Where are you from?

I watched a television show this week entitled, "Where are you from?” It follows high profiled people as they look at their ancestral roots. It was interesting and got me thinking about my own family. Like most people I am a mixed breed. German, Dutch, French and a little Indian make up my family. This is about all I know. I have never researched on ancestry.com or followed a genealogy. Everything I know is from the stories that my mom has told me. Families sometimes exaggerate so; I really have no idea what is reality.


My husband often will tell of his family’s roots that go back to Wales and Ireland as he tries to speak with an accent. It's funny but I am not sure that is sounds anything like the real accent.

I am sure that if I researched my family history more I would find the good, bad and ugly truth of my family. Where we come from is interesting and important information.

This is also true biblically. The genealogy or family line is significant and is included in the bible for a reason. Jesus has two family lines listed. One was from his adopted father Joseph in Matthew 1 and the other was from his mother Mary in Luke 3.

I love how God placed this information in the bible.  I think it was to show us how he fulfilled his promise to David.


In 2 Samuel 7:12-13. "When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."

The line of David reaches through the line of Seth to Noah, through the line of Shem to Abraham. Then through the lines of Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and to Jesus.


Jesus line was also followed through Mary through David's son Nathan to show the bloodline.

I love that in Jesus’ lineage there are many different kinds of people. Five women are named which I just love! Then there are those who had less than stellar reputations. Jesus who was and is perfect did not come from an ancestry of perfect people!

There is hope for me!  I am not required to carry on my own families traits and sins!



There is so much more to this story.

Because of God's plan through Christ we have:

Access to the throne of God.

Forgiveness of Sins

A hope and a future

Freedom

Been called children (heirs) of God

A new family in the body of Christ.

Father,

Thank you for new beginnings! Thank you for making a way for us to have a new life and a new identity because of Christ! Your love and plan is amazing! Help me to love and cherish the family of Christ that you have given to me! Amen!

What is holding you back?

What is holding you back?  What is preventing you from moving forward?  What keeps you from.......?

Often we think that it is our circumstances or opportunities or other people.  I believe that we do it to ourselves.

Before you reach out and strangle me- think about the last time you put on a few pounds.  Did the food do it?  Did someone else make you, force you to eat it?  Did the ice cream jump out of the freezer and slide down your throat?  Of course not!  

We make the choice of what we eat and how much.  This morning I was all upset that I had gained a few pounds. My first response was to be mad at all of eating out that I have done recently. 

 Even in the midst of my internal tirade, I realized that I still chose to eat those meals.  I also chose NOT to exercise. 

What is the cause of my weight gain?  Me!

Spiritually we also can hold ourselves back from going deeper with the Lord.  It is as though we have put up a caution tape that we won't allow ourselves to go through. 

We all have things that stop us from intimacy with the Lord.

Whether it is;

anger or answers

fear or failure

laziness or lies

regrets or relationships

sin or shame

He tells us to come to him and he will give us rest.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Zacchaeus was a Jewish inhabitant of Jericho and its chief tax collector, mentioned in Luke (Luke 19:1-10) watched from a distance and then Jesus invited him into a deeper relationship with him.

Today you can also go deeper. Come down from your hiding place, from watching from afar and cross through the caution tape.  He is waiting for you to let go of what is stopping you and enter into his rest.

If you could take away what keeps you from being closer to the Lord, what would that feel like?  The choice is yours.  Take a step of faith and break through. 

Father, help me to rip away the caution tape and come to you. Remind me of the goodness and comfort of being with you. Thank you for always inviting us to more of yourself. 

Reposted from my previous Blog

There is something about sunshine that just fills me up.  I feel warmth from my head to my toes.  I am happy from deep within.  Everything inside of me craves this warmth.

Webster's says to crave is;
1 : to ask for earnestly : beg, demand (crave a pardon for neglect) or
2 a : to want greatly : need (craves drugs) b : to yearn for  

 I never knew how much I loved the sun until we moved to Michigan and are occasionally sun challenged. :) This week we are vacationing in Sunny California and WOW is it nice to be warm again.  I feel a little guilty because I heard that they had hail in Michigan today.

I am reminded that this is how Jesus wants us to feel about Him.  He wants all of us to crave His prescence, crave time with Him be filled continually with Him. 

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,   Peter 2:2    New Living Translation

Lord thank you for this simple Sonshine reminder of your warmth, your love, your filling.

Jann