Finding Encouragement in Matthew's account of Christs Genealogy

Dad and I are continuing to work through Renovation of The Heart. A wonderful book by Dallas Willard.

I was working thru some of the questions yesterday morning and this was the question...

"What kind of person is God actively seeking?"

Oh my...I thought to myself. Do I really want to read the list of do's and do not's and then see how I measure up? How depressing would that be!

Then I read in a devotional book on advent, some commentary on Christs genealogy. The author was pointing out some interesting facts...

Abraham begot Isaac...what about Sarahs Maidservant and Ishmael?

Isaac begets Jacob...but what about Esau, whom Jacob stole his birthright from?

Jacob begets Judah..not no mention of how Judah sold his brother into slavery.

David is in the line of Christ, but he also was responsible for an affair that lead to a cold murder and the death of a son.

Tamar is also in the genealogy, but her past is not. She disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced her father in law Judah to get a son out of him.

Rahab was a real life prostitute and she too is mentioned in Christs genealogy.

What is the deal?

Why would God choose to use a man who didn't trust in Gods provision to be the Father of Christs Genealogy. Why did God mention Jacob who cheated his way to first place and not his poor brother who was cheated out of his birthright.

Why would God use Judah and not Joseph. The patient one who endured so many hardships with such integrity and moral excellence?

Why use David who lacked self control even to the point of deceptive murder?

And why choose the unconventional pregnancy of a peasant girl to birth eternity onto our planet?

I believe the answer can be found in His Word...in John, where we read of a Samaritan woman who is so ashamed of her life, that she travels to the well in the middle of the day so she will bypass seeing her contemporaries. One day instead of encountering the mean spirit of a sour old gossip, she meets her Messiah, her Savior.

And it is at this meeting that Christ assures her..

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for The Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23

Kevin calls this heart not hands.

It is so clear in Christs story throughout the old testament and the new. Jesus wants your heart! He doesn't want empty actions! He wants your heart.

He cares very little for outward signs intended for show. Yet He is extremely sensitive to the slightest inclination of the heart towards Him.

"Whoever will call upon the name of The Lord will be saved." Romans 10:12-13

When we reach the end of ourselves... we can reach God.

The irony of it all is that in so many of our "religious acts" we are climbing further and further away from God and closer and closer to the spiritual decay of self sufficiency. Is this not what the tower of Babel was all about. Trying to get closer and closer to God by our own means, our own efforts, our own plans!

When all He wants is our humble hearts and a contrite spirit.

Perhaps Abraham did not trust God in the moment of one or two decisions..but apparently God was not through with him yet!

Maybe Tamar did something as nauseating as mentioned up above...but God was not thru with her either.

And each morning, in the countless journals that can be found on my bookshelf I commit my ways to The Lord. Pray to Him. Confess to Him. Promise to Him that I will live for Him. I will remember Him all day today.

And yet, as I turn the corner and head towards the back bedroom, Genesis pushes thru Christians door CREEK says the door at 530am when I am trying to sneak out for a walk and NOT wake the children. Then Genesis shakes her collar and the sounds are like clanging symbols magnified by a microphone. The cat meows and the thought flashes thru my mind that I would like to kick the dog across the room and banish the cat to the outside realm forever!

Yuck! Where did that come from and how can I get rid of it!

And yet, a few hours later I am at the grocery store sharing my testimony.

The same hands that pen this blog, years ago, penned their pledge to never seek God. And yet my greatest desire today is to bring Him Honor and Praise. My greatest desire is for Him to use me in the progression of His Kingdom in spite of myself (and my wicked thoughts & deeds!)

Am I like David, who in one moment of passion commits an affair and in another proclaims the Mighty Hand of God?

I believe I am. I pray I am now on an upward trend. But I know I am human and I will always commit acts that make me wish I was not trapped by this flesh. But the relief is, I can always go to The Father and His arms will always be extended as long as I am turning to Him.

Return to my original question...what kind of person is God seeking?

He is seeking those that are truly seeking Him in their hearts.

Not those who are on every church committee, attend every service, even every Bible Study.

He is seeking your heart. He is seeking your spirit.

When your spirit is His, then He will use you!

May my spirit truly seek you Precious Child, Lamb of God, Servant King.

Update on Abi

Just wanted to let you all know Abi is doing well. The doctors are saying she will go home soon if she continues to progress as she has been over the last few hours.

They are not sure of the cause of her seizure. But they say she is better and they are not sure why.

Donna said...we know why...God healed her!

Thank You Jesus for your provision!

Please pray for Abigail

Please pray for Abigail~

We found out this morning that she has been in the hospital since 330am. She had a seizure. She is now sedated, and resting well.

They are running tests. Please pray for Don & Donna as they travel to Opelika to be with the family.

We will keep you posted.

Thanks!

Lesli

Merry Christmas!

