Luke #45 – Twisted

Luke #45 – Twisted

“And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God’” (Luke 4:9-12 – King James Version).

When my wife an I were baby Christians we were having a conversation on how much we were to put into serving God. Somewhere along my wife’s childhood someone taught her about serving and giving in a goofed up way. Some preacher or teacher told her that giving to God meant giving a tenth of all she had; a tenth of her talents, a tenth of her material resources and a tenth of her time. PHOOEY! She said that they even used Scripture to support that whacked out thinking. The only Scripture I could find that would lead someone to think that would be Genesis 28:22 which states, “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee” (KJV). Now be sure of this my friends, that verse was not talking about a tenth of each part of our lives, but was talking about a tenth of Jacob’s material resources. To think we could only give God a tenth of our time would be crazy! For the record, my wife got straightened out on that whole mess.

Friend, let me tell you something, and hear me clearly, we cannot afford to twist Scripture. The temptation is to look at God’s Word and make it say what we already believe or what we want to hear. When we approach Scripture we cannot change it, we must let it show us how we are to change. In doing that we will encounter Scripture that we don’t like; it will fly in the face of things we enjoy doing or in attitudes or character traits that we have had for years.

Even Satan used Scripture in trying to tempt Jesus. In the above passage Satan MISQUOTES Psalm 91:11-12 in this way: “He shall give his angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.” It’s original, and right, rendering reads thusly: “For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (KJV). The difference is that Satan left off “to keep thee in all thy ways”. That’s the difference in words, but the big difference is in intent. The original is an assurance of God’s protection for those who trust. Satan uses the Scripture to tempt Jesus to dare God, which is the opposite of trusting.

That’s the same kind of mess that Satan did in the garden when he tempted Adam and Eve. It’s deceptive and tricky and just the kind of thing that Satan does to throw God’s people off of track. Of course, Jesus did not fall for it; He knew Scripture and how to apply it properly.

The only way we will be able to mimic Christ on this account is if we know Scripture too. We must be in the Word constantly; searching it out and finding what it really means. I always read and study the Scripture my pastor preaches on each Sunday. Sure, I trust my pastor and I trust what he says, but I want to check it out for myself. I would imagine that rather than being agitated that I check behind him, my pastor would commend me.

We cannot afford to be fooled when it comes to God’s word, nor can we afford to fool ourselves. We cannot twist God’s word to suit what we want or how we already feel. We must have our minds renewed and be transformed daily by being challenged by truths from God’s word. Satan wants us to get off track and one of his most subtle tools is deception through the Word of God. Be careful, be watchful and be studious.

Luke #44 – Fighting Temptation

Luke #44 – Fighting Temptation

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the devil said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.’ And Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, ‘All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.’ And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘It is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’ And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season” (Luke 4:1-13 – King James Version).

Back to my roadside breakdown...as I stood on the side of the road, I begin to think about my recent car history. The previous summer my Nissan just up and quit on me. When it was towed to the mechanic, he had no idea what went wrong with the car, but it was obvious that it would not run any more. Before and after my Nissan broke down I had trouble with my truck. On the first occasion a tie rod broke and left me and Katie stranded on the roadside. On the second occasion the right wheel bearing had a melt down. As I said before, when all the distractions were removed, Satan showed up and made it personal. He was tempting my mind by saying, “Here you are, serving God, and all you have for that is trouble. And you thought God would take care of you?” The Holy Spirit recalled Romans 8:28.

Every time I read this account of Jesus temptation in the wilderness I carefully take note of how Jesus battled those temptations; He did it with Scripture. Satan used Scripture too, but He twisted it (more on that tomorrow!). Whatever the devil said to Jesus, Jesus countered it with God's word. We should note that Jesus was filled with the Spirit. The Spirit was there, giving recall of Scripture and leading Jesus in recognizing the temptations and properly applying the Word.

Those are the same two ingredients we need in fighting temptation. We need to be filled with the Spirit and we need to apply God's word. To further illustrate this, let's go back to the roadside. As I said, the devil showed up and tried to get me to look at my circumstances; he wanted me to question God's provision and love for me. Romans 8:28 says that God work even bad situations out for good for those who love Him and have been called for His purposes. Right behind that, the Spirit recalled Matthew 28:20, where Jesus promised to always be with us. No part of that promise says that we will not experience difficult times, but it does promise that Christ will be with us. I also remembered the words of the apostle Paul who said nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35). I begin to pray to God and to resist Satan by reminding that scoundrel of God's promises. Pretty soon, Satan left me alone on that temptation.

I could go on and on, but the point is that the way to deal with temptation is by confronting Satan with God’s truths. He can’t handle it and he can’t defeat it! That and the power of the Holy Spirit at work both in and through believers stymie Satan’s attempts to cause us to sin. Now…we need to walk in the Spirit and we also need to study God’s word. King David said “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” because he understood that was the way to stick to holiness and to avoid sin (Psalm 119:11 – NKJV).

