Our family grew this year with the addition of a new daughter and our first born grandson. The Lord is good and this Thanksgiving was a reminder of just how good He really is. Our table was packed full of a variety of foods whose presentation mesmerized our senses. We welcomed a slight winter’s chill by after enduring a ninety-six degree Thanksgiving Day.
Our family grew this year with the addition of a new daughter and our first born grandson. The Lord is good and this Thanksgiving was a reminder of just how good He really is. Our table was packed full of a variety of foods whose presentation mesmerized our senses. We welcomed a slight winter’s chill by after enduring a ninety-six degree Thanksgiving Day.
Now that Thanksgiving is over its time to wake up all our Christmas decorations from their long summer’s nap. Boxes of all sizes will begin tumbling down from the mezzanine as brightly colored ornaments make their annual appearance adorning walls, Christmas trees and the gables of our homes.
Grandpa, who is turning ninety this next year, set up the timer to the twenty foot tall, six pointed lighted star that resides on the peak of his roof. Next Sunday we will make the long drive to the coast to hear a group of community singers perform Handel’s Messiah.
Even Starbucks and Mc Donald’s are getting into the Christmas spirit pulling out their seasonal secret recipes as soup kitchens begin to plan for the large crowds that will line up around the block for another desperately needed meal. The homeless won’t be getting any help from our mayor or city council but will find hope through many local church programs. Bright red, Salvation Army kettles will begin popping up all over town so be sure to put in a couple extra dollars to help feed our cities homeless and less fortunate.
The thing I love most about Christmas is that for this next month we not only take time to prepare our homes and businesses for Christmas but we also have opportunity to prepare our hearts to receive God’s own gift to the world. You might not know this, but the gift of God was the giving of His own Son to redeem the fallen world from sin.
I have discovered something special during my forty-two years of studying the bible. It’s true the word of God is a love letter to the world but it’s also a record of one specific family line that started with Adam and Eve and follows this one family all the way to the virgin birth of God’s own Son in a stable in Bethlehem. The bible is filled with prophecy foretelling of the Messiah’s birth and was written long before the appearance of Jesus.
The Old Testament is a genealogical record, specifically describing one family line. We follow that family line onto the ark as the world is destroyed by water. Through Noah’s son Shem we discover Father Abraham is born from the family of Eber which later becomes known as the Hebrews.
Their genealogy continues through Abraham’s sons Isaac and Jacob. From Jacob’s twelve sons the twelve tribes of Israel give life to a new nation which was to be ruled by God. The line of kings for this new nation would come from one of Jacob’s twelve sons the tribe of Judah.
Now the family line that the Messiah would come from narrows even further. From the root of Jesse, he would come through his son David. However, God, angry with King Jehoiachin, curses him saying “none of your sons will prosper sitting on the throne of David.” Uh oh, Huston, we have a problem.
Now in the books of Matthew and Luke you will find two genealogies. Both of these genealogies are important. The genealogy in Matthew is for Joseph, the step-father of Jesus while the one in the book of Luke is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and is the one we want to follow.
Mary and Joseph are both related to King David but Joseph is related through David’s son Solomon while Mary is related to David though David’s son Nathan. What’s the big deal? Jesus would have been disqualified as the Messiah if he had been blood related through David’s son Solomon.
God’s promise to redeem us through the virgin birth of His Son was the main reason we have the inspired canonized books that make up the bible. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The more you read and study the bible you will begin to see this connection. It’s undoubtedly undeniable.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We don’t follow after some figment of our imagination or fairly tale hero while desperately wishing he was real. No, our faith has substance and evidence for the birth of Jesus, His death as well as His resurrection.
But faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, so unless you’re willing to commit to study and dig into the word of God your faith will remain weak.