Last Friday, we had some friends over for dinner. We had a great time! Sorry Matt...I couldn't get one with your eyes open!



I love this picture of Kevin in action! I have the most wonderful husband!



Emily was a little angel and here she is working on her contributions to the meal!

This year, God put it on our hearts to have different people that are a part of our lives, share with Emily something about Christmas.

It has been so neat that as we have asked different people to share with Emily about Christmas, each person brings a different perspective to the table.

Stan Anderson helped Emily to understand that Jesus is in your heart when you ask Him to live there.

Big Papa explained to Emily that Jesus is The Reason we celebrate Christmas.

Mommy has been working to help Emily understand that Jesus is a light that shines in our hearts. And that Jesus has come to help us.

Daddy has been teaching Emily that Jesus came as a Servant King.



Here is a picture of Melvin and Christy reading Emily a story. We had asked them to share with Emily the Christmas story.

Christy shared with Emily that because of the sin in our hearts we are separated from God. But, because of this sin God sent to us Jesus, so that we could be close to God.



It has been such a joy to our entire family, as we have tried to keep our attention on Christ during this Advent Season.

Perhaps one great treasure of parenting is the lessons that you, as the parent learn! As Kevin and I have tried to use this Season to teach Emily about who Christ is...we too are learning more and more about who He is!

As we meditate on the magnitude of how eternity came to finite earth, to save broken man, we are falling more and more in love with The Christ Child!



This past Sunday, after Church, we headed over to Grammy's house to decorate Christmas cookies. Aunt Mindy & Aunt Jennifer were there. They brought Tyler, Madison & Katie, so you can only imagine the blast Emily had!



Christian enjoyed his cousins too!



Here is Jennifer with Dad. They are actually cousins.



Christian enjoyed the festivities, although he spent most of his day in the baby carrier!



The kids had a great time! It was so neat to see the different kinds of creativity each child had to offer.



Madison came up with some beautiful designs for her cookies!




And Emily tried to learn from Gi Gi the art of decorating.




She tried it for a little while...




But then got a little bored....



And did her share of sampling! You should have seen her blue mouth!



Tyler, as always was a real sport! He helped us look after Emily & Christian. And was a true delight to be around!



Even when little ones acted like little stink pots!




After decorating the kids and I headed upstairs to read a couple of stories about the birth of Christ. After I read my story, instead of an encore...Emily asked if Katie would read! This was a true blessing to watch.



I am not sure how much of this cookie you can make out...but it was an Emily original! That's right and original piece of art! That was soon to be...eaten!



Gi Gi packaged up the cookies we decorated and we took some to a local nursing home.



It was so special to see the residents light up when they saw little Emily's smile. "Merry Christmas" she told them. "Jesus loves you!"



As we neared the end of our time at the nursing home the inevitable happened! We reached the last cookie! Gi Gi promised Emily that if she would give up this cookie...she would have a very special one all her own at home.



She thought about it...



Debated...



And she did the right thing! She gave her cookie away with another "Merry Christmas!"



When we got back to Gi Gi's house, Gi Gi read Emily a classic Christmas Story. The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado. This is a wonderful story about how God has a very special place for those who are "different". This little lamb, while he was crippled and always left out of activities the other lambs were able to participate in, he was the lamb that was chosen to keep baby Jesus warm, when He was born in the stable.




And as you can see...Emily got her cookie!



Later that afternoon, we went to pick Daddy up from work,



And traveled to The Hunnewells to see their many Nativity Scenes.



Emily had a great time checking out all of the differnt kinds of Nativity Scenes they had.



Christian enjoyed himself too!



He got lots of attention!



Emily wasespecially excited to see this nativity scene!



We were very greatful to The Hunnewells for allowing us to share in their Christmas traditions!



I think Emily learned about the wisemen from Mrs. Hunnewell. Somthing I had not really talked with her about.



When we got home, we had dinner and Emily got her PJs on. Kevin was busy working on Christmas cards and Christian and I were doing laundry. Emily was watching a movie...



And this is how I found her! She gets it honestly! My sister and I have both been know to bite our toenails!

To Us!

This week Grandma came over and helped Emily to make her very own nativity scene.



We all pitched in in our own special way!



And the result was a beautiful keepsake for Emily that now resides on her dresser.



"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6; NIV

This morning I came across a sermon of Martin Luther's from December 25th 1531! Wow! It had been translated by Frederick J. Gaiser and published by Word & World in 1996 to observe the 450th anniversary of the reformers death.

He had such an interesting perspective on this verse.

In his sermon this is what he emphasized.

"For Us"
for us conceived & born
for us suffered & died
for us raised
for us ascended
for us sitting at the right hand of the Father

"Given"
a pure gift
a present
nothing for me to give in return
nothing with which I can repay

"Called"
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace

For us, Given, a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!

For us! For us! For us!




