by Stephen Manley

I am a Jesus pusher!!! Joseph calculated his position of righteousness and came to an acceptable compromise.  Mary is with child.  Joseph is deeply aware that he is not the father.  He will give her a private divorcement. It is the best answer in light of the fact there is no right answer.  How can this situation be “undone?”  There is no way out.  This is the only thing his “righteousness” can tolerate and justify.  It is the righteousness of the Old Covenant.  If he forgives and marries her, he admits his guilt in her sin.

If Joseph is to follow the call of God from an angel of the Lord in the night hour, he must set aside his concept of the Old Covenant righteousness.  He must embrace the New Covenant righteousness of love.  Can he simply love Mary and accept her as she is?  Can he embrace the child to be born as his own?  Can all walls of prejudice and bitterness be broken down? Can he be redemptive through obedience to God’s call? Jesus cannot survive in Joseph’s life in the Old Testament righteousness.  If Joseph maintains the Old Testament righteousness, the plan of God for redemption will be aborted.  To respond to the Christ child is to respond to righteousness on a new level.   It is the mind of Jesus!  I am a Jesus pusher!!!

Learn more about  Stephen Manley

by Stephen Manley

I am a Jesus pusher!!!  Joseph was a “just man” (Matthew 1:19).  This indicates he lived according to the acceptable requirements of his present religious age. Within the structure of this righteous observance, Joseph is struggling with how to respond to the coming of Jesus in Mary’s womb.  According to proper Jewish law, she should be stoned to death.  To the other extreme, he could marry her; however, Jewish righteousness would never allow such a thing.  Joseph would be admitting to everyone that he is the one who committed sin with her.  There was no way his righteousness would allow him to embrace her in marriage.

But there is a new righteousness that comes with Jesus.  His arrival marked a fulfillment of the law.  This fulfillment is “love!”  What argument is there against Paul’s great statement:  “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” (Galatians 5:14).  Has not Jesus come to take us beyond the righteousness of the Old Covenant and bring us into the love rightness of the New Covenant?  Laws would not accomplish this; love cannot be legislated.  It must come from a changed heart.  Is this why Jesus came?  Can He change my nature from a legalistic and judgmental individual to one who embraces the total will of God, love!  I am a Jesus pusher!!!

Learn more about  Stephen Manley

by Stephen Manley

I am a Jesus pusher!!!  Luke describes the early church as  “having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:47).  Persecution would come soon enough.  However, the ordinarily normal Jewish person found the lives of the believers blessed and attractive. The Greek word (charis) translated favor means “grace.”  They shared the abundant grace of Jesus experienced by all believers within their community.  They were guilty of crucifying Christ; but the resurrected Jesus filled them.  They experienced total forgiveness and the fulfillment of their lives.  This same grace was expressed in their daily lives to the extent it affected all of their surroundings.  [Read more...]

by Stephen Manley

I am a Jesus pusher!!! Luke describes the atmosphere expressed in the fellowship and unity of the early believers.  It is significantly compounded when one thinks of the increasing numbers involved.  They went from one hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15), to three thousand one hundred and twenty (Acts 2:41), to an abundance of more than eight thousand (Acts 4:4).  It is a marvelous testimony to the power of Jesus within the believers.  [Read more...]

by Stephen Manley

I am a Jesus pusher!!!  “The believers were together, and had all things in common,” (Acts 2:44).  “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple,” (Acts 2:46).  Let me remind you of the Greek word (homothumadon) translated with one accord.  It is a combination of two Greek words.  The first Greek word (homou) means “together.”  The second Greek word (thumos) means “passion” or “heavy breathing.”  There was an attitude of passion and enthusiasm for Jesus permeating all of their personal relationships.

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