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Spiritual Bread for the Spirit Bred
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
SPIRIT BREAD WEEKLY
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE FAMILY TREE HAS ROTTEN FRUIT?
By Jerry D. Ousley
By Jerry D. Ousley
Did You Know that the Family Tree has Rotten Fruit?
By Jerry D. Ousley
Ahhh, every family has them, right? I’m speaking of that one in the family tree who has been labeled “the black sheep” of the family. This individual, for one reason or another, doesn’t conform to the rest of the family. They may have a criminal record, or have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Whatever their fault may be, they always seem to be the odd ball out.
Sometimes when we are reading through the Bible, we encounter those long lists of hard to pronounce names. If you are like me, you may have wondered just what could be the purpose of that seemingly endless list. Even though it may not seem so, God does have a reason for all scripture in His word.
We find such a list in the very first chapter of Matthew. The book begins with a long series of names that starts with Abraham, who was the father of the Hebrew people. The lineage traces the line of Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus, back through his roots all the way to Abraham. In this lineage there are some very famous people. There are heroes, warriors and men of renown.
But there are also some people who were in fact, evil, of ill repute and bad reputation who committed crimes including murder. These people are found listed in the line of non-other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Abraham, the one whom God promised would have offspring as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and the stars in the sky, stretched the truth about his wife, Sarah. Twice he had her tell people in cities they visited that she was his sister and not his wife. He had her do this to keep someone from killing him to get her. In fact, she was his half sister because, while they had different mothers they shared the same father.
His grandson, Jacob, deceived his way into obtaining the blessing and right as first heir by deceit. In fact his very name, Jacob, means supplanter, or deceiver.
Jacob’s son, Judah, gave two of his sons as husbands to a woman named Tamar. His sons died before they had children and by Jewish tradition, he was to provide a husband to Tamar so that she could raise up a son in the name of her first husband. But when his youngest son was grown, he delayed that promise and so Tamar pretended to be a harlot and bore a son to Judah instead.
Later in their history, a man by the name of Salmon married the harlot from Jericho who had helped the spies to escape. By promise she was spared in the destruction of the city and was found in the Messianic lineage. Their son was Boaz, the man who redeemed the property of Naomi in the name of her deceased husband, and in the process married the Moabite woman, Ruth as part of the deal. She too, a gentile, was found in the lineage of Christ.
What of David? He was the hero who defeated the giant, Goliath. He became a mighty warrior king over Israel. But in a moment of weakness, he lusted after the wife of one of his mighty men, Uriah. Against the laws of the Bible he had sexual relations with Bathsheba and when she was found with child by David, he tried to cover his sin up by providing opportunity for Uriah to be with his wife. But his loyalty to his country and fellow soldiers in the field wouldn’t allow him to experience pleasure with his wife while they fought for their lives. In order to cover it up, David had Uriah moved to the front lines during the hottest point of the battle and Uriah was killed. But it was done on purpose so that he might take Uriah’s widow as his own wife. But he was exposed. Yet God later called him “a man after His own heart.” (Acts 13:22).
On down through the line we go and we discover in our reading of the Bible that there were kings descended from David also in the family lineage. Seven of those kings led Israel into gross Idolatry in direct violation of God’s command that He be the only God of Israel. And truly He is the one and only true and living God.
So, what is the purpose of all of this? I believe that it let’s us know that God accepts imperfect people as part of His perfect kingdom. If He didn’t, none of us could ever claim to be a Christian. We would have no hope of eternal life. We would be eternally doomed to death and hell. But by the grace given us through Jesus Christ, His death on the cross and His resurrection to life, we are forgiven when we come to Him. When we call out for Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior. He hears us, forgives our sin and sets us on a path that leads to eternal life.
In fact, we are all imperfect – black sheep – of the family tree. We are those who should be forsaken because of our sin and failure. But Jesus Christ forgives us when we come to Him. We are then grafted into the family tree of Christ! We are those imperfect persons who lead to perfect life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do I know that there is rotten fruit in the family tree? Because I’m one of them! I am totally imperfect, a complete failure in myself. But as a member of the Royal and Godly family tree of Jesus, I become an heir to the kingdom.
