Yesterday, I studied the ancestry of Jesus and found there were three sets of 14 generations between Abraham and Jesus. I noticed several patterns of faith that come through God’s spiritual DNA -
like having a desire to lean in and listen to God speak. Other faith patterns seem to include being obedient and stepping out when God tells you to. I am reminded of Abram when God told him to leave his home, the Land of Babylon, and go to a land that he would show him. How many people would trust and believe the Holy Spirit when he is leading them through the wilderness to the Land of Promise? Do you remember Jesus, and how he called his disciples to follow him? They were faithful servants, willing to leave their home and their families, to follow Jesus in obedience. Doesn’t God still speak the same way through his Spiritual DNA? Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we shall fear no evil for our God is with us, and his rod and his staff comfort us. Psalm 23 says that the Lord is our shepherd, and we shall not want. He makes us lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside still waters. He restores our soul and leads us in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. This is promise that comes through God's spiritual DNA. One foot a time, waiting for God to provide, leaning and listening for the next directive. This seems to be how faith works. Faith is being obedient, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. It means trusting God above everything else and doing what he says despite what others may say. Another faith pattern is believing that Jesus has placed us into position for a reason, despite the condition or the season. If we listen and do what he says, then it doesn’t matter if we live in a castle or in prison - we are in exactly the right position to carry out God’s mission. Health and wealth is not about earthly pursuits, it’s about God’s heavenly riches. God has many children who are born into sickness who bring joy and happiness to those who are depressed. And there are many people living in poverty who do a much better job at serving and thanksgiving than those who seem to have everything. The reward is in Heaven, and prosperity comes to the faithful and obedient. Another faith pattern is being quick to repent for being out of spiritual alignment. The desire is not to continue to walk around crooked and bent, it’s to humble thyself and ask for forgiveness. And I believe one of the most difficult faith patterns to master is to walk in humility and patient endurance, and this is why my life verse is Hebrews 12 - it's all about God's loving correction. "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:7-12 It's so important to remember that if we are aiming to please everyone instead of an audience of One, then we will trip over every lie that the enemy throws at us. Without our eyes totally focused on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, it is easy to distracted by the shiny little objects that so easily distract us. It's crazy to me that Holy Spirit showed me patterns of faith through the ancestry of Jesus. From Noah, a man who had never seen rain, yet built an arc according to God’s plan, to Abraham, who walked out of Babylon believing that God would lead him to the promised land; from Moses, who bravely went to Pharaoh and demanded that he let the Lords people go, to David. who trusted God so much that he was willing to take on a giant, and later, after being convicted by the Holy Spirit for committing adultery and murder, he wiped the tears from his eyes and believed in his heart that he had been totally forgiven by God. These are some of the faithful witnesses from who we get our spiritual DNA from. To the men and the women who believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, remember - remember that when our time is up in this world, Jesus has prepared a place for us. When we are done wrestling with God and man, just as Jacob had been, we will receive another name to consecrate our deep faith. Revelation 2:17 says, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." Children of God - Hold on. You are a faithful servant, and this is all that the Lord our God asks for. Be assured and have confident hope that Jesus is coming back to build his Kingdom, and that you are a Citizen of Heaven.
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