“Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 1:16).

Joseph, a carpenter, lived in the unrespected village of Nazareth.  Of the lineage of David, but now obscure.  The literal lineage mattered to fulfil prophecy?  Count on the Lord to cover all of the bases.  Mary too was of the lineage of David.  This point in time is one thousand years after David.  We are all related if one goes back far enough.  Such is human history.  Legitimate or illegitimate?  Is that not the real question that confronts us all?

Lord, in the clarity of reality, You present to us the ability to become legitimate by being adopted into Your family.  We come from the roots from which we come, but You are the One who calls us into a new life as children of God.  Let me not be hung up on the particulars, but learn to trust that You have covered things so well that there are many things most of us are probably unaware of.

Lord Jesus, You came in obscurity, but we all know the story.  What was covered is not in the full light of day.  So it will be for all of us.  Teach me to not worry about circumstances, but to live into the truth of what You have offered me in salvation.  Guide me in Your goodness Lord to live the life of faith into which I have been baptized.  May I humbly walk with You Lord knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Amen.

“After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor.  Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob” (Matthew 1:12-15).

After the deportation, the line was no longer royal, but became quite ordinary.  As it began, so it ended.  Is that not often the truth of the matter?  We tend toward pretense, when we are all just ordinary after all.  We are all connected and in our family tree are both those we admire and those whom we’d rather not be associated with.  We are, above all else, human right down to our toes.

Lord, it does take a dose of humility to bring me to the place where I realize that I am just like everyone else.  Guide me in the way You would have me go.  Lead me according to Your purpose so that I see that You love everyone equally, but never let me mistake that love as an excuse to sin away.  You paid the price with Your life on the cross so that I could be redeemed to live the new life.

Savior of my soul, whether I am at the top, or at the bottom in this world, I am where You have placed me.  Amidst the circumstances in which I find myself, guide me this day so that I may humbly walk in Your presence.  You are the author of my soul.  You are the One who paid the price to redeem me.  You are the One who has promised that You would make of me a child of the Heavenly Father.  Teach me to love and praise You now and forever.  Amen.

“Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah.  Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon” (Matthew 1:10-11).

Once again, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Chronicles and Kings speak of the tenure of these kings.  There is a reason the Lord allowed the Israelites and Judah to be carried off into captivity.  The Lord was not trying to punish them so much as seeking to gain their attention.  What will it take to gain your attention so that you take seriously the faith you’ve been given.  Your hope is in the Lord, your Creator, Savior, and God.

Lord, how easy it is to shrug off history as boring and then turn right around and do the same dumb thing that leads to destruction.  This is the case presented by Scripture as we are told how the children of Abraham went about their business and ignored what You have taught us all.  I am no different.  Sometimes, in church, I may as well be in the place I am fantasizing about and give up my place to someone somewhere else who would desperately like to be in church, but cannot be.

Lord Jesus, You alone are the Savior of my soul.  You have come so that I may have life and have it abundantly.  I follow the path of those who have gone before me and become bogged down by the cares of this world.  Help me dear Lord to take seriously the gift You have given me so that I may walk the path of faith You have prepared.  Guide me in the Gospel way to live into the life You offer.  Amen.

“Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa.  Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah.  Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah” (Matthew 1:7-9).

Take a look at this list.  Many (most?) were bums who did not follow the way of the Lord.  From the wisdom of Solomon to the folly of selfish worldly men who did as they pleased, the world moved on.  Why do you wonder at the continual fall of Israel, or any people for that matter, when you see how easily we are corrupted?  This journey of faith is not easy, for each of us continuously fall from grace and into sin.

Lord, I love to look at wicked people and say, “I’m glad I am not like them.”  And then, I look in the mirror and encounter one who is equally a sinner.  Except for Your grace, I too could be as wicked as the most wicked people who have ever walked upon the earth.  Guide me in Your goodness to look to You, confess my sin, and humbly walk daily in the grace that You give me.  In my family lineage, grant that I be one who is faithful.

Lord Jesus, it begins with Your call to each one of us to come and follow You.  You know the path that is before us.  You know the things that are needed.  Guide me this day to humbly and simply do what You give me to do.  May I be in constant prayer with You, listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling me and walking without a care of what the world thinks of what I am doing in accordance with Your purpose.  Amen.

David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah” (Matthew 1:6b).

And it continues.  David was acting in the family way.  He had a child by a woman who had been another man’s wife.  But that is not the point here.  The world would call the child illegitimate, a bastard.  God redeems all who come to Him.  Though our sins be as scarlet, yet will the Lord wash our sins in His blood to make us clean.  The wisdom of Solomon, birthed in the folly of Solomon, shows us what a willingness to persevere can do.

Lord God, you created each one of us and You have said that we are wonderfully made.  I have spent too much time blaming and convincing myself why I cannot do something, but You show me time and again how You can do great things with people whom the world calls hopeless.  Who cares what the world thinks.  Lead me in Your goodness to believe that You are the God who resurrects to the land of the living those whom the world rejects.

You have said Lord Jesus that You are making all things new.  Make me new by Your grace so that I may become like You.  Continue to lead me Jesus in all things that come my way so that I may grow in this faith You have given me.  According to the Father’s will, let me not look for excuses, but for opportunities to live the life of faith You have given me knowing that You are making of me what You will.  Amen.

“Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram.  Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon.  Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse.  Jesse fathered David the king” (Matthew 1:3-6a).

What an interesting lineage from Judah to David.  One prostitute, a daughter-in-law who slept with her father-in-law, and then there is Ruth.  The women are pointed out with purpose.  Everything in Scripture is with purpose.  Our God is a God of purpose who turns what the world says is bad – and it really is – and turns it to good for His purpose.  He will do the same with each one of us and make us to be like Christ.

We would like to pretend that ours is a normal family.  The truth is, it probably is not.  We all have in our family lineage dysfunction upon dysfunction.  The Lord chose no different for Himself.  It shows us, time and again, that humans are able to rise to the level of loving the Lord in spite of their background.  You too can do this.  It may seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

Lord Jesus, I need You.  You have called for me to be conformed to Your image.  You have shown me in Your word that others have done it.  Help me to overcome the obstacles of this world so that I may be conformed to Your image.  Guide me this day in grace so that I may walk humbly where You direct, doing what You give me to do throughout the day.  Lead me in Your goodness, Lord.  Amen.

“Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers” (Matthew 1:2).

Most of the Book of Genesis is about these three men and the faith which called them to the Lord.  In the rest of Scripture, we hear, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  We also hear that through the line of Judah, Messiah would be born.  Looking back, we see promise after promise fulfilled by the Lord.  This should be an encouragement to you, for our God fulfills His promises.  Trust in the Lord above all!

Lord, I have heard the story of father Abraham from a very young age.  It has become so familiar that I often do not give it a second thought.  Teach me that every message in Your word matters.  I come from a long lineage, even if most of it has been forgotten.  I too have been given Your grace.  Guide me away from being dismissive toward an attitude that pays attention to all that You offer.

Word of God made flesh, born of a woman as all of us humans have been, You have placed me in the promise of Your salvation.  Lead me as I am, with all of what I have inherited, to come with You in faith.  Through Your grace, enable me to humbly walk with You, yet boldly walk in the turmoil of this sinful world.  Help me now and always to know my place in Your kingdom.  By faith, through grace, You have promised that I will be with You forever.  Amen.

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).

Genealogy is important, for it is that which connects us together.  God, who sees all moments as now, sees us in the lineage to which we have been born.  When We read Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, we see a connection of family, generation after generation.  At the end of the day, they were either faithful to the Lord, or else, as the majority were, unfaithful and sinned against the Lord.

Lord, I too come from a long lineage, only I cannot tie my name back to Adam and Eve as some are able to do.  But, I too am a descendent of my first parents who chose to sin.  I have inherited sin.  I do not need to remain there.  Regardless of what my parents have done, I need not choose to remain in sin.  I can receive the grace of Jesus and be one of the few who follows the way of eternal life.

Lord Jesus, You came into life in this world in a family just as I did.  You who are God in the flesh chose time and space and dwelt amongst us for our sake.  Through all of the mystery that surrounds why You would do this, help me to not lean upon the modern idea of excusing my sin by blaming my family, but instead, follow the offer You give to come by grace and live the new life that You give.  Amen.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).

It is no small statement for our Lord and Savior to speak His grace into us.  He died that we might have the forgiveness of sin and the ability to repent, turn, and come to Him as we are so that He would make of us, children of the Heavenly Father.  Without His grace, we are doomed.  By His grace, we are empowered to live the journey of becoming like Christ.  Receive His grace and walk in forgiveness.

Our sins are forgiven, but that does not mean that we go on sinning without care.  We have been given a new life and that new life is one that seeks to be obedient to all that our Savior has commanded.  To receive grace is to have faith that the Lord’s grace will bring about healing.  To act as if you are being healed is to believe that our Lord has given you the words of eternal life.

Lord Jesus, You have spoken these things and awakened faith in me.  Help my unbelief so that I do not sit and do nothing, but follow where You lead.  Thank You for the grace which I have received.  Lead me to humbly learn as the Holy Spirit guides me in preparation for that day when, at long last, I shall meet You face to face.  Between now and then, may I be found faithfully walking in the grace You have given me.  Amen.

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

The Creator, the One through whom all things have their being has testified to these things.  Do not be mislead nor think that another knows more than the One who knows all things.  The Gospel is true.  You are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ and yes, He will teach you to live in the way He designed you to live.  It is a journey that will take up the rest of your life.  Look to the Lord and long for the day when you shall see Him face to face.

Lord, I do long for that day, but I also fear it, for I know that wickedness has resided in me all the days of my life.  You are the author of my faith and only through You can I live into the life to which faith calls me.  Help me to be like Abraham and be willing to leave behind where I am in order to move to the place that You promise.  Guide my footsteps each step of the way.  Help me to trust in You above all things.

Lord Jesus, do come quickly.  Guide me now and always so that I may walk humbly by Your leading each day.  You know what needs to be left behind and what needs to stay in place.  Lead me according to Your goodness to live today under the direction of the Holy Spirit so that I may be found obedient to all that You command.  I am trusting in Your grace Jesus, for apart from grace I know there is no way I could remain in Your promise.  Help me always.  Amen.