That time when God chose prostitutes, adulteresses, and liars to be in Christ’s family line

Think of a time when you were totally baffled by God.

 How He used something or you, when He didn’t act how you wanted Him to, when His timing was so far from what you expected.

Everyone has these moments because scripture says that God’s ways are above our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I was reading a scripture passage our pastor used in his sermon, and I was confused by it. Why on earth is this in scripture? It’s Genesis 38. It’s like this pause, a weird segue thing in the middle of the story of Joseph being sold into captivity by his brothers.

I prayed and asked God why this was in scripture. I wanted to understand.

As I read and re-read, I saw the little markings for the cross-referencing in the rest of scripture and that’s where I found my answer.

Just to offer a small recap of the story in Genesis 38, Judah, one of Joseph’s brother, has some sons. He gets a wife (Tamar) for the eldest son, and for reasons unspecified other than he was wicked, he dies prematurely before a family has been started. According to their culture, the next available brother was supposed to marry her and give her children on behalf of the deceased brother. Tamar went through 2 of Judah’s sons and they died because of wicked reasons, so Judah wouldn’t give her any other sons, and promised to marry her to one that was yet to grow up. Tamar went to live as a widow with her family until that boy grew up. She was never sought after by Judah as he promised. So Tamar decided to trick Judah into getting her pregnant (yes, her father-in-law) by posing as a prostitute…. clearly she knew he’d come after her because of past behavior. She not only tricked him but gained proof that it was him who impregnated her to protect herself from getting stoned. Later she gives birth to twin boys. Perez and Zerah.

If you are like me, you read stories like these and wonder what God is trying to say. I believe God. I believe what His word says is true. I also believe that everything in it is inspired and meant to be. So with that…. what do we do with this story?

The little cross-reference letters lead me to Ruth 4:12 and Matthew 1:3. Come to find out, Perez is directly in the line of…drum roll please…. Jesus! So this story of crazy deaths, lies, deception, prostitution, even incest… this baby named Perez is born and he’s a name in history that leads to Boaz, then later to King David…. And much later Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus.

So just to be clear, the incredible acts that God goes to in the story of Jesus, outrageous choices of people to be used in the family line of His Anointed Son who becomes the Savior of the world is meant to teach us something. There’s only one of those things I am going to latch onto today. That thing is God uses anyone and everyone, and whomever He pleases.

YOU are not disqualified.

Here are some characters in Christ’s line:

Abraham- lied about having a wife twice, forced the promise from God about a son by sleeping with wife’s maid because he didn’t believe God’s timing (Genesis chapters 12, 16,20) 

Jacob- received his father’s blessing by trickery, cheating his brother out of his birthright, lied on a regular basis. (Genesis 27)  

Judah- his story is above. (Genesis 38) 

Rahab- prostitute turned spy-hider for the Israelite army, had a baby named Boaz. (Joshua 2)   

David the King-had a baby with Bathsheba (the one he committed adultery with and murdered her husband) named Solomon. (2 Samuel 11-12)  

Solomon- the man who was gifted with supernatural wisdom, disobeyed God and married lots of foreign women (700 to be exact) and they brought their foreign gods and idols with them into the kingdom. He built idols to them. (1 Kings 11)

There continued to be King after King that did not follow the Lord and would lead the whole country in disobedient idol worship and sacrifices. Many ordinary sinners and some very sordid tales. All this leads up to Joseph, to whom Mary is betrothed to. 

Yes, all of the lineage leads to Jesus’ adoptive father.

THAT is how God fulfills the prophecy that Christ would come from the line of King David!

This is why we read the boring genealogies. For these nuggets of amazing grace. These stories are real people like us that had real struggles, incredible disobedience, short spurts of doing the right thing then falling back into the sin pit.

What is the takeaway?

Just this- I know of a God in heaven who loves His wayward people so much and chooses in His sovereign way to use them. He allows us the privilege to get the experience of being used by Him. It’s a gift to us, it’s a grace. He doesn’t have to. He created everything by speaking it into existence in 6 days, why on earth would He need us for anything?

