His Reign Will Have No Limit

You will become pregnant with a baby boy, and you are to name Him Jesus. He will be supreme and will be known as the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will enthrone Him as King on His ancestor David’s throne. He will reign as King of Israel forever, and His reign will have no limit.  Luke 1:31-33 TPT

And can you imagine that moment for Mary? Surely she reflected with wonder on the words of the Prophet, Isaiah spoken so many years before.

Isaiah 7:13-15 NET So Isaiah replied, “Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right. 

Just as the angel had said, while Mary was engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant. When she told Joseph, he most likely felt disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness would have carried a grave social stigma. Under Jewish law, Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, but he could also have had her put to death by stoning.

But Joseph was a good-hearted man. Although his initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame and decided to act quietly.

Then God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to confirm that Mary's story was true. She had indeed conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. The angel reassured Joseph, telling him to take Mary as his wife, raise the boy as his own son, and name Him Jesus because He would be a Savior to his people.

Matthew 1:20-21 TPT While he was still debating with himself about what to do, he fell asleep and had a supernatural dream. An angel from the Lord appeared to him in clear light and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t hesitate to take Mary into your home as your wife, because the power of the Holy Spirit has conceived a child in her womb. She will give birth to a son and you are to name him ‘Savior,’ for he is destined to give his life to save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and married Mary in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Joseph's noble character was one reason God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father. 

God chose Mary. God chose Joseph. They trusted the Lord and He trusted in them. And since the beginning of time God has chosen people of all ages, from all walks of life for His kingdoms purpose. He trusts us!  He knows our hearts, our questions and doubts.  We can entrust everything to Him, He simply asks us to know Jesus Christ as our risen Saviour, Lord of all that is all that was and all that will be! 

Instead of holding on to all that troubles us, let’s cling tightly to His goodness, His love, His hope, His joy, and His peace. 

Jesus came to earth to give us the gifts of acceptance, peace, healing, and forgiveness, but those gifts were costly to Him. We could never afford what Jesus came to provide. Thank You God! Oh how we adore You.  

We owe praise and honor, gratitude and worship to Jesus, especially with all that we, along with our brothers and sisters in our communities and across all nations have gone through the past several months. I know that maybe this Christmas we feel that we just don’t have it in us to celebrate. Maybe this past year has been overshadowed by a heaviness that refuses to budge, like the joy has been sucked out of you.

But Scripture reminds us that Jesus Christ didn’t come down for only those who have it all together. 

He came for all of us! those who are broken, hurt and disappointed. Those who are celebrating and joyful. He came for the messy and the forgotten. He came to heal the brokenhearted. He came to restore the joy that comes from a relationship with God. He came to flood our hearts with peace that just doesn’t make sense in todays’s world. 

Mary was an unlikely candidate to be honored with the role of mother to the Savior. Yes THE Saviour of mankind! She was a young, poor female. In her day and in the eyes of her people, these traits would have disqualified her as someone to use for any important purpose, and I know myself that we may feel less than qualified to serve God. But Mary trusted God and humbly obeyed him. And Jesus Christ became man! Don't set limits on God and what he may want to do with your life. He will use us, too, if we trust in him, embrace Him and the eternal life He made available for us. 

As we celebrate this season, lets not forget: We can only be forgiven, healed, and set free because Jesus Christ was born, Christmas.

And so while some circumstances we want out of won’t change until God has completed their purpose in our growing up, like those wounds from the past that won’t automatically mend, this Christmas know that He came for you. He came for me. He came for the guy passed out in the alley. As broken and messed up as this year may have been, His love is infinitely greater. He is able. Able to restore joy, bring peace and truly bless our Christmas with the best gift of all – His very presence!