I was blessed today with an excellent group of young people and an equally excellent teacher on a trip that continues to expand their horizons. I am grateful, Father, for Your watchcare over us in our travels.

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As we start this new endeavor, I figured that we would go back to the beginning (of the New Testament, at least!) I will just repost from that point on. May you all continue to benefit from what God laid on my heart!

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Matthew 1:1-17 (<<click here to read the passage)

Lord, this list at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel can be a bit overwhelming. I remember as a child, the King James Version, instead of saying “was the father of,” used the word “begat.” I learned what it meant, but that’s a lot of “begats”!

It’s easy to just skim through this list. Some names are familiar – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, David, Solomon. As my Life Application Study Bible states, some were a little “shady” – Tamer and Rahab. Others were your typical “Joe Shmoes” – regular guys like Hezron, Ram, and Nahshon. There were some evil characters as well – like Manasseh and Abijah. (Go to www.biblegateway.com and type in any of their names to learn more about them – several interesting stories!)

And this is not just any list – it is Your genealogy, Lord – Your family tree. All kinds of people contributed to who You would become. Just as we have bits of genetic material from all of our ancestors, so did You. The good, the bad…even the “shady”, all of them are a part of who You are.

AND today, You do the same with us. As followers, we are all a part of Your body—the body of believers. No matter who we are, no matter what we’ve done, when we willingly follow You, we each have a part to play in bringing Your will to fruition in this world. You are eager for us all to have a hand in seeing Your kingdom come to completion.

Thank You, Lord, for using me – for using all of us! We are all a strand in the beautiful tapestry of Your plan. May we all dedicate ourselves to eagerly doing our share! Amen!

(Sept 10th, 2017, Sun, 7:56 pm)
Apr 24th, 2024, Wed, 8:24 pm