It’s because we are His beloved creation, made in His image, the apple of His eye, each and every one of us! He has been to the beginning of time and all the way to the end of time and back again, He knows all of time and knows our paths. He knows where He wants to use us, how He wants to bless us and exactly the moment that we’ll realize that we got to participate in His amazing story He’s writing. The story of us…mankind, His beloved that He sent Jesus to die for.

• So no matter who you are
• How small you feel
• How damaged you are
• The past actions of your life
• Or current disobedience you find yourself in

It’s not over! It’s not too late! God loves to use us because of the blessing it is for us! He cherishes you so much that He wants to see that moment when you have recognition of His love for you!

The other reason He uses us broken down humans is because it magnifies His glory that much more! We are here to bring Him glory and when He works through the broken clay pots that we are, it’s such a bright light that shines through the cracks in the pot that there is no other answer of what it is, but God!

So go read some genealogies and see if you can find someone that sounds a bit like you…. 

Checkout some inspiring authors today at http://purposefulfaith.com/

After Easter- How Christ's Resurrection Changed Everything!

After Easter ~ A Book Review

“A person’s depth of confidence in the gospel is reflected in how often he shares the gospel with others.”

What a profound statement! When I think about how often we all share things we are convicted about, like politics, raising kids, and other social issues, and compare how loudly and forcefully we share our thoughts but then when it comes to the gospel, the very message of Truth that can change a person’s eternity from hell to heaven…we pause…we second guess…we halt, cease and desist.

Sometimes we are worried about offending someone, sometimes it’s how they’ll feel about us after we share…or it’s just how confident we are in sharing the message. We might not know enough.

In the book, “After Easter” by Jeremy Royal Howard and Doug Powell, these questions are addressed as well as an excellent argument for factual evidence to build faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that should mean to us today.

This book is an outstanding tool for education, for a small group, or Sunday school. The book is divided into 7 chapters that discuss the resurrection and events afterwards. Each chapter ends with discussion questions that are thought provoking and convicting. The authors really get at the heart of belief in Christ, His resurrection and what do we do with this information.

It is chock full of scripture, and the last 25 pages are the full gospel of John. Besides a great study tool, it can be a witnessing tool and beginning to discipleship. It helps with understanding our sinful nature we are born with, especially with questions such as: “Do you think your sins are infinitely bad, or do you feel that they are understandable and God will overlook them? How does your view compare with the Bible’s view?”  

Later, the writers encourage us with the good news of 6 undisputed facts surrounding Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

In the chapter entitled “Salvation through Faith”, the writers talk about how we identify “faith” and that “believing a lie doesn’t make it true, and truth is true even if no one believes it.” They hammer home that the gift of Salvation is an act of grace from a loving God, that we cannot do anything to earn it.

The authors remind us that “if we try to import our good acts into the equation, we are trying to make ourselves equal to (as good as) God. Nothing could be more futile.”

This book will encourage your heart and confirm beliefs! I highly recommend this book for witnessing, education, encouragement and to instruct others!

What do you Cherish?

“Instead of surviving relationships, why not cherish them?

I had the pleasure of reading Cherish by Vicki Courtney and 3 other contributing authors, Pam Gibbs, Susie Davis, and Whitney Prosperi

The book is written to primarily teen girls, but I found myself checking my own habits and thoughts on matters that she wrote about.

If you are the parent of a teen girl, you need this book!

Vicki separates the content into 5 categories and is written in a magazine style with great quizzes, quotes and pictures to keep you engaged.

All of the chapters are laced with scripture references and always directing the reader back to their own relationship with the Lord Jesus. 

The chapter on God has wonderful titles such as “What do you believe”, “Can you call something wrong?”, “Submitting to authorities”, and “Why are you here?”.

Vicki also includes a section in the back with scriptures to lead someone to Christ.

Along with relational help with friends, family, your world, guys and God she focuses on spiritual health and growth as the reader adopts the new patterns of relating, coping and cherishing the people in their lives.

Vicki weaves throughout the book the standard of scripture as the utmost guide on how to cherish earthly relationships as well as placing Christ on the throne of your heart.

I especially liked how the authors wrote about the relevant social issues our kids face such as attention seeking selfie-takers, gossipy girl drama, and blended family relationships. They also created charts, quizzes and lists to identify ways to recognize when others need help, cultivating relationships within the family walls, and who God says you are.

