Short devotions: Bad Girls in the Bible - Matthew 1:1

Matthew 1:1   A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Every now and then I see an advert on the internet and sometimes on the television about tracing our ancestors. With all of the birth, marriage, death, and census records available on the web, it’s now easier than ever to retrace our family roots and get connected with the people of the past. I signed up for one of the ancestry programs on a free trial basis, but it became far too complicated for me to pursue. I guess some people with a lot of time on their hands can get the best out of those programs, but as for me, dealing with the present is about as much as I can handle.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we get to read about Jesus’ ancestry and family pedigree (although we’re really reading about his earthly father Joseph’s ancestry, a blood line that Jesus didn’t really have, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit). All the major biblical male characters are there, but it’s the women who are mentioned that make the genealogy more interesting to me.

Tamar  - a widow who was accused of adultery, who tricked her father-in-law into lying with her in order to conceive a son.

Rahab – a prostitute who saved her family from being annihilated by Joshua at Jericho

Ruth – a foreigner who came from an idolatrous nation

Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba) who committed adultery with King David

Wow! Talk about some bad girls of the Bible! And that’s only from the first six verses of the Gospel. So why are they listed and not some of the holy women of the Old Testament? Because Christ came to redeem sinners of the past, present, and future. The women mentioned were once blamed as sinners, but through God’s grace, they were redeemed of their past and raised up to a better life. Joseph’s bloodline was tarnished by both his male and female ancestors; Christ cleansed them all.

As Christians, we need not ask “where have we come from?” because the more important question is this: “where are we going to end up?” Our focus is not on the past, but on the glorious future that awaits Christ’s followers and faithful servants. The only bloodline that is crucial to us is that of Jesus, the Holy Son of God, who washed away our sins by His blood on the Cross.

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, sometimes we try to reclaim the past in order to gain a perspective of who we are. Teach us the more important lesson of focusing on who we will become through Your grace and presence in our lives. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s holy week drawings. It’s called “Washed with Tears” and it depicts the forsaken woman who washed Christ’s feet with her tears. If you would like to see a larger version of this drawing, please click the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4446465179_9742859bc5_b.jpg

Daily devotions: Godly Grace Matthew 5 v 45

Matthew 5:45b  He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God’s grace will always remain a mystery to me. I want life to be fair, for the wicked to be punished and the good to be rewarded. I want righteousness to be blessed and brazenness to be condemned. I want the arrogant to be humiliated and the humble to be exalted. I want the pious to become powerful and for the unholy to be diminished. In other words, I want God to do what I want to do, instead of applying His grace to those who least deserve it.

When I stand up on my self-righteous pedestal and reproach others for being sinful, I seriously forget that I need God’s grace more than anyone else. When I feel smug about my faith in Jesus, I go down a road that ends up in pride and perdition. Instead of recognizing my sins and bowing before God, I shamefully roar and berate others for their godlessness. I am a hypocrite, in need of help and healing, humility and holiness, godliness and grace.

Each day, God causes the sun to rise on the evil and good. He does not separate them. He allows His grace to shine on all. Each year, He brings rain to the righteous and unrighteous. He does not distinguish between them, but rather God refreshes all. It’s both a mystery and a miracle to me. It’s a wonderful way of applying grace to an undeserving world full of undeserving people like me.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You died for this whole world in order to redeem it from sin and restore it to God. Sometimes we want to limit Your grace and define Your love. Forgive us for failing to truly recognize that grace is both completely unmerited and totally undeserved. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Atonement: What is it?

Last night at the British Academy of Film Awards, the movie “Atonement” won most of the categories. I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks like an epic, similar to the masterpieces that David Lean used to direct decades ago. It covers a span of sixty years to include both World Wars and the plot involves a scandalous lie that affects the lives and love of two young people. It will be interesting to see if the movie wins any Oscars. If it’s as good as the critics say it is, I suspect it will.

Bible Verse of the Day

Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Atonement is not a word that we use very often these days. In the past, it meant the ministry work that priests did to placate God for all of the sins and offenses that the community made against Him. Usually, it involved long liturgical prayer gatherings and ended with an animal sacrifice. Absolution was only given when the priests believed that the rituals were properly performed, and the sacrifice was perfectly made.

These days, we don’t make prolonged rituals of confession or slaughter innocent animals because Jesus is both our High Priest and Perfect Sacrifice. By laying down His Life on our behalf, He perfectly fulfilled what God required for our sins. And by interceding on our behalf, Christ frees us from the eternal consequences of our sins. So when we read about Christ making atonement for the sins of the people, we can rejoice and be comforted because He shields us from the wrath of God and restores us to His Everlasting Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Only One in all of history and throughout the universe who can save us from our sins and release us from the oblivion of death. We cannot do anything to dissuade God from punishing us for our sins, but You can. Be our blessed Advocate and Redeemer. Make atonement for all of our mistakes and misdeeds, as we place our hearts and souls into Your Hands. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Rehab

Audio version here ... or here

1 Corinthians 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (NIV)

I like Michael Vick as an athlete. I think that he has been given an extraordinary amount of talent that is largely unequalled in the NFL. I’ve watched him since his playing days at Virginia Tech and I believed that he would have become one of the major sporting heroes in the United States this decade. I have been deeply disappointed in what has been revealed. I find it hard to believe that’s someone with so much talent, so much wealth, and so much potential would waste it all on illegal betting and savage dog-fighting.

I hope and pray that Michael is rehabilitated whilst he is in prison. I watched his public apology yesterday and I believe that he meant what he said. He’s a young man and if he keeps himself reasonably fit in prison, he may still have something to offer to his sport. Everybody deserves a second chance. My prayer is that Michael abandons his foolish ways and becomes a better person.

Sometimes fallen idols make the best witnesses of God’s redeeming love. When I read Paul’s letters in the Bible, I’m reminded that he originally persecuted the church and may even have killed some of Christ’s followers. On the Damascus road, things changed for Paul in a mighty way. The Lord revealed Himself to Paul and showed him the error of his ways. Paul was given a second chance and he embraced it.

We all make mistakes; we all fall short of God’s expectations; we all are in need of redemption and rehabilitation. Christ comes to us in the midst of our troubles and crises to release us from our addictions, obsessions, temptations, and miscalculations. He has the power to renew our lives; He has the ability to restore us to God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You died for our sins so that we might not be defined by our mistakes, but rather refined by Your grace. Help us to turn away from those things that potentially lead us away from God. Grant us mercy when we sin. Give us hope to make our lives better again. Release us from our past regrets and guide us to a future glory. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.