JANUARY 14 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-14: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  14  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-14: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

014 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Creator of all things, by whose Hand and Will are all things held together, You are worthy of all Praise, all Glory, all Honor! Lord, to You and You alone will every nation bow and every tongue in every language confess that Jesus is CHRIST! — the Savior of mankind, the King of kings. Lord, I praise You this day, let not the world interfere with our worship of Thee — You Lord, are the Guiding Path, I pray that You part the “Sea of Doubt” and give us the strength and courage to lift up Your Name as we cross on dry land between the walls of worldly distractions built up on every side on our journey to Your Promised Land, especially in this circumstance and at this time of “testing” in America — for it is in these types of circumstances that there is special strength coming from the Throne of Grace, let us receive Your Divine Strength into our lives and into our homes, and Lord Jesus, give everyone someone in their life that they will share Your Love with today.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  14  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-14: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus is being revealed through circumstance and simple fact to be the Messiah and in any court of law there would be enough evidence to sentence Him to a LIFE sentence for being the “Chosen One”. If we could look at His “Birth” certificate we would see that He was born a Jew to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem in Judea and it could be demonstrated that Jesus was of the lineage of David the former King of Israel therefore making Jesus a Jew that can trace His ancestry all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the most compelling evidence was given by His own mother Mary who swore under oath that she had never been with a man and had conceived Her baby boy while still a “virgin” and that she further testified that she was informed that she would carry the “Son of God” in her virgin womb by God Himself through His angel Gabriel, thereby confirming that her “son” was “The Son of God”! Not needed to convict her but required by law that there be two witnesses, Mary’s husband to which she was betrothed when she became pregnant through “Immaculate Conception” with this Holy Child, Joseph took the witness stand and confirmed Mary’s confession that she was carrying the “Son of God” in her virgin womb!!! Joseph testified that he too had been visited by the Angel Gabriel and was informed by God that his betrothed was “with a Child” that had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jewish law is very strict and had not Joseph withheld his public accusation of worldly infidelity, Mary could have been stoned to death as per Jewish law so neither she nor Joseph had anything worldly to gain by this outrageous claim of her “Virgin Birth” which declared the “Boy Child” to be born to Mary was indeed the “Son of God” ——— and all this transpired BEFORE the actual “Virgin Birth” so this piece of historical evidence of Christ’s identity was established BEFORE Jesus was even born! To think that all the prophets and the Jewish Holy Scriptures was simply a clever “conspiracy” organized by Jesus and His followers goes against all logic for why in the world would those that wanted Jesus dead because He proclaimed Himself as God be compliant with a plot to make Jesus God Incarnate via the “Virgin Birth”?!?!?!?!? There is simply no way that anyone could put together one man’s life to remotely complete more than two or three of the prophecies {{See January 11 this blog}} and certainly not two of this Divine Significance of a Jewish male born in Bethlehem to a “virgin” — Matthew therefore using Jewish law and Jewish tradition along with confirmation from the Jewish Scriptures documents that this Jesus, born of Mary in Bethlehem must be declared as “The Messiah” and is the Christ, for if their claims were not true then by Jewish law and tradition the Jewish religious leaders could have killed Mary, Joseph, and Jesus — — — BUT, we have a 2000 year old Bible and you know the rest of the story!!! In God’s Great Plan for mankind, each individual must deal with this “Revelation of Jesus Christ” and “work out your own salvation” through the exercise of Your God-given Freewill and decide if your “Faith” (though it be a small as a “mustard seed”) can be planted into this fertile soil of God’s GRACE and TRUTH and grow to reach “Heaven” itself!!! God’s simple promise is “I WILL PROVIDE” — and regardless of the “evidence” it still boils down to “FAITH IN GOD” — it is time for everyone by “FAITH” to “Repent” and to reclaim for our lives and our world our “Heavenly Inheritance”— “IN GOD WE TRUST”!!!

