A person is as good as their promises!...I like this old joke:
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A dying man gives each of his best friends -- a lawyer, doctor and a pastor -- an envelope containing $25,000 in cash to be placed in his coffin. A week later the man dies and the friends each place an envelope in the coffin. Several months later, the pastor confesses he put $10,000 in the envelope and sent the rest to a mission.  The doctor confesses his envelope had only $8,000 because he donated to a medical charity. The lawyer is outraged, "I am the only one who kept my promise to our dying friend. I want you both to know that the envelope I placed in the coffin contained my own personal check for the entire $25,000."

A person’s character is defined by how they keep their promises.  same with God….
 
Today and next week are the final sermons from the series, God’s Imperfect Family.  I’ve learned a lot…. In Matt. 1 the N.T. opens with a genealogy of Jesus’ family tree.  The character of Jesus’ family is a mixed bag of good and bad, powerful and commoners, Jewish men and gentile women, servants and tyrants.  During the ups and downs, the promise of God holds the family tree together.  

1989.  San Francisco.  Young pastor… not hard to meet the people since there were only a dozen on many Sundays.  I also went out to meet former members of the church, including a man whose father had been the pastor of the church years earlier.  I encouraged this man to re-join the church…. I will never forget his words: “I have no need for the church.  I know where I’m going” [as he pointed towards heaven]. 
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Today I wouldn’t be shocked, but I was then.  I was committing my life to the organized church as an expression of living out the Christian life.  I haven’t changed my mind!  The church is the primary means for the gathering of the Christian community.  The church is where spiritual gifts are practiced, believers go into the world, The church is God’s idea for the purpose of loving one another, learning who Jesus is, encouraging one another, accountability….  The mission of the church is still to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others and to provide a place where disciples gather to serve Christ by serving others.  

This story was read to prepare our hearts to receive communion @ SACC on Sunday, Feb. 3, '19.  It is our custom to receive communion every first Sunday of the month as a reminder of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Communion is a time to recommit our lives to Jesus Christ, receiving anew the forgiveness of our sins.  

​The testimony of Josiah is a call for recommitment to the Lord.  Here’s a story about recommitment.  It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny. Everywhere He looked there were happy people smiling and waving at one another on their way to church. But Robinson wasn’t one of them. In fact he was a very lonely and unhappy man. The sound of church bells reminded him of the time in his life when his faith was strong and the church meant so much to him. But that seemed like only a distant memory on this particular morning. It had been years since he had even set foot in a church. He had gotten away from the Lord, and spent the last several years disillusioned, wandering farther and farther away from the God that He had once loved so much.  His love for God—that was once so hot and passionate—had slowly burned out leaving him dark and cold inside.

I read many stories of forgiveness that results in reconciliation….  But in reality, forgiveness is often one sided.  Forgiveness is messy.  Jesus spoke on the cross, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” And they crucified him anyway.  Sometimes a person hurts you and they don’t even know it, or they blame you, or they don’t care.  Sometimes you can’t forgive yourself.  Sometimes, you are harder on yourself than God is…
 
Today we continue with the imperfect family of Jesus ~ character studies from Jesus’ family tree in Matthew 1.  Today King Manasseh.  Manasseh is the son of Hezekiah, the King Chad preached about last Sunday.   Manasseh was king for 55 years.  As we study Manasseh there is a wrinkle that is hard to reconcile.  He is considered to be one of the most evil of all kings, yet towards the end of his life he gives his heart to God.  The story of Manasseh is a story of messy forgiveness.  What I mean by that is that the forgiveness and transformation is real ~ Manasseh really does become a God follower, but on earth the damage is so profound of the sinful life that the damage cannot be undone. Messy forgiveness is when God forgives you, but the consequences of the sinful life is so profound it’s hard for the living to let the past go.  Messy forgiveness takes place when you desperately want to forgive somebody, but the person who has hurt you wants nothing to do with you.  A disconnect.  Or maybe it’s the parent that abused the child and the parent has now died.  Messy forgiveness is when you want to forgive the other person but they are not cooperating. 

​Why do some people run to the Lord Jesus Christ in times of crisis, while others run away from Him?  This week I spent time with two people who were living on the streets.  Not exactly the same because one a way of life the other temporary. 

• The first young man has major struggles.  He was raised in a Christian home and spiritually is  fluctuating between bitterness against God and uncertainty if God  really exists.  Major struggles…. I can only pray for him because in the end he refused help….
• The other young man, Elton, was a delight.  Ivan and Anne Oakes were honored to host him their home one night.  He is 27, born to an alcoholic mother, raised in a foster home and is the primary care giver for his ailing foster mother because he is so grateful. (what a powerful story of the difference a foster parent can make).  Elton is committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Several of us got to hear his story at the Coffee Hour on Wed. and the Thurs Bible Study… he works with youth on the Yakima Reservation.  He has a passion for Christ and showing others the better way, that you can be a member of the Yakima nation and a Christian.  He got stuck in Sumas a few days because he was on a road trip with friends to visit other friends in Canada and he did not have proper documentation to get into Canada ~ he chose our church ramp to get out of the wind while he waited for them to return.  I enjoyed so much spending a part of three days with him….

Why do some people rise above their circumstances and embrace Christ and other reject him in times of trouble?  Only God knows the heart.  

Most people become Christians during a crisis.  Growing in faith is often in response to a crisis.  A Crisis is any life changing event.  Life is more about change/crisis than it is stability.  We are constantly facing changes/crisis.  Yet we cling to that which we know!

How you respond to crisis determines your character/spiritual depth.

