Matthew 1:3, “Judah the father of Perez, and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.”
Matthew 1:5, “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.”
Matthew 1:6, “… King David the father of Solomon, who’s mother had been the wife of Uriah.”
Matthew 1:16, “… Mary, of whom was born Jesus, Who is called the Christ.”
I love this picture painted in the lineage of Christ. It is a story of redemption & grace. The saving Grace of our Heavenly Father. With the exception of Mary, the other women mentioned in Christ’s lineage made some…. colorful choices.
One woman, Tamar, a Canaanite, posed as a prostitute to deceive her father-in-law who had in turn deceived her. Another, Rahab, really was a prostitute who had the faith to believe in the Power of the Hebrew God and saved herself and her family from disaster in their city of Jericho. Then Ruth was a foreigner who swore an oath to her mother-in-law and the God of Israel to serve them both whose devotion positioned her for redemption. And then there’s the wife of Uriah, who bore David a son in an adulterous affair.
Yikes, I’m blushing just typing the previous paragraph. All of this makes me reflect on the goodness of God. On His mercy and kindness. On how Jesus came to make a way for us in the midst of the sin and depravity of man… and woman. It gives me hope to know that if God makes a way for these women then He makes a way for us all through believing in and following after Christ Jesus.
Because ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) … But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)… And if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) … Because God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
So then we are transformed from darkness into His Marvelous Light! “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5) In these times of uncertainty, this is an opportunity to press into God.
Cry out to him as the Psalmist did, “Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me! Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation.” And the beauty of what comes next is this, David continues on to say, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.” (Psalm 51:10-13)
Dig deep into the Word of God. There is no limit to the depths you can go in Him! Further up and further in! There is always more. The deep places of your heart are crying out for the depths of eternity that can only be satisfied from a relationship with Yahweh!
There was a time in my walk with God that I found my heart was far from Him. Fear, anxiety and oppression was what was overtaking my heart. I cried out to the Lord and He heard my cry. He brought me out of darkness and into His Marvelous Light! He cleansed me with hyssop and made me white as snow. You can have that real soul-peace too through a relationship with Jesus.
If you are in a place today where you find yourself far from Jesus – I would ask you to pray this prayer:
“Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe that You are the Son of God, that you died for my sins and that you rose again. Forgive me and wash me clean of all my sins. Come into my heart and be the Lord of my Life. Teach me to walk with you and to be more like you. I give you my heart and my life. Thank you for saving me and making a place for me in eternity with you and Heavenly Father.”
If you just prayed that prayer then welcome to the family of God! If you are renewing your commitment to Christ then welcome back! All of heaven rejoices over one soul that is saved! Normally I would say that you should go to church and begin to learn about your new life in Christ. However, as we are in the thick of the Covid19 Virus Pandemic at this time and church’s are meeting online, I would encourage you to find an online church gathering. REACHcommunity.net & Victorychurchnola.com are both great churches. Please send me a message if you have prayed this prayer.
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