JANUARY 13 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-13: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  13  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-13: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

013 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, each sunrise starts a new day in our spiritual journey through life and I pray that You through the Holy Spirit will make my life in each of my new days of walking with the Holy Spirit to be a great witness unto God. Lord, I pray for forgiveness of all my sin, sins known and those that are unknown to me, but known or not, if they grieve the Holy Spirit they dishonor the Father and the Son, so I beg forgiveness for Holiness’ sake. Lord, I desire in my heart to dedicate this temple to the Holy Spirit, to You, and Father God — O Lord Jesus, I am so close to being separated from the world that if it be Thy will, Lord lead me to be totally dependent on You and that I live only to serve You. Take now this prayer as a sacrifice and an offering to You, use my life for the glory of Your Kingdom. Lord I yield to Your will, You are my Lord, my God, my Savior, my Redeemer, and the Prince of Peace.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  13  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-13: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus has been shown by Matthew’s Gospel to be in the line of David and is the One in prophecy known as the Messiah, the Son of David! Matthew drew the lineage from the traditional Jewish doctrine of tracing the family line through the father and listing the birth mother of the offspring. It is Jewish tradition because of the teachings of God found written in Deuteronomy 21:15-17 that the first born male that was also the first issue of his mother’s womb would be granted a special portion of the father’s estate, therefore when Matthew, being a well educated Jew and knowing the prophecies of the Messiah contained in the Holy Scriptures, learned that Jesus was the first born from His mother’s womb and that she swore by the Holy Scriptures that the Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, thereby making God Himself the Father, then Matthew immediately recognized the prophecy of the “virgin birth” found in Isaiah — “Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Matthew put the “virgin birth” prophecy along with the fact that the mother of Jesus gave birth to Him in Bethlehem which also fulfilled the prophecy by the prophet Micah “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting”  (Micah 5:2) and Matthew had two prophecies that pointed to Jesus being the “One” that was written by God’s prophets about God’s Messiah! Granted there had been a lot of Jewish males in the line of Judah that had been the “first born” of their mother’s womb and had received the special inheritance from their earthly father but Jesus was the first Jewish male that could claim that His Father was God Himself and He had been “born of a virgin” and that His birth occurred in the “City of David, Bethlehem Ephrathah” !!! — and least we forget, the story of the “virgin birth” of Mary began before she had given birth and in those days she could not have known that she was carrying a male child therefore her claim that she was told by an angel that she would conceive a child in her virgin womb and give birth to the “Son of God” could have been easily disproved if she had given birth to a daughter!?!? So from a “Spiritual Truth” standpoint, the only way that Mary could “know” that she was giving birth to a ‘Son” was that it was revealed to her by God Himself!!! Since Matthew was well versed on prophecy he could see the significance of Joseph having to return to Bethlehem to pay his taxes and Mary actually giving birth to her first born in the town of Bethlehem and those two facts alone were enough to raise expectations of the Messiah in the Jewish community but when the story that during her pregnancy Mary claimed (at the risk of being stoned to death) that God had chosen her to be the mother of the “Son of God”  became known to Matthew he connected the two prophecies (1) the “virgin birth” and (2) the location being “Bethlehem” to the simple fact that Jesus was a firstborn male from Mary’s womb ——— Matthew the simply stated the facts surrounding the “birth” of Jesus and documented that Jesus had fulfilled two major prophecies of the Messiah !!! Matthew then writes first in his Gospel of Jesus Christ that Jesus is the “Son of David” (Matthew 1:1) and follows that historic fact with the “virgin birth” prophecy, thereby the combination of these two longstanding and well-known prophecies establish beyond any doubt that Jesus IS the MESSIAH!!!  The first claims made by Matthew in his Gospel of Jesus Christ should be enough “evidence” for all of us to recognize Jesus as the Messiah but God still wants each individual to search the Scriptures so that we too can through “Faith in God” know the “Joy” of discovering God’s “Messiah” for ourselves!!! There is NO “Evidence” without “Faith in God” that is “proof of God” — however “Faith in God” is all the “proof” a “Believer” needs to know God personally and once we “Believe” then worldly “evidence” is simply used to confirm what the “Believer” through “Faith in God” already KNOWS about Him!!! Once you “Believe” you may claim this Truth of God for yourself: “And [you having] believed in [Me] the LORD, [I WILL] account it [unto you] for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6) The Scofield Study Bible says: “ God must reckon His own righteousness to man’s account through man’s trust [FAITH] in Him — for mankind is without righteousness of his own.” {{Scofield Study Bible notes on Genesis 15:6}}  The “Good News” keeps getting Better and Better!!!