Yes, praise the Lord! We are rotten but he has allowed us to be a part anyway!
By Jerry D. Ousley
Ahhh, every family has them, right? I’m speaking of that one in the family tree who has been labeled “the black sheep” of the family. This individual, for one reason or another, doesn’t conform to the rest of the family. They may have a criminal record, or have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Whatever their fault may be, they always seem to be the odd ball out.
Sometimes when we are reading through the Bible, we encounter those long lists of hard to pronounce names. If you are like me, you may have wondered just what could be the purpose of that seemingly endless list. Even though it may not seem so, God does have a reason for all scripture in His word.
We find such a list in the very first chapter of Matthew. The book begins with a long series of names that starts with Abraham, who was the father of the Hebrew people. The lineage traces the line of Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus, back through his roots all the way to Abraham. In this lineage there are some very famous people. There are heroes, warriors and men of renown.
But there are also some people who were in fact, evil, of ill repute and bad reputation who committed crimes including murder. These people are found listed in the line of non-other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Abraham, the one whom God promised would have offspring as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and the stars in the sky, stretched the truth about his wife, Sarah. Twice he had her tell people in cities they visited that she was his sister and not his wife. He had her do this to keep someone from killing him to get her. In fact, she was his half sister because, while they had different mothers they shared the same father.
His grandson, Jacob, deceived his way into obtaining the blessing and right as first heir by deceit. In fact his very name, Jacob, means supplanter, or deceiver.
Jacob’s son, Judah, gave two of his sons as husbands to a woman named Tamar. His sons died before they had children and by Jewish tradition, he was to provide a husband to Tamar so that she could raise up a son in the name of her first husband. But when his youngest son was grown, he delayed that promise and so Tamar pretended to be a harlot and bore a son to Judah instead.
Later in their history, a man by the name of Salmon married the harlot from Jericho who had helped the spies to escape. By promise she was spared in the destruction of the city and was found in the Messianic lineage. Their son was Boaz, the man who redeemed the property of Naomi in the name of her deceased husband, and in the process married the Moabite woman, Ruth as part of the deal. She too, a gentile, was found in the lineage of Christ.
What of David? He was the hero who defeated the giant, Goliath. He became a mighty warrior king over Israel. But in a moment of weakness, he lusted after the wife of one of his mighty men, Uriah. Against the laws of the Bible he had sexual relations with Bathsheba and when she was found with child by David, he tried to cover his sin up by providing opportunity for Uriah to be with his wife. But his loyalty to his country and fellow soldiers in the field wouldn’t allow him to experience pleasure with his wife while they fought for their lives. In order to cover it up, David had Uriah moved to the front lines during the hottest point of the battle and Uriah was killed. But it was done on purpose so that he might take Uriah’s widow as his own wife. But he was exposed. Yet God later called him “a man after His own heart.” (Acts 13:22).
On down through the line we go and we discover in our reading of the Bible that there were kings descended from David also in the family lineage. Seven of those kings led Israel into gross Idolatry in direct violation of God’s command that He be the only God of Israel. And truly He is the one and only true and living God.
So, what is the purpose of all of this? I believe that it let’s us know that God accepts imperfect people as part of His perfect kingdom. If He didn’t, none of us could ever claim to be a Christian. We would have no hope of eternal life. We would be eternally doomed to death and hell. But by the grace given us through Jesus Christ, His death on the cross and His resurrection to life, we are forgiven when we come to Him. When we call out for Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior. He hears us, forgives our sin and sets us on a path that leads to eternal life.
In fact, we are all imperfect – black sheep – of the family tree. We are those who should be forsaken because of our sin and failure. But Jesus Christ forgives us when we come to Him. We are then grafted into the family tree of Christ! We are those imperfect persons who lead to perfect life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do I know that there is rotten fruit in the family tree? Because I’m one of them! I am totally imperfect, a complete failure in myself. But as a member of the Royal and Godly family tree of Jesus, I become an heir to the kingdom.
Yes, praise the Lord! We are rotten but he has allowed us to be a part anyway!