Unlimited: You Are Part of the Family
Oct 6, 2021 1592
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (Ephesians 1:5, NLT).
Even the genealogies of the Bible shine with the light of the Gospel of Christ! Of the four women mentioned in Christ’s genealogy in Matthew 1, three of them didn’t even belong to the people of God to start with. Out of the four, three were prostitutes. Here is a little extract:
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse… – Matthew 1:5
Notice that Rahab was the great grandmother of Jesus. She’s famous in the Bible story for being a prostitute with faith. She’s even mentioned in the great chapter of Bible heroes, Hebrews 11.
There’s room for you in the family of God.
All of this tells you and me that there’s room for all of us – even you – in the family of God.
Jesus isn’t embarrassed by some of the oddballs who were part of his family, and he will never, ever be embarrassed by you. How could your Lord, who was crucified between two thieves, ever be embarrassed by you?
When you accept Christ’s forgiveness and grace, he rejoices over you, like the most precious of his crown jewels. When you become part of his family (Ephesians 1:5), and he will show you off to the world, so that everyone may see what his love can do. – Eliezer Gonzalez
Reflection: Read Matthew 1:5 again, inserting your own name in the place of Rahab. Why not? She was an outsider and a prostitute. Surely your name can go there also? How does that make you feel? Spend some time praising God for his mercy and grace toward you!
Olivia
Oct 7, 2021
GOD thank you for in stilling your grace and mercy within me you no God it means so much to spend every time of day with you and let me say God thanks for your service in Jesus name amen