JANUARY 12 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-12: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  12  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-12: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

012 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, You are Unchanging for ever and Forever, for You are the Alpha and the Omega. Lord as I face another day in the world I praise You for the great and mighty work that You accomplish daily in our lives through the Holy Spirit and the extra blessing of the Holy Spirit teaching us how to worship You with our work which is a good witness to Your Great Love. I pray that others will see us living our lives through You Lord Jesus Christ and our daily walk with You will witness to the Abundant Life that comes only from following You and also that they will learn that following You is the most important thing in each individual’s life — not what the owner’s of the business or our earthly bosses think about our “worship at work” but of major importance is what God Most High thinks of our worship! Jesus, You know our hearts and Lord Jesus help us die daily to our worldly self and let Your Love show though in a mighty WAY!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  12  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-12: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus was established in the first chapter of Matthew as the rightful Heir to the Throne of David by His genealogy through King David as spoken by God Himself to Nathan the prophet about David: “I will set up [David’s] seed…I will establish his kingdom…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever…I will be his Father, and he shall be My son…My mercy shall not depart from him…and [David’s] throne and kingdom will be established forever!” (2 Samuel 7: 12-16) The title “Son of David” to the Jews meant more than human genealogy, it is a MESSIANIC title — therefore when Israel referred to Jesus as the Son of David, they were making reference to the long-awaited Deliverer, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. (Matthew 1:1-17) Next, after establishing the “genealogy of Jesus Christ, Matthew documents the prophesied “virgin birth” of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25) thus fulfilling the prophecy: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14.) Matthew then moves directly into the conflict that developed with the then earthly king of Israel, King Herod: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2) The fact that “wise men” from the East came seeking the “King of the Jews” and declaring that they had “seen His star in the East” is significant in the “universality” of the Jewish Prophecy that the the King of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem of Judea for the prophet Micah had written: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2) Matthew has now demonstrated 3 major prophecies that have been fulfilled by Jesus in just the first chapter and part of the second that put the odds of any one person fulfilling these 3 major prophecies at an astronomical number and almost certainly by mathematical odds that Jesus by (1) His genealogy through David, (2) His “Virgin Birth”, and (3) that  “Virgin Birth” occurring in the town of “Bethlehem” would be sufficient to declare Jesus the Heir to the throne of David and by Jesus fulfilling just these three prophecies that He would have to be declared the “King of the Jews”!!! It is obvious why this news from the wise men declared in the presence of Herod and all the chief priests and scribes in the city of Jerusalem would cause Herod to be “troubled”.  What makes the odds of Jesus being the “King of the Jews” grow exponentially is the fact that even this “trouble” that King Herod felt was in prophecy as well as Matthew records that when the wise men departed after “they [had seen] the young Child with Mary His mother” (Matthew 2:11) that “an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.’ [Joseph] did as the angel had commanded “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet [Hosea], saying, “Out if Egypt I called My Son.” (Hosea 11:1) When Herod “saw that he was deceived by the wise men…[Herod] sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which [Herod] had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:16-17 and Jeremiah 31:15) Matthew now has in only two chapters lists Jesus fulfilling prophecies by Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, and Jeremiah and the miracle part of the prophecies is that in order for these prophecies to be fulfilled that the circumstances demanded that “wise men from the East” and the current king of Judea be complicit in the fulfilling of prophecy! To me it is significant that God was accomplishing His Plan and literally using Jesus as a Child to cause a Universal Response to His arrival and that means that there will be required of every one, in all nations and every generation, a Universal Response when Jesus comes again! Gods complete Plan has been written down in His Holy Bible for us to read and comply with — all we have to do is accept the obvious, Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God!!! 

