There are web sites attempting to entice us into looking up our heritage to see if we have royalty in our bloodline. LOL, LOL!!!
My answer is yes, I do, I go all the way back to Noah, but then again WHO CARES!!!!! NOT ME!
I am a child of the King of Kings, I am nothing and He is everything, I have no use for genealogies.
1 Timothy 1:4
"Nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith."
The only interesting line of genealogy would be that from the line of David through whom Christ came. That's all!
In most cases when people are learning their genealogies, they are never learning what kind of people were those whose names they recite. All they have is names, their jobs and who they married and their children, they have nothing about their character, their beliefs or their purpose in life.
Yes, there are some who know more about their ancestors personal lives, but often they find out they had horse thieves, or murderers or other unsavory backgrounds. Now I ask, what edification is it to learn the name of the detestable members of the family tree? ROFL
It is an interesting thing to ponder from time to time, but the past is just that....the past, there is no going back to fix any wrongs, witness Christ or learn anything newer from them that can't be learned in the present in real time.
I suggest to you that most quests to discover ancestors bring no more wisdom than reading a history book. Most of the time genealogies are sought to discover how famous our family was, to enjoy their fame by proxy, as though something amazing and wonderful happens to us by touching the past of the infamous or famous family member.
Every person has a story, right now, in this year! All we have to do is express ourselves about all that we go though, the people we meet and the impact of life on us, then we will have our own story to tell that our ancestors might want to talk about.
Is our story one that would glorify God, or will we just be a name on a line in the genealogy page?
I did not know the people from my families past, they had no impact on me whatever, they were dead and gone when I came on the scene. Perhaps all this need to discover our past is a way of filling the emptiness of our lives in the present.
When we have Jesus Christ we have everything to look forward to, the future for us makes our ancestors past look like bovine fecal matter. When we have faith we need no anchor in the realm of ancestors of the past, we have Christ as our anchor, moving forward toward our future with Him.
I have no wish to offend anyone deliberately on this matter, but I must say that I cannot enjoy anything having to do with Santa Clause. I am not wrong in stating that he is a false god foisted on the children of this country to distract them from the things of God.
While I know that most parents are not trying to distract their children from God by using this idol, I do know that it is not innocent fun, it is the devil's way of making a miracle worker fat man in a red suit appear more enticing than a God Who died for them.
I will not be saying "Merry Christmas" nor will I be laughing at anything to do with "Santa." I ask that others respect my decision to ignore the holiday completely.
The Lord has impressed upon my heart in recent years the need to back away from all man made holidays, it's my thing and I'm sticking to it.
This "sexual harassment accusation" fad is becoming far too common to be believable, isn't it?
It brings joy when we know this is common and expected to be reviled for obeying God, we no longer have to feel as though something strange is happening to us.
1 Peter 4:12-14 "12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."
Jaime Escalante was a teacher of calculus. He believed that low income students were capable of learning this higher math. He instructed the students that were to come to the class that they had to be dressed in a white shirt, a dress code demonstrates a seriousness to learn.
One young man came to the first class without a white shirt. He was dismissed from the class for this infraction. He begged the teachers promising to return next time with the white shirt. Mr. Escalante ignored his begging and told him to leave the class.
That class was one of the most successful classes in the Los Angeles area, all the students did very well.
The lesson behind this scenario is that strong rules and self discipline are the necessary elements for learning and accomplishment.
Setting the example for standards in the class were established in the very first class with the one disobedient student who thought there was no need to follow the rules.
One lax and disobedient student had the potential to bring down the standards for the entire rest of the class. While making the disobedient student leave might have made some people angry, thinking he should have another chance, it was the right decision to set the tone of self discipline for the entire rest of the term in that class.
Galatians 5:9 "9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. "
We don't have to look very far to see what happens when sin is allowed to continue in the church or in the culture. The churches as a whole have tolerated and winked at sin for the past 40 years and now we have people in them who are angry when anyone is disciplined if it ever happens. Those who point out sin are accused of judging as though something was wrong with that.
The lack of discipline and the lack of understanding of the seriousness of sin shows the climate of our culture as a whole. Sin has become blatant without any sense of shame.
Jeremiah 6:14-15 "…14"They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. 15"Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD. "
Our culture attempts to heal people superficially through the softening of standards to spare hurt feelings, in so doing they have managed to cause sin to grow and fester beyond cure.
Proverbs 27:5
"Better is open rebuke than hidden love."
Men are called to live with their wives in understanding, treating them like the "weaker vessel", in the original language it means, "delicate pottery." Women are to be listened to as a counselor to the men, that's what "helpmeet" means. She is to counsel him and he should be listening as well as protecting her. When he legitimately disagrees with her counsel then she is to obey his decision as long as it does not disobey God.
You will never get away from injustice in this life, men and women alike are acting badly toward one another. Only those who "walk" daily with Christ can understand the relationship as partners, neither one lesser than the other, but both pulling in the same direction as "yoked" oxen do, they must be equally matched to be able to pull together properly.
This is why God said that believers are not to be unequally yoked. Two oxen pulling together must be a matched pair, each one of the same mind and goal. If we are in disagreement about the way in which we should walk, then we will be working against one another instead of together for a common goal.
Married couples are not called to walk in tandem with one another, tandem being one behind the other, but rather they are to work side by side "yoked", beside one another, pulling together.
Gossip reminds me of the analogy I once heard. Take a feather pillow to the top of a windy hill, slit it open and allow the feathers to fly. After a little while try to go and gather up every feather, it cannot be done. Once the gossip is out, there is no stopping where it goes.
