Challenge Central: a CBC devotional
by: Barb Rogelstad
For the past 35 years, I have been a serious genealogy enthusiast. Hours have been spent journeying through websites, thumbing through dusty stacks of books in libraries, examining land registries and maps, and travelling to archives to seek information that will lead me to my roots. Details are important when you research your family tree. You can be led far from your roots if you don’t pay attention to the specifics of the BMDs (birth, marriage, death).
Genealogy and lineages, unfortunately, are the parts of scripture that many people skip over when reading the Bible. They skim through the genealogies and miss the details. Most of all, they miss the reason why the genealogies are included in the Bible. The genealogies lead us to the birth of Jesus Christ. The events leading up to Jesus’ birth are found in the prophecies of the Old Testament. A Messiah is promised! He is from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Judah, Jesse, and David. The family tree is detailed and revealed in the genealogy recorded in both Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38.
Matthew’s recorded genealogy account starts with Abraham: “So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17).
Luke’s recorded genealogy account goes all the way back to Adam: “When He (Jesus) began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of Joseph… Cainan, the son of Enoch, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3:23, 37b-38)
Notice the repetition of the words, ‘the son of’ in these verses. It is important to know that we are all sons and daughters of someone. I know that I am the daughter of Patrick Joseph Parrott and Winnifred Devine and I have inherited a few precious items that belonged to them. More importantly, I have a spiritual inheritance that can never perish and is kept for me in heaven. Isn’t that awesome? First Peter 1:3-4 states: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
Do you know for certain that when you die you will be with the Lord Jesus and obtain an inheritance reserved in heaven for you? You can know for certain right now! Would you pray this prayer?
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Rejoice, for you are “the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:1)
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