JANUARY 11 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-11: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  11  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-11: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

011 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, my prayer is to be totally dependent on Your Mercy and Grace to lead me where You will. Lord, I pray not to be free of worldly influences but rather my prayer is to have the discernment to see past the world and the deceit of this world to Your Truth and to Trust Your Holy Spirit to take whatever worldly circumstance that I find myself in and use it to witness to Your Great Love — for there is nothing or no one that cannot benefit from Grace which You have provided so abundantly. Keep our hearts and eyes open to those times when we can take the circumstances of the world and use them to witness to your Glory.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  11  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-11: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus has already in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew fulfilled more prophecies than any one single person before Him and certainly Jesus has fulfilled more prophecies than anyone that has lived after Him. The Birth, Life, Death by Crucifixion, Burial in a “borrowed” Tomb, and His Glorious Resurrection on the Third Day are predictions filled by Jesus. The fulfilling of specific prophecies of the Messiah by Jesus have been documented by so many independent sources and written down and confirmed in the presence of so many eyewitnesses that there will NEVER be anyone but JESUS that can have the facts of His Life be the PROOF that He is the SON OF GOD. Some obvious supporting facts surrounding Jesus fulfilling the Messianic Prophecies come from the world of mathematics but are not always considered as “proof” (there will always be skeptics). Mathematics became involved because the “claims” that Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies got the attention of the scientific community and several well known mathematicians were asked to apply the science of “probability” to the scriptures. As a result of applying the science of probability to prophecy, the numbers generated from this investigation and sophisticated mathematical calculations produced such outrageous numbers that the numbers were rechecked and recalculated by dozens of sources and one such case resulted in  a conclusion written by the professor emeritus of science at Westmont College in Santa Barbara who had previously served as chairman of the mathematics and astronomy departments at Pasadena City College and had done a probability study on 11 general prophecies coming true and Professor Peter Stoner wrote that “the probability of these 11 prophecies coming true, if written in human wisdom, is…1 in 5.76 x 10⁵⁹ Needless to say, this is a number beyond the realm of possibility.” Professor Stoner used the following to illustrate the unbelievable number of 1 x 10 ¹⁷ of one person “accidentally fulfilling” only 8 Messianic prophecies: “Imagine filling the State of Texas knee deep in silver dollars. Include in this huge number one silver dollar with a black check mark on it. Then, turn a blindfolded person loose in this sea of silver dollars. The odds the the first coin he would pick up would be the one with the black check mark are the same as 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidentally in the life of Jesus.” {{See internet article: “Applying the Science of Probability to the Scriptures — Do statistics prove the Bible’s supernatural origin?” By Dr. David Reagan on the website http://christinprophecy.org}} If we look at just the “odds” from a numerical standpoint of one man “accidentally” fulfilling more than 8 prophecies as being impossible then what is the phrase that would have to be invented for a second person to fulfill more prophecies than the first person?!?!? The “odds” that one man could fulfill ALL the Messianic prophecies are so beyond our comprehension that many find it hard to believe it to be humanly possible and choose to believe that all of this “prophecy” stuff and “the Jesus story” is a “fairy tale” — which is still one of the main arguments put forth against Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit today and prevents many people from believing! On the other side of the coin others write: “The bottom line is that the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the life of Jesus proves conclusively that He truly was God in the flesh. It also proves that the Bible is supernatural in origin.”  