God loves. Now that this has immobilized you, realize that only God can do these things on your behalf. Unless He moves you to be like Him, you won't be. He is the power source - go plug yourself in. 

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Thursday, January 7, 2021

The Jesus Pages: Words of Hope


Are you poor, sad, weak, meek? Empty, messy, battered, bitter and want to get better? Good news - Jesus to the rescue. If you see your lack of goodness, if you hunger for mercy and righteousness and peace, then you're on the right track. Jesus recognizes we are broken and He doesn't judge us. It's when we try to use our own super glue and flimsy patches to mend ourselves that we end up losing. 

He reminds us that it is in the desire and hunger to be fixed that there is redemption. We throw ourselves at His feet and ask for His magic tape so that we can be permanently repaired. Then, then - we can now be used to help others. We are salt, taking the flavor of Jesus to the tasteless world. We become light and hope and truth. And, at times, we can use His Magic Tape to bind up the broken parts of people we encounter.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Tested Man

Read Matthew 4

What makes you hungry? Food? Power? Popularity? The temptation can be great, but Jesus was there first. And the one offering to satisfy His hunger was the devil. Has the devil shown up at your house lately? 

I don't know why Jesus didn't do a simple, easy 3 day fast. 40 days? Kind of extreme (ok, I'm not criticizing). But He shows that even in a weakened condition the only power we have is truth. Three times the devil offers to satisfy His hunger. Three times Jesus doesn't fight him off with His own resources. He speaks truth even if He's not experiencing comfort. He will not trade His discomfort for a finite piece of this life which will turn to poison once He takes it. 

The devil IS powerful and the only defense is God and His Word. Any other is foolish and has no power. Jesus got it right and passed the test.  Like I said, He walked down that road first so He knows how to help us pass our own tests. 

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Preacher Man

Matthew 3

John knew his mission and his message was clear. His packaging was odd, but that didn't keep the people from rushing out of town to confess their sins. He was not a slick salesman. He didn't sugarcoat the bitter pill; he told the truth and let that change the hearts. He let people know that the Lord was coming to town NOW! You better be ready! Something had to change - not their clothes but their hearts. NOW! And the people came and repented of their sins. 

The religious leaders - well, I wonder if people ever rushed up to them to confess their sins. Yeah, right. They came out to the desert and you can only imagine their shock - their time was up and John let them know. Truth is painful and they didn't like it.    

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Monday, January 4, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Forgotten Man

Matthew 2

They came riding into town with some disturbing news - "There's a new king! We saw it in the skies and we're here to give him our pledge of allegiance." Whoa! That sure messed up some dots for the town and the current king. The Magi got it right and Herod knew something was very wrong. 

Angels to the rescue! They got to the Magi before they got to baby Jesus. They came, they worshipped, they were warned, they left without telling Herod what he wanted. The angel warned Joseph - he obeyed and took Jesus to Egypt. That was probably very inconvenient. I mean, didn't Joseph have to get back to work? Didn't he use up all his vacation time? Egypt? Wasn't that a place that didn't treat his ancestors very well? 

Did you know that Joseph got not one, not two, not three, but FOUR angel visits and he obeyed everything they asked. No questions, no arguing, no back-talk. He was on the same page as God and was a very worthy, godly father for Jesus. Too bad we overlook him for all the other flashy stuff. He was the guy who did it right day by day. Somehow, we've forgotten that. 

Much of life is inconvenient. Even if I had a million dollars (or more), I couldn't guarantee that things would go my way. Bummer! But the key to the Christian life is to be available to go God's way. Afterall, He can see ahead to what the path holds and - by the way - He holds the keys to how that path unwinds. We probably have angels appearing in our lives a lot, but we don't recognize them and then ignore them. Oh, to be more like Joseph (did I really say that?). He was the one who was willing to be inconvenienced for something he could not see but trusted that it would change the world forever.

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)


©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)

Saturday, January 2, 2021

The Jesus Pages: The Righteous Man

The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)

Scripture links are from The Bible Gateway, New International Version.


When God looked around for the flesh-and-blood parents of His Son, He didn't just stop at Mary. We have left Joseph out of the picture, a far more important element in the equation over the long term than Mary. He would be the earthly father, a greater influence on Jesus growing up than Mary in that culture. So, I think, God had to also ensure that Joseph was a righteous man.

His first test he passed - he was presented with a great disappointment, a quandary that he could not figure out on his own: the girl chosen to be his wife was already pregnant and he knew he didn't do it! And he wasn't stupid; he knew how women got pregnant. He must have been so heartbroken and actually embarrassed - this was infidelity! But even in the face of such bad news that would affect his life, he decided he would do the honorable thing for her! That was the ONLY solution he could come up with in his own bag of resources.

At least he tried to do the best thing for Mary. He did not want to publicly humiliate her. That's when God intervened with an angel in a dream.

Lesson: When we try to fix a dilemma with our own resources, being honest and honorable, it leaves room for God to work. The angel came and gave Joseph confirmation that Mary was not unfaithful and that Joseph could indeed marry her. This was no ordinary pregnancy, no ordinary child and Jesus would need an extraordinary father to raise him. Mary was not going to be able to do it alone. Joseph was KEY and he needs more credit than he usually gets.