Yesterday, in our morning counseling session, Kevin and I stumbled upon yet another weed in my heart. Trust. I don't trust God to take control and lead me in the daily circumstances of my life.



Just as I don't trust Kevin to do the laundry or pick out the outfits for the kids (if we are going somewhere important), I don't trust God to decide when I will do what or how. Why don't I trust Kevin to do laundry? Because I know he will not fold the clothes the way I like or he will not have the loads done when I think they should be done. I realized yesterday morning that it is the same with God. I don't trust Him to do things the way I want them done.



(Here is Emily helping Mieke ring us up at Publix)

I want to be a good wife and mother so...on Monday I will read on mothering during nap time, on Tuesday I will read on homeschooling during nap time & on Wednesday I will work on our finances during nap time. There you have it, Lesli's plan for successful parenting & mothering.

How's that working for you? You ask,

terrible!



I am stressed out trying to make all of the cards of the day lay out so that "my plan" will work. Why because I think the Creator of The Universe can't do it the way I want it. How puny is that!

And yet, according to the scripture above He is given to me, a gift at no cost, to be my very own counselor, mighty God & Prince of Peace. Why do I not just lay myself at His feet and humbly follow where He leads!

What type of life would he lead me into? Read below an excerpt from Luther's Sermon.

“He is the kind of lord who takes the government on his shoulder—and thus a genuine lord .... A unique and wonderful lord, who wears his authority around his neck! This shows how the rule of Christ differs from the kingdoms of the world. For Christ says, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them.”



They have to exercise power, to rule strictly, and make use of the law; but they do not need to fleece and flail [people]. [All] secular governments have to rule and punish with severity; but it is [only] the villains and tyrants who fleece and flail [their people]...

But the rule of that Son who was born to us works the other way around: he carries us! We rest on his shoulders; he is our bearer.



See how Isaiah turns everything around, contrary to the customs of the world. Where is Christ’s rule, his land, and his people? Our duke’s rule includes Saxony, Thuringia, and Meissen. But Christ’s rule includes all believers, of whom he is Lord. So we are his people and his land. And where is his government? On his shoulder! This is wonderful. Christ’s kingdom is not under his feet, nor is it in Rome or in Babylon; it is on his shoulder....



We just have to put up with the fact that the godless papists, the rabble, and the peasants all have our word and sacraments. But only those are Christians who are on his shoulder, that is, those who firmly trust him and allow themselves to be carried by him like the lost sheep. To sum up: no one is a Christian who does not rest on the shoulder of Christ.



Thus, here you see the very definition of the Son, the one who carries his subjects on his shoulder. And we are those subjects! lf the foolish followers of the pope who want to kill us only believed this, they would rethink their plan. They want to carry Christ themselves, back and forth; they carry him with their works and their merits. But he will prove too heavy for them. The sheep must say [instead], “Dear Shepherd, you carry me, not I you!” It would be some crazy sheep that wanted to carry him! Would it ever get something to carry! But Christ says, “Hop on! I will carry you well—and all your sins are forgiven.” And the world persecutes this
treasure of the kingdom [of Christ]! Isaiah says, “You have the Son.” So, hop on!

We should gladly and confidently run to him, believing that he will answer for us and pay for us.
This message goes forth into the world, but I have no idea about our gratitude [for it]. “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Now, by adding these six names, [the prophet] explains how the carrying takes place. When I have time and am healthy, I will preach about that. If not, someone else will do it, since it is written in the books as well as I can preach it [here]."

Am I not like those popes Luther speaks of when I try to carry my own load. Thinking it will lead me to where The Shepherd has called me to. Instead I ought to simply follow Him. Let Him carry the load and be used where and how He has called me to be used.




Perhaps this illustration might help put things in perspective.

Emily, Christian and I are typically climbing into Mommy & Daddy's bed each afternoon around 2pm. This is our routine, as I read to them and feed Christian, they both drift off to sleep.



I always prop up two pillows up against the bed post, so as to be more comfortable. This way my back is not against the wood frame of the bed.



Well, little Mrs. Emily has her own idea of how to sit comfortably. Each day, I try to prop up pillows for her, so that she too will be comfortable. And each day, she removes them and sits up against the wooden frame. Well, until she falls asleep, in which case she typically slumps over into my lap.



:)

I often think of my Mom when Emily does this. I know she would be more comfortable with the pillows, but Emily has the need to make a decision and she is choosing to not have the pillows. I am sure it is not comfortable for her, but I let her sit how she likes.

How often, I wonder does my Mom (and in laws!) feel similarly. They see me saying & doing things and think....how much easier it would be if she would....




And yet, I persist to do things my way which may indeed be unnecessary and harder!

How much more so, as I try to tell God the best way to orchestrate my day!

Rather I should be rejoicing in His willingness to lead. And that rejoicing ought to be demonstrated by obedience!




May we all truly know the joy of resting on His Shoulder!