Many “unbelievers” are the very ones deny that Jesus is the Son of God and that God Himself exists yet they refuse to accept as “evidence” the “eyewitness” accounts such as each of the individual Gospels. If we accept simple things that must be true of the Messiah like the Messiah is a Jewish male born to a virgin in Judea and that He would have to be “sacrificed” to make atonement  for the sins of His people and not just any “sacrifice” but a unique death by crucifixion at the hands of a foreign government then when we look at the simple facts of eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus who was a  Jewish male born in Bethlehem to a virgin and we have records of Jesus Himself start ing His ministry by teaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” then eyes must be opened to the TRUTH! Matthew, being an educated Jew met Jesus and then learned everything he could about Jesus and His life and would eventually write the Gospel that would be an eyewitness account to the fulfilling of Jewish prophecy by Jesus. Matthew being a studied and educated Jew himself recognized the significance of the simple facts of the life of Jesus and documented his findings. I can just imagine what Matthew felt like when he started following Jesus and hearing from the other apostles stories about the parents of Jesus and when Matthew traced the genealogy of Jesus back to King David — Matthew knew that there was something special about this first born Jewish male that could trace His genealogy back to King David! But can you imagine how Matthew felt when he learned the story that the mother of Jesus told the story how her firstborn son Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirt and that she was a “virgin” when she gave birth to Jesus! Then Mary and Joseph both told of the visit from Gabriel and Gabriel telling them to “call Him Jesus for He will save the people from their sins”!!! I can also imagine that Matthew started taking notes and studying the prophecies of the MESSIAH even more seriously because already Jesus had fulfilled the three most basic but difficult prophecies — for no one can choose where they are born nor whom their parents are much less who the parents of the parents are — plus there Is the “virgin birth” prophecy which no one can choose that their mother be a “virgin” and give birth!!! Those ARE IMPOSSIBLE things for man, but that makes the HOLY SCRIPTURE valid when it clearly states, “with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible.” I am sure that Matthew started writing furiously when he heard Mary and Joseph tell the story of the “virgin birth” and I am sure that God fully intended for Matthew to be the one to write the Gospel and document this “impossibility” of Jesus — for the TRUTH is that it indeed is “impossible” for man to fulfill prophecy, only GOD can fulfill prophecy and only the Son of God could be “virgin born”!!! The first four chapters of Matthew then documents through eyewitness accounts all the simple facts of the life of Jesus that points to the Divine Truth that Jesus is the Son of God!!! 

JANUARY 10 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-10: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  10  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-10: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

010 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, as we enter the year 2017 we realize that the “Good News” is that we have a new year and our complete future in which we can spend our lives in Your Presence each and every day! With Great Hope and Expectation we can look forward to a year with the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords in 2017. If it be Your Will for us, I pray that You grant Your servants the Grace and Mercy of another year that we will get to spend with the One that is Worthy and has given us this Divine Advice and Promise: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) As God Promised His people thorough Moses as they were being delivered from their bondage and about to face unknown enemies on their way to the “Promised Land”: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of [your enemies]; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes before you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) I can’t think of a better way to begin the year than to know that it is God Himself that is going before us and will lead us safely through 2017!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  10  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-10: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus has been introduced by St. Matthew in his Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a manner that Jesus is first revealed as the Messiah by (1) <<Matthew 1:1-17>> “the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) that establishes Jesus to be “the Son of David” and “the Son of Abraham” thereby fulfilling the minimum requirement for the long awaited and highly anticipated Messiah, who in Jewish eschatology is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line. It is interesting to note that in addition to Jesus being the “Son of Abraham” in this genealogy given by Matthew that in the ancestry of Jesus that the line of Abraham extends back in Jewish history through Shem who was the son of Noah. The Holy Scriptures