Joe
I have always wanted to know more about Jesus’ daddy. Haven’t you? But one day, as I was reading the Christmas story, God showed me all I needed to know about Joe—if he were around today, that’s probably what his close friends would call him. Think about this. His girlfriend gets pregnant, and it wasn’t by him. What would you do? He was quietly going to divorce her, but in a dream, an angel of God spoke to him and told him not to because she was supernaturally pregnant with the son of God. What would you do? That’s a big stretch for any man. Joe believed with faith and walked it out. And I have to ask, who do you think delivered that baby in the barn… and cut the umbilical chord? Gracious, what a man! Again after Jesus was born, an angel of God told Joe to get up in the middle of the night and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to live because Herod was searching to kill him. What would you do? Joe woke them up, left at dark on foot with a young child to journey through a wilderness of animals and thieves to Egypt, a foreign land with a different language and no family to support them. Joe saved our savior—Joe is a hero in this story. And once more, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joe in a dream and told him several years later to return to Israel, but not back to his hometown. The angel led him to Nazareth to start a new life. What would you do? Would you be homesick for your family and want to live close to them? Joe listened, and because of that, a prophecy from the Old Testament was fulfilled about where Jesus would grow up. Joe had faith, guts, courage, tenacity, stamina, integrity, and a noble heart. Knowing that is enough. God gave me all the insight my heart longed for. I don’t need to know how he died because I know how he lived. I look forward with great enthusiasm to meeting him in heaven one day and thanking him for being willing to be used by God in the rescue mission for man. And for being the kind of dad to which I endeavor. When you hear the name of Joseph this Christmas, let all of this sink in. What a man God chose to be the daddy of Jesus and the husband of Mary.
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” - Matthew 1:24
Join Dr. Cook in the locker room, behind the bench, and in the boardroom as he shares the hidden principles of greatness. This unique vantage point and the stories that unfold will inspire and equip you on the journey to your dreams. greatness is open to all but only pursued by a few. It is the space beyond success where calling and legacy meet and a noble heart is required.
Get the book for yourself or as a gift and invite your loved ones to discover the space beyond success, the place of their true calling.