The day after Christmas I got a phone call from a friend who wanted to know all about my new twin grandkids, Sally, Christmas… she was chatty.  In the time surrounding his death, my friend was in a dark place.  She was lost.  She could not think.  I received many late night phone calls asking for prayer; she was feeling oppressed. Then BOOM! something changed.  Mother’s day last year she felt a peace she hadn’t felt in years, God was telling her to choose life and living over death and confusion.  It was like putting on glasses for the first time and suddenly seeing details you never knew existed…

The day after Christmas, as the conversation wound down, she said matter of factly, “My husband died a year ago today.”  Aha, that’s why she called…. I thought of the contrast of what her phone calls used to be like compared to what they were now.  She spoke of faith, of missing her husband, but knowing all is well.  She spoke with confidence of her life situation and her life journey. 

Sometimes it takes time to make it through a crisis, but for those who trust in God and believe in his promises, there is the promise of a new day, a new life, a new mind, a new strength, a new heart.  God will always find a way for those that trust him!  

The Bible Reading from Ephesians 3:14-19 is from the New Living Translation: 14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you might inner strength through His Holy Spirit.  17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.  18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high,  how deep his love really is.  19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 

​The birth of Jesus is the story of the Christ coming as a baby searching for a home…

• in the book of Luke, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem because of a government censes and they search for a place for Mary to give birth.  The only room is a stable for the animals and a feeding trough for a bed… in search of a home…
• in the book of Matthew the story is told of the wisemen going to King Herod in search of the child.  When Herod hears of the news at a King has been born he is angry, so Joseph, Mary and their child Jesus escape to Egypt.  Jesus is driven from his home….
• As a grown man much later when Jesus is with his disciples at one point he declares, “The son of man has no place to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20).  No home.  The Lord Jesus came to earth in search of a home…

Prov. 3:5-6: NIV: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

In order to understand the Bible, it helps to understand what sort of writing you are reading.  The O.T. has many straight forward stories.  Sometimes there is commentary to make the lessons obvious, but often it is left up to us determine how to apply it…Today, as we continue character studies from genealogy of Jesus in Matt. 1, we come to King Asa.  Last week I handed out list of Kings of Judah and Israel… if you don’t have one….
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As I read through the story of Asa, his story is one of Trusting God.  Prov. 3:5-6 makes a wonderful caption.  His kingship is a living example of great trust, but towards the end of his life, he abandons his faith and “leans on his own understanding.”  Many of Jesus’ family/ancestors are people of faith who trust the Lord, but often those same people show an imperfect faith and drift away from God.  Sounds like us.  

A broken clock is right twice a day.  That is a fitting saying to describe King Abijam (or Abijah).  Abijah is said to be evil in 1 Kings 15, yet in the one story recorded about him in 2 Chron. 13, he shows remarkable spiritual insight. 
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Today we continue a series from Jesus’ genealogy as listed in Matt. 1, God’s imperfect family.  The genealogy is divided into three sections, we’re in the middle section, the Kings.  Before we look at King Abijah, I thought it would be helpful to show the big picture of what’s going on at this point in history.  Hand-out of the Kings of Israel/Judah…. (plus a smaller cheat sheet to tuck in your Bible.  BTW, I have also decided that next year for the CBS we’ll study the Kings of Judah and Israel)  

A farmer was so discouraged with his farm? He decided it was time to sell and start over.  The farmer hired a realtor. Before putting it in the paper the realtor called & read the ad to the farmer he’d written. The ad spoke of a good location, a well maintained house, sturdy barns, lush pasture lands, a beautiful pond, fertile soil, & a great view. The farmer listened carefully then said, "Read that to me again, slowly."  So the realtor read it to him again. Finally, the farmer said, “No, don’t print that ad. I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to sell.  I’ve always wanted a place like that."

Look for the good.  Today we continue flipping the pages of Jesus’ family album, some crazy folks in his family tree.  The story of Ruth and Boaz, however, provides some sanity… good people. Solid people. 

Look for the good.  There is a lot of ugliness in our world, uncertainty, badness, confusion… all real.  God always provides a thread of redemption, a promise kept, signs that all will be right.  Wonderful stories of goodness have emerged from WWII.  ~ everyone knows the human tragedy of 6 million Jews killed, 6 or 700,000 American soldiers.  Collectively from all countries an estimate of 60 million people.  Against that backdrop, how sweet the story of Corrie Ten Boom whose father hid Jews, Schindlers list who risked so much, then there is Nicholas Winton ~  (View the Video below) 

​I love Rahab ~ Rahab the Prostitute ~ she is the next family member in Jesus’ genealogy leading up to Jesus from Matt. 1 (READ Matt. 1:5-6).   Rahab has some similarities to Tamar, but it’s not hard to find different lessons… Rahab is married into the family of Jesus, she is like a favorite aunt that is more colorful than the blood uncle…. Rahab helps puts family into perspective… she is a gentile woman, unexpected inclusion, yet a wonderful example of what it means to live your faith.  Some folks question if the Rahab in Matt. 1 is the same Rahab that is also in the beginning part of the book of Joshua.  To me there is no doubt the same; Matt only lists woman where we know something of their story… Matthew wants us to understand Jesus family is imperfect, yet God redeems them and uses them to his glory anyway! 
 
A big lesson today: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.  

​Jesus is born into an imperfect family!  Sermons this Fall from Jesus genealogy in Matt. 1…. Today, Judah… a rough character.  However, Judah is broken and redeemed by God!  Many people want wholeness, they want change in their life, but instead of brokenness, they try to dig in their heels and do better…I heard about one woman in the community this week deep into drugs and she said all she needs is a week in a safe place away from drama and she’ll be fine….  Trying hard to be better never works.  The God way to a new life is brokenness.  Judah is a great sinner that is broken and transformed. Ecclesiastes 3:11 makes a wonderful caption for the Judah story:  “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”