record: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (Genesis 8-10) The fact that the Holy Scriptures includes Noah in the line of the Messiah is paramount to understanding the “Purpose” of the Messiah and God’s “Intent” in sending Jesus to earth to be born at that particular time into this particular family. A monumental clue exists that in the introduction and genealogy of Noah, that the Holy Scriptures record of the time of Noah: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11) Everyone even vaguely familiar with the Bible can tell you the story of the flood and of Noah’s ark and how God made it rain 40 days and 40 nights but not many can quote what God spoke directly to Noah as to the reason Noah was to build the ark for God: “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’” (Genesis 6:12-13) Remember Matthew is writing to Israel and all Israel had been reading the Book of Moses for generations upon generations and they would have read in Matthew’s genealogy that Jesus had in His ancestry King David, Abraham, and Noah thereby linking Jesus directly to men whom God had called out individually to lead the nation Israel in a Divine Way!!! These individual men in the same family line can also trace their ancestry back to the first man that God created with His Own Hands and became a “human being” when God used His Own Breath to Breathe Life into, Adam — thereby making Jesus the “Son of Man” as well as being the “Son of God”. The Hebrew word for “begot” that is found in all genealogy in the Holy Scriptures does not just mean “only” in reference to being the “son of” but is best rendered as “became an ancestor of” thereby the Biblical word for “son” is the equivalent of our English word “descendant” so by tracing the genealogy of Jesus through King David and Abraham, Matthew also demonstrates that not only is Jesus from the family line God has chosen to raise up leaders for Israel but Matthew also through the genealogy of Jesus demonstrates that Jesus is of the line that God announced would bring forth the Messiah and is also the family that can trace its lineage back to Adam, making Jesus eligible to be the Messiah, the Son of God AND the Son of Man! The continuing genealogy of Matthew also reveals Jesus is the Messiah by (2) <<Matthew 1:18-25>> His “virgin birth” as prophetically written over 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah “Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 11:1,Isaiah 7:14, & Numbers 24:7,8a,16-17a) (3) <<Matthew 2:1 - 2:23>> Prophecies fulfilled by Herod about the Messiah’s birth being in Bethlehem - the city of David  (Isaiah 40:3, Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1, & Micah 5:2) and finally (4) <<Mathew 3:1-17>> The testimony of John the Baptist the “forerunner of the Messiah” who was preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” (Matthew 3:2) and was baptizing in the Jordan for all those that went out to him in the wilderness to hear his message of “Repentance” and “were baptized by him in the Jordan confessing their sins…” (Matthew 3:6) and when John saw Jesus he proclaimed that Jesus was the One that John had been sent by the Holy Spirit to “prepare the way of the Lord”. (Matthew 3:3) John also said when he saw Jesus coming to him in the Jordan, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and finally  (5) Jesus is proven to be the Messiah by the way He lived and what He taught others as the Holy Scriptures record in <<Matthew 4:1 - Matthew 28:20>> that Jesus is the Messiah by virtue of His Lifestyle, the Lessons and Parables Jesus taught, and with His Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection which taken altogether “is sufficient evidence” that Jesus IS THE MESSIAH, GOD’s ANOINTED, GOD’s ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”!  Therefore, we end the Gospel of Matthew with enough evidence and eyewitness testimonies to prove in any modern court, that Jesus IS the “rightful Heir to His Father’s Kingdom” ——— but it is as true today as it was when Jesus walked the earth that each of us must view the “evidence” through the filter of “FAITH” and provide the final “verdict” for ourselves with an honest answer for the single most important question you will ever be asked ——— one day you will stand in His Presence and Jesus will ask you face-to-face  — “But who do you say that I am.” (Mark 8:29)

JANUARY 09 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-09: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  09  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-09: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