There is such great content and advice in this book and can be used as a reference guide for chartering the waters of teen years and into young adulthood as well. 

The voices in my head…..

How many voices are speaking to you right now? What’s pulling on you?

-How many views or likes you get on your social media posts?

-What your bank account looks like?

-Maybe its relational voices like peer influences in your life giving you advice and direction?

-Advertisements and sales.

-All of us are influenced by music. How many lyrics have you easily memorized over the years?

-Perhaps the voices that are loud to you right now are political or news worthy.

-Maybe…the voice is you. The self-talk we do in our heads. Be it strong and prideful or lowly and degrading,… or constantly comparing, we all have self-talk.

John 10:1-10 Jesus tells the story of the sheep and Shepherd. In verse 27 he says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me”. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and His followers are the 

sheep in the story.

Do you know the voice of the Shepherd? Could you pick it out among all the other voices swirling around like a hurricane? What does it sound like?

In John 14:6 Jesus says that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This means that our Shepherd’s voice is the voice of Truth.

      Absolute Truth.

Not truth for you and truth for me, and we blow whatever way the wind blows and adapt and change and evolve. Absolute, 100% truth for life, for living and for all direction, the only standard!

So when you juggle all of the voices in your head from the world and from your own ideas and thoughts, where does Truth fit in?

Are you measuring all of your decisions and basing your thoughts about yourself off of what the world tells you or what absolute Truth tells you?

How do you know the voice of Truth and distinguish 

it from the others?

It is Scripture.

God’s Word is the living and active breath of God! It is just as relevant and applicable as it’s ever been, and the best thing about it is that it never changes!

God’s Word is Truth. John 1:1 says that Jesus himself is the Word. The spoken Word, the prophesied Word, the fulfilled Word and living Word!

In order to know the Word of Truth, you need to know scripture. Read it. It’s the only way you’ll ever distinguish God’s voice of Truth from all the other voices around you vying for your attention. They are not truth, they are a poor substitute, telling what you want to here and swaying you away from God’s Truth.

You’ll begin to know the difference because they clash, they are sometimes quite opposite from what we feel compelled to do.

~ We say I’ll hurt you because you hurt me….God’s Word says love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matt 5:44)

~ We say It’s what everyone watches on TV or listens to on the radio….. God’s Word says do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Rom. 12:1)

~ We say that admiration of someone turns to lust and we speak about how “hot” or “sexy” they are….God’s Word says that if you look after someone in lust you’ve already committed adultery in your heart. (Matt 5:28)

~ We say share online all the wonderful deeds you do…volunteering, giving to the poor, service work in other countries…just to “share” so others can see what you are up to….God’s Word says to do your charitable deeds in private or you will receive no reward from them. (Matt 6:1)

~ We say you should spend most of your life earning. Storing up wealth, using your money for you personally, making a fat retirement for yourself one day…God’s Word says Do not store up treasures on earth but rather treasures in heaven, For where your treasure is there your heart will be also!. (Matt 6:19-21)

~ We are so quick to judge! We speak about someone’s choices or behavior and execute judgement as though we have some right….God’s Word says that what measure you judge others that same measurement will be used on you…that we are to remove the plank from our own eye before trying to point out the speck in someone else’s. (Matt 7:1-5)

These are just some of the Truths you can find in scripture. I pulled most of them from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5-7.

As you can see we’ve wandered so far from the Shepherds voice of Truth, I’m not sure we could pick it out in a silent room because of all the influence in our own heads.

We pay such close attention to all the other voices and brush off like a crumb the voice of Truth.

It’s not popular, it’s not easy, and it’s so different from everyone else.

CORRECT! As I mentioned the verse above, Romans 12:2 says do not be conformed to this world. 

This means if you look like everyone else…You’re doing it wrong. 

Romans goes on to say that you need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Time to put off the worlds voices and search out the voice of Truth.

Time to stand and be who we are called to be!

Lights in a dark world because we listen to THE voice of Truth!

TEAR IT DOWN!

Easter is my favorite time of year, especially the Holy week leading into Easter.

The beginning of Holy week has inspired me to do some research and understand fully something that has always intrigued me about the crucifixion of Christ.

