Last week we looked at when God called Abraham and the promise God made to him about his descendants. Looking back, we know now that God fulfilled the word he gave Abraham that, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” once his descendant Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross for mankind’s sins and rose on the third day. Today, we are looking at another ancestor of Jesus. We are looking at the blessing Jacob, also known as Israel, gave to his son Judah. Jacob said, “the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Hundreds of years before the children of Israel became a nation, Jacob told Judah he would have descendants that would be rulers until the one true ruler arrived. Isaiah described that one true ruler this way in Isaiah chapter nine, “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Jesus said this after his resurrection in Matthew chapter twenty-eight, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus reigns now over a kingdom that is greater and better than any nation today. Every person that has been born again by the Holy Spirit and is a child of God is part of that kingdom. Jacob also said that descendant of Judah will, “wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.” Revelation tells us a description of Jesus in chapter nineteen that resembles what Jacob told Judah thousands of years ago. Jesus is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” We have the opportunity to give our lives as a living sacrifice to Jesus now. There is a day coming when the wrath of God will be poured out. He alone was able and paid the cost so we could avoid facing the wrath of God for our sins. Are you part of the kingdom of God? How obedient to Jesus are you, knowing that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords? How are you helping to build the kingdom of God?
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Our scriptures for this week show us two important moments in Abraham’s life. Abraham is called the man of faith and the father of those that believe by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians. In chapter twelve we read that when God told Abraham to go and move to a land God would show him, Abraham obeyed. In chapter fifteen, we read that God reassured Abraham that he would have a son to inherit his estate and that Abraham’s offspring would number like the stars in the sky. When God told him that, Abraham believed him, and it was credited to him as righteousness. God wants us to obey him and believe him. God will lead each of us, by his Holy Spirit, his word, and whatever other means he decides. God talked to Abraham in the first scripture, then talked to him in a vision in the second scripture. God has many ways he can communicate with us. We must make time in our daily life for God. How much time do you put into your relationship with God? How has God been communicating with you this week? How have you demonstrated your faith in God this year so far? Genesis 2 & 3 NIV This week we are looking at two chapters in the Old Testament that explain our need for Jesus. Chapter two tells us the command God gave Adam about not eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know Adam passed that on to Eve because of her response to the serpent in chapter three. We were not there in the Garden of Eden, but we are still experiencing the consequences of Adam and Eve’s decision to eat that fruit God commanded them not to eat. James puts it this way in chapter two of the letter he wrote, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James also said this in chapter four of the letter he wrote, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Every person is born with the capacity to learn the knowledge of good and evil. After a child gets a certain age, they know right from wrong. They may not know all the good things or bad things a person can do, but they do know right from wrong. From day to day, we must check our desires. We must read God’s word and look at how Jesus lived on this earth. We also should put more weight to God’s word than others, especially if God says something will kill us. God can not lie. We can lie to ourselves and to others, but God always speaks truth. How well do you follow God’s commands? How often do you choose your desire over God’s word to you? How do your desires affect your relationship with God? As we start this new year we will start a new study. In this study we will look at some basic scriptures from the Old Testament that connect to Jesus. Prayerfully we will have a closer relationship with Jesus at the end of this study. The book of Genesis starts with ten important words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The apostle John said this about Jesus in chapter one of the gospel according to him, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” The apostle Paul said this about Jesus in chapter one of his letter to the Colossians, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Jesus said this about himself in John chapter ten, “I and the Father are one.” I share those statements about Jesus because we sometimes forget our place and lack humility. We act as if we rule everything. Humans only rule over all the living creatures on earth. We act like we can do whatever comes to our minds. We act like we are not going to be held accountable for our actions one day. We forget that God is the one that rules everything. Genesis chapter one reminds us of that by showing us that he created everything. Everything God created has purpose. Every person was created in the image of God. Every person was created for Jesus. How often do you think about the part Jesus played in creating the heavens and the earth? How do you think humans have been doing ruling over every living creature on the earth? How have you used what you have been given this week so far? |
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May 2024
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