009 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord and Savior, You are worthy, You alone are to be praised above all names. Lord, our lives simply have no meaning outside Your Salvation, No Hope without Your Cross and Sacrifice, and no Life outside Your Death and only through Your Resurrection can we have Eternal Joy and live forever in Heaven itself! Outside of Your Mighty Deeds the world only offers despair, death, darkness, and no hope of life. Lord Jesus, I pray to always be “In Christ” for outside of Christ there is no “LIGHT” and only “In Christ” will we ever find “True Rest” — Lord Jesus Christ, I dedicate myself to Your service, make me wholly Thine, shape me, mold me, and use me as You Will. Let my life be Yours that I will always remain “In Christ”!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  09  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-09: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus has in His Genealogy some very interesting TRUTHS listed that point to both Him being the Messiah and what His “Inheritance” as the Messiah might include! Therefore, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) can be used to shine a light on the “Purpose” of the Messiah and also reveal the Divine Character of the God that sent Him to be born of a “virgin” and live a perfect life in order that He might die as “the Lamb of God”. The following comments are taken from two independent sources — the first is a sermon given by Brian Walls on the Genealogy of Jesus Christ taken from Matthew 1:17 presented on 12/28/16 and the second source is an internet article titled “The Origins of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-25)” written by Robert L. Deffingbaugh (Copyright 2003 by Community Bible Chapel, Richardson, TX) in which some very interesting information is presented from this Genealogy of Jesus Christ as given by St. Matthew in his efforts to present to the Jewish Community that Jesus IS the Messiah. In the sermon given by Brian Walls, he points out that in the genealogy given by Matthew that contrary to normal Jewish genealogy that the inclusion of women was very rare and the inclusion of Gentiles was even less likely to appear in a good Jewish genealogy but the very fact that by Matthew including these women (and them being “gentiles” as well) points to the “TRUTHFULNESS” of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. We must also consider these thoughts from the internet article by Robert Deffingbaugh, who starts his comments on the genealogy of Jesus Christ found in Matthew with a quote from the “Apostle to the Gentiles”, the Apostle Paul — “16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.” (2nd Timothy 3:16-17) As we look at the “inspiration” being from “God” for this genealogy given by St. Matthew then we must trust that God had a “purpose” for the inclusion of these women and not only their inclusion but the “TRUTH” of their lives which God Himself thought was important enough to be included in the Genealogy of God’s Anointed! I quote Robert Deffingbaugh as he observed about the inclusion in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ  of these less-than-reputable women: “One purpose of the first genealogy, then, is to dramatically underscore the truthfulness of God’s Word.” And as Brian Walls pointed out in his sermon, “if you are writing a resume then you usually don’t included such dubious characters in your list of references” for we as fallen creatures succumb to the temptation of burying those shady parts of our pasts because they do not shed a “good light” on our reputation — so for God to make sure these additions are not only included but their “problems” were actually highlighted such as “David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6) Pastor Walls emphasis is that Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ God reveals the TRUTH that David the king was guilty of both “adultery and murder”, thereby making Jesus a Son of David (who was guilty of murder and adultery) and a Son of Abraham thereby meeting the minimum requirements of the Jewish Messiah. That St. Matthew would include these “revealing facts” listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Robert Deffingbaugh states that these less than flattering facts “dramatically underscore the truthfulness of God’s Word”. Deffingbaugh points out the heart of God in a quote from Fredrick Bruner that this from Matthew’s inclusion of these “revealing facts” that: “One gets the impression that Matthew poured over his Old Testament records until he could find the most questionable ancestors of Jesus available in order, in turn, to insert them into his record and so, it seems, to preach the gospel — the gospel, that is, that God can overcome and forgive sin, and can use soiled but repentant persons for His great  purpose in history.”  So when we read the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in God’s Holy Word we must trust that there is always a reason and purpose behind everything that  God includes in HIS WORD and they are there for our benefit! Therefore we should let HIS WORD teach us that truly “God so [loves] the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son [Jesus] that whosoever believes in [the Messiah and His Word] shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Simple-Direct-Truthful and can only be found “In Christ”!!!