There is a part of the story recorded in 3 of the 4 gospels that speaks about the veil in the temple being torn in two, from top to bottom.

To be able to grasp the significance let’s take a look first at what exactly the veil represented in the Old Testament. The preparation of the veil, as part of the Tabernacle, was specifically given by God Himself in Exodus 26:31-34. The use of the veil was to separate the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God almighty from the sinful man. Don’t miss the significance of God actually speaking aloud to Moses telling him the exact directions for making it. It was important.

According to Exodus 30:10 and also echoed in the New Testament in Hebrews 9:7 the High Priest could only enter into the Holy of Holies, beyond the veil, once a year to offer a sacrifice to the Lord for the atonement of sins. If he went in any other time, or offered the wrong type of thing, He died, and the sins of the nation were not paid for.

It is in the chapters of Exodus and Leviticus we see how separated we were from our Holy God. Through much preparation and sacrifice and one High Priest doing it exactly as God commanded, did the people experience God’s forgiveness of sins.

Which makes Jesus Christ’s life-altering presence and ultimate one-time 
for all sacrifice for sins such an incredible trumpet blast of an epic moment!

The moment that is recorded in scripture when Christ said from the cross “It is finished!” signified His ultimate and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in His name shall not perish but have everlasting life”.

When Jesus completed the work on the cross, there were several things that scripture records as miracles and signs that happened. One of which is that in the temple, the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom- to signify that it was God who had removed the curtain for all to be able to have intimacy with Him and receive forgiveness of sins!     

•  No longer was man condemned by the Law
•  No Longer did we require a priest’s ritual
• No longer did we require an animal’s blood to take our place
• No Longer were we unable to access God
• No Longer were we separated from God!

Christ made the way possible for our forgiveness of sins, for communion with God on a constant basis through in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

It changed from God’s dwelling place being in a room only accessed by a high priest to now God dwelling with us, IN us!

My fascination of the veil being torn is that is symbolizes my God loving me so much and that He wanted to have an intimate relationship with me, so He sent His Son to rip down the barrier between us so He could make His dwelling with me.

It symbolizes VICTORY!

• Victory over Sin
• Victory over death
• Victory over separation
• Victory over the grave
•  And perhaps most poignant…Victory over our sinful selves and self-centered willfulness.

God is greater than our hearts, greater than our past, present and future, greater than our emotions, desires and plans, greater than any terrible sin we commit that we feel separates us from forgiveness.

Words on a screen or paper cannot come close to expressing my gratitude for His saving me and loving me enough to send Christ and tear the veil away…. So He could be with me and I with Him. 

Audacious by Beth Moore

Whenever I have the privilege of reading something Beth Moore has written I am always anticipatory of what God is going to say to me through it. I have come to expect it because through her testimonies and life experiences, God has used her mightily in the lives of women to show them God’s power available to them.

This book does not disappoint! Beth has a mission statement that she has felt called to improve on and she explains why in this book.

The mission statement is “To see all women come to know and audaciously love Jesus Christ.” The two new words are “all” and as you can guess by the title “audacious”.

As Beth loves to do, she explores the meaning of Audacious and how we can incorporate it into our Christian walk.

I think the biggest thing that made an impression on me is chapter 10 “You Would Ask Me”. It is based on John 4:6-10, the story of Jesus changing the life of a woman at a well. The key statement He says is “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” (Emphasis mine).

The idea is that we cannot love the Lord our God with the ferocious love that He has for us. We are flawed humans without that capacity. God has not only the capacity, but the drive and power to give it to us when we ask for it!

Beth talks about our ability to step off from the ordinary into the extraordinary Christian life by asking God to give us the ability to audaciously love Him as He does us. All of our drive to behave as scripture instructs us to comes from us audaciously loving God. Jesus Himself says this in John 14:23 when He says that if we love Him we will obey Him.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to change their ordinary khaki Christian life into one that is full and vibrant with color. Beth paints a picture so beautifully with words and analogies that can whet someone’s appetite for longing for more!

Release with confidence!

 

 One of the blessings we get as parents is hearing a good report about your child from someone outside the family. A teacher praising their character or one of your friends commenting on their politeness while your child visited their home. We start to feel like maybe we are doing something right, our children are displaying character that we are trying so hard to teach at home. The kind of character that points to the proof of their relationship with Christ. Scripture calls it fruit.

