Author: Emily Chase

  Luke twice records that Mary pondered extraordinary events in her heart. Instead of seeking the advice of other mothers, she went off by herself and sat quietly with her own thoughts, sorting the fragments like broken potsherds. How did all the pieces fit together?

  Luke 2:19 tells us that at the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary treasured up inside her heart all the amazing events that occurred at that time. After the trip to Jerusalem, Mary did it again. She privately pondered the words spoken by her son.   By the time Jesus was 12 years old, he …

  On one of those annual trips to Jerusalem, Jesus wandered off. At least that is how Mary and Joseph perceived it. Jesus knew where he was headed so there was no “wandering” at all.

  Today’s verses may seem insignificant, but the principle underlying them is huge. When Mary and Joseph returned from Egypt, they settled once again in Nazareth, far to the north of Judea, but at least once a year they traveled to Jerusalem as a family. In Luke 2:41-42, we read that it was their custom …

Joseph received a second message from an angel. This time he learned that King Herod wanted to kill Joseph’s infant son. In Matthew 2:13-15, we see how Joseph immediately rose from his bed, woke Mary and began packing. Mary raced to pick up their child. Darkness still dominated the landscape as they crept out of …

  In fulfillment of the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple and dedicated him to the Lord. What they did was a routine act of obedience, but what happened next was far from routine.

  Eight days after Jesus was born, Joseph circumcised his son, and just over a month later, he and Mary carried their infant son to the Temple in Jerusalem to dedicate him to the Lord. You’ll find this account in Luke 2:22-24, but the tradition of dedicating a child to the Lord stretched back around …

    Every first-time parent desires to do a good job. They read books on child-rearing, many seek advice from experienced parents. Joseph received a message telling him his son would be the Messiah, and Mary too learned that their child would grow up to sit on the throne of David. What steps did Mary …

  In Matthew 1:20-31, Jesus’ father Joseph had just learned his wife-to-be was pregnant, and this child, Joseph knew, was not his. After thirty years of counseling people facing crisis pregnancies, I can easily imagine some of the emotions he may have experienced in those first hours: shock, anger, betrayal, grief.