JANUARY 08 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-08: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JANUARY  08  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-08: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) 

008 of 365 - Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus we thank You for Your daily Presence in our lives as we see You revealed by Your Holy Word and by Your Holy Spirit. Lord I pray that in my life that I will know that You are always there and if I fail to recognize You then it is my own flesh that is blinding me and upon the realization that it is my fault that I can’t see You that I will take up my cross and be crucified with You knowing that Your Spirit will be Resurrected in us and will illuminate our darkness with YOUR PRESENCE AND YOUR LIGHT! Lord, our daily walk is our “now” and is the only “time” we can experience GRACE but only if we decrease and You are allowed to increase in us that we can behold the Messiah! Forgive me of my daily shortcomings and my failure to see You working in my life — even so, come now Lord Jesus!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JANUARY  08  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-08: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17) Jesus was revealed as the Messiah by circumstances beyond His control but though they were not controlled by Jesus Himself, events such as His “virgin” Birth or who His earthly parents would be, these events were obviously circumstances coming about as part of God’s Master Plan! Up to the point where Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river, the Messiah was validated by many witnesses to be Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, but now Jesus Himself with the statement “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15) will begin His public Ministry. His Ministry and the way Jesus lived His Life in the flesh was a “witness” to the TRUTH that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH for everything that Jesus ever did or will ever do, He does at the direction of His Heavenly Father. Before beginning the actual JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-JQ#33 that also reveal and witness to Jesus being the Messiah, let us look at one more detail of Matthew’s introduction of Jesus. The genealogy of Jesus  is also a separate witness to Jesus being the Messiah and what His “Mission” and “Purpose” was in being born in the flesh, at this particular time, in this particular place, to these particular parents. Matthew starts his Gospel of Jesus Christ with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) and within this “genealogy of Jesus Christ” is a further “witness” to God’s Master Plan and to Jesus being the Messiah. Jewish tradition from the very beginning placed great importance on the “lineage” or family line perpetuated by the first born Jewish male and one of the main reasons the lineage was so important was that the lineage determined their “tribal inheritance”. Based upon the fact that at God’s directions each Jewish tribe had received a particular piece of land. For any person to inherit land in a particular area assigned to a specific tribe that the person had to produce evidence that he was from that tribe — and that “evidence” of inheritance was his birth into a “tribe” which came through the Jewish family genealogy. The genealogy of Jesus therefore will determine His Inheritance and a close look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ reveals some very important “signs” or “evidence” of some miraculous claims by Jesus as they relate to the “Purpose and Life” of the Messiah as revealed by Jesus being born “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) Now is a good time to revisit the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” as listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and ask yourself about what importance your personal lineage is in “inheriting” what has been set aside for you in “the kingdom of heaven”??? This investigation of your personal spiritual inheritance can really best be understood by reading what Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3 verses 1-21 which includes these statements that address your spiritual inheritance (1) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and (2) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but [inherit] everlasting life.” (John 3:16) so by reading the “promise” of God for your inheritance you must ask yourself “Have I received Him and claimed my right to become [a child] of God” by “believing on the [Name and Person] of Jesus?” (See John 1:12-13) The Bible starts with 4 words that you must get past to be able to understand the rest of the Bible and those 4 words are “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1) and this genealogy set forth in Matthew dealing with the lineage of Jesus Christ is another of those “faith/factual” declarations in God’s Holy Word that we have to accept to be able to understand the mind of God and the “faith/fact” that the genealogy of Jesus declares is that Jesus is a Jew, born into a Jewish family. The Life of Jesus was that of an Israelite and Jesus called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the endearing term “Abba Father”! We should keep in mind that “God did not send His Son [Jesus] into the world to condemn the world, but that through [His only begotten Son] the world might be saved!” (John 3:17) The consequence of our God-given Freewill “Choice” to “NOT believe in Jesus as the Son of God” is declared in the next verse: “…he who believes in [Jesus as the Son of God] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) The Bible only makes sense if you believe that “In the beginning” it was “God” that chose to create the world and that after creating the world and seeing mankind’s rebellion against Him that God would also choose to save the world through His “only begotten Son” whom God had announced through Jewish prophets over 700 years before His Birth, that the Messiah would be born of a “virgin” and in the line of King David from the family of Judah and would be called “Immanuel”, God with us!   God created all life and has the only right to declare how He intends to provide for our “salvation”!!!  We, on the other hand, only have the right to be THANKFUL that God even bothered with a mankind that continues to reject Him and His Love for us!!!   ———  Go figure!?!?!?