I am the mother of four teens, one is graduated. It warms my heart so much for someone to stop me in the hallway at church to let me know what a gem one of my kids are. It’s like a win for the God-centered parenting team!

I think all of us realize that consistency with kids is the key to breeding good character. However, consistency in doing what? How do we get our kids to choose to do what is right when we aren’t there, giving them a “look”, or actually telling them what to do?

The whole point of parenting is to one day release independent young adults. Ones that are capable of making choices without us and we hope and pray that they rely on God for their guidance to those right choices.

No step program, advice from a professional, or practiced secular behavior is the answer.

There is really only one answer. I am fully confident in this answer because I believe God, I believe what He says in His Word is true, and I believe He is faithful and true to fulfill what He promises in scripture.

The answer is your children have to love Jesus.

John 14:23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

It sounds too simple right? Well let me tell you, it is simple. The key is consistency and open honesty with your kids as you are raising them. They have to know you are human and make mistakes too. Don’t forget your mistakes and lessons you’ve personally learned are not just for you. They always have a higher purpose. Your mess being turned into His Message is meant to be shared!

What we are really saying as Christian parents when we want our kids to choose to do right when we are not there is that we want them to follow Jesus, to not just obey us but ultimately obey Him.

Here are some pointed ways to help your children love Jesus, so they in turn desire to obey Him and live as a light in the dark world.

1) 1 John 5:14-15 says “Now this is the confidence we have before Him; whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” We don’t have the ability to love God. He places the ability to love supernaturally within us. We have to teach our children to ask Him to create the love for Him that drives the desire to obey Him.

2) James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” and James 1:22 “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We have to call it clearly what it is when obedience hasn’t happened. It is sin. Sin that needs to be confessed and repented from. Children are never too young to explain that wrongdoing, rebelling against God’s word, is sin. Keeping short accounts and a right relationship with God will ensure His Holy Spirit has free reign to sanctify them through and through, continually growing that love for Christ that enables the desire to obey.

3) James 4:7 “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” This is a small and very serious verse for them to understand. All Christ-like living begins with submitting or surrendering your will to God’s will. If you hold on tight to your will, your “want to”, and your own plans for life you’ll never be able to experience all the God has planned for you. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Before your children (or you for that matter) were even formed, God had their days planned out, with blessings and an amazing future that includes doing good works for the Kingdom! We need to teach our children that if they aren’t obeying God, seeking His face, reading His Word and praying, that we might not be in the right position to receive all that He has for us! I can’t imagine how many intended, ordained blessings I missed out on because I was following my desires instead of Christ’s.

4)  Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Our kids need to grasp that each and every little thing they do can be done to God’s glory or not. There really isn’t an in between on this one. You either are or you’re not. Doing house chores with joy and helpful attitudes, doing school work with diligence, being kind to siblings and choosing not to fight, choosing to obey parents on the first time, choosing to not mouth back. All of those things are completely within their power to do because it begins with a choice. Choosing Jesus over self.

5)  Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” And Deuteronomy 11:19 “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” The chapter of Deut. 11 is God speaking, telling the Israelite's that they’d better teach their children about all the Lord had done for them because they were not present during their deliverance. The younger generation did not experience the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, the splitting open of the immeasurable obstacle of the Red Sea so they could walk right through it, the visible manifestation of the Sovereign God in the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, the manna falling from the sky, the water from a rock and so many other miracles. Those children needed to know their amazing God, the Great I AM, and the only way they were going to hear about it all was from their parents. That’s us! We have to diligently, consistently teach our children who God is and who they are in Christ. They are joint-heirs with Him to the treasure of being God’s Child! All the promises and glorious riches of our gracious Father are theirs!

When you have children that are not exhibiting Christ-like behavior, remember your benchmark is not that they obey you, follow you or mimic any other person….their benchmark is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not called to follow Christians, we are called to follow Christ. The desire to follow and obey Him is hidden in having love for Him. If we love Him, we will obey Him.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

 I'm participating in #RaRalinkup Tuesday!Visit Kelly Balarie at Purposeful Faith to read some wonderful authors!