Past or Present

O. T. #884  "Past or Present"
Dec. 12, 2016
1 Chronicles 2-Part 2
Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.  Psalm 16:11

LET IT GLOW

If we look deep enough into our family history, can we all probably find some messy people, right? Yep, I have a deserter of  war in my background, as well as a president. Yet, is it the good or bad of the past ancestors that shapes us into who we are, or is it our present? We have a choice today. Will we experience God's presence in our present? His loving presence is His gift (present) to us.

As review, we read of the patriarchs-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). Those were the descendants of King David.

A patriarch is a ruling ancestor who may have been a founding father of a family, a clan, or a nation.
(Holman Bible Dictionary)

Another thing, there were some women of bad reputation in David's ancestry and Jesus' lineage:

• Rahab, the harlot, who aided the Jewish spies, became the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz;
• Ruth, who was a Moabite, married Boaz, and they had Obed; Obed was the grandfather of David, through the line of Joseph.
• Tamar, the daughter in law of Judah who disguised herself as a harlot, which resulted in her being the mother of twins, Pharez and Zerah. Pharez (Judah's son) was the father of Hezron, in David lineage.

Do we see God's grace that He showed these women? Although they were women of bad reputation, God made them a part of the lineage of David and Jesus. He can change hearts, in spite of our past, and use our life for good. What a privilege they had as they were named in Matthew 1.


LET IT GROW

There were some scoundrels that were men in this list, too:

• Nimrod, the rebel who established the Babylonian Empire;
• Er's sin resulted in his being killed by God, and refused to marry his brother's widow, Tamar;
• Achan, the one who stole the spoil of Jericho, that had been dedicated to the Lord. Achan and his children were stoned to death as a result of his sin.  

Despite those sinful men, and relatives of David, God blessed his ancestry. We are a people who are imperfect and so are our relatives. We are all sinners in need of a Savior.

Whether it was Abraham moving his family to who-knows-where, Noah riding out a storm, or Jacob wrestling with an angel, we all have our challenges in life, a testing of our faith. Do these times of trials change our heart for good or bad? Will we learn from the lessons of others?

Will we be a man or woman after God's own heart as David? Are we walking and talking with Jesus as we go on our journey?

LET IT GO
                    ... of the past and live in the present.
                              ... of sin and reach for the Savior full of grace and mercy.
                              .. of others' past and experience His presence in my present.

*I had a virus keeping me down last week, friends. Hopefully I'm on the mend.