Christian Stress Management: A New Christmas Message

The birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:

After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be expecting a Child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband to be, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public spectacle, thought of ending their relationship privately.

But, while Joseph thought about this issue, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to marry Mary because she carries a conception of the Holy Spirit and she will deliver a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.”

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The Joseph being woken from sleep, did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him and married Mary. But, he did not know her until she had delivered her first born son whom he named Jesus.

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After Jesus was born, wise men came from the East to worship Him.

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When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and instructed him to, “Arise, take baby Jesus and His mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you because Herod will search for the young Child to destroy Him.”

When Joseph woke up, he took baby Jesus and His mother Mary by night, left for Egypt, and remained there until King Herod died, that it might be fulfilled what God spoken through the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called My Son”.

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After Herod’s death, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream in Egypt, and instructed him to, “Arise, take baby Jesus and His mother Mary, and return to the land of Israel because those who sought the young Childs’s life are dead.”

Then Joseph woke up, took baby Jesus and His mother Mary and returned to the land of Israel. (Matthew 1:18-2:21)

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These Christmas Scriptures show us that Mary experienced a lot of problems around the birth of her baby Jesus. The first was that her relationship with Joseph was threatened because she was found to be pregnant before they were married.

This problem of Mary teaches us that sometimes when God enables us to conceive “things” inside us like ministries through the power of the Holy Spirit like Mary had conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, we may encounter problems in our personal and even professional lives.

This “problem” with Joseph that Mary encountered was a big problem because not only would their relationship end, but she would be a public disgrace once the reason for their break up came out. In addition to this, there was probably little that Mary could do to convince Joseph to remain with her. This was probably the worst thing for Mary but it shows us that those problems which we can do nothing about, God can intervene like He did for her and solve our problems for us.

Therefore, when you encounter big problems that you can’t solve as you go about in obedience to God’s call, do not despair. Hand over your problems to God as you continue serving Him and let Him do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

Note that the Bible does not say that Mary thought of ending her pregnancy because it had brought problems to her relationship so that she could solve this relationship issues. Therefore, do not think of terminating your ministry in an attempt to solve the financial or relationship or social problems that may have begun once you started your ministry. Focus on God’s call on your life and delivering what He has deposited in you as you leave Him to solve the humanly “impossible” problems.

Understand also that God is able to provide you with the best solution for your problems like He did for Mary because He gave a very good husband. We know that Joseph was a good husband because his life was severely “disrupted” by agreeing to marry Mary who was pregnant with a “Child” that was biologically not his because he was able to stick with her and Baby Jesus through all the midnight escapades to and from foreign lands.

To learn more, read A New Christmas Message by Dr Miriam Kinai.

You can also buy Dr Miriam Kinai's Christian Sermons which is a compilation of the following Christian sermons:

A New Christmas Message

A New Easter Message

Can God Help Me If I Am Surrounded By Enemies?

How Badly Do You Really Want It?

Seed Words And The Powerful Tongue

Spiritual AIDS

The Three Levels Of Getting Lost

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Your Life Is Your Ministry And Your Storm Is Your Message