How do you battle temptation? Do you simply try to grit your teeth and say “I think I can. I think I can.”? If we try to fight temptation in our own power, we will succeed only sporadically at best. Fighting temptation can be done! Will you accept God’s promises, apply His truths, and walk in the Spirit? There lies the keys to victory!

Luke #43 – Three Keys to Being Wholly Well

Luke #43 – Three Keys to Being Wholly Well

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the devil said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.’ And Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, ‘All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.’ And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘It is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’ And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season” (Luke 4:1-13 – King James Version).

Johnny Smith used to explain the whole wellness of a person using an upside down triangle; he said he learned the concept from the School for Pastoral Care. On the bottom point of the triangle Mr. Smith would write “spiritual”. On the top left point he would write “physical”. On the top right he would write “mental / emotional”. He would tell us that a sick body will affect the mind and the spirit. He would say that an emotional sickness or being mentally unwell will affect both the spirit and the body. Of course we all know that if a person is spiritually sick both the body and the mind will be affected. Johnny would say that being spiritually well is the foundation for whole wellness, but he would also say that we often overlook the other two areas.

If we realize this delicate balance in the area of wellness, then it would be logical to look at each area in the light of what makes them most sick; and that is sin. Our Lord Jesus was thoroughly tempted in the wilderness and we can see how He was tempted physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

Verse 3 says that Satan tempted Jesus by asking Him to turn the stones in bread. The temptation was to satisfy Himself with a need rather than trusting God for provision. Often our physical temptations are different. Sure, we are tempted to concentrate on our needs rather than concentrate on God, but we do something else physically that is sinful. We overemphasize pleasure. Pleasure is when the body is getting what it wants. SOMETIMES what we want and need are the same thing. I am sure Jesus was hungry and WANTED bread and if He’d not eaten in forty days I am sure He NEEDED bread. But our body often craves things that we don’t need such as alcohol, sex, drugs, etc. Our body may also be sinfully lazy and we may fall to the temptation to do nothing but lie around and sleep. The point here is this; we are often physically tempted to concentrate on pleasing our bodies. We need to be aware that Satan is a tempter in this area and to constantly analyze ourselves. Do we concentrate on pleasure too much? Are we susceptible to physical temptation?

Our minds are often tempted. In verses 6 and 7 Satan offered Jesus a short cut; instead of winning the world with the cross Satan offered his earthly kingdom if Jesus would bow to him. That was a mental temptation. It was a choice between the right way and the easy way. We too have many mental temptations. We have choices every day; several involve taking the easy way or taking the right way. Think about tax season; if we render unto Caesar that which is his we will have to do what is right, not what is easy. We have thousands of mental decisions every day; we must decide to do what is right, not what is easy many times a day. Happiness can be defined as the mind getting what it wants. Human beings will often compromise morality and holiness to find happiness. We cannot afford to do that. When we compromise what is right for the sake of happiness, we succumb to temptation. When we succumb to temptation, we sin. When we sin, we become unwell. Do we fall often to mental temptations? Do we sacrifice holiness for happiness?

Finally, Jesus was tempted spiritually. In verses 9-11 Satan tempted Jesus to tempt God. Satan wanted Jesus to prove Himself; he wanted Christ to dare God. Faith is not daring God; it is waiting patiently, doing His will, and cooperating with God’s plan (OVER our agenda). GOOD GRIEF! How many times a day do we struggle with that? People, by our very nature, are impatient plan makers. By that I mean we don’t want to wait and we don’t want to follow anyone’s plans but our own. We are rebellious too. We don’t want to obey anyone, unless what they are telling us to do is already what we want to do. Do we wait patiently on God? Do we dare God to prove Himself? Do we obey Him and follow His plan?

If we are to be wholly well and fully balanced we need to realize that temptation comes physically, mentally, and spiritually. We need to be ready. We need to be aware. We need to NOT ignore any area and be ready to fight the good fight against temptation. Temptation is opportunity; sin occurs when those opportunities are fulfilled. Let’s be well…wholly well. Realize and resist temptation; your health depends on it!

Luke #42 – Deceiving Temptations

Luke #42 – Deceiving Temptations

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the devil said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.’ And Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, ‘All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.’ And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘It is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’ And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season” (Luke 4:1-13 – King James Version).

You’re going to laugh, but this illustration is the one I felt led to share. I want a new truck. I do not need a new truck, but I want one. I have never had a new truck and I want a Ford F-250, 4WD, crew cab pickup. Knowing how much I like trucks, a friend of mine, John Austin, sent me a calendar from the Ford dealership that had the picture of a different 2004 Ford truck for each month. It was a thoughtful gift, but it had a strange effect on me. I had to throw it away! If I’d kept it I would have sat around drooling over those trucks for the next year! The next time I saw John I told him that he could have given me a calendar full of naked women that would not have had as bad effect on me as did those trucks. I realized how subtle sin is. Now, let me be clear, I am in no way advocating calendars of naked women. What I am saying is that it is not always the things that are obvious that tempt us and cause us to sin.

Let’s look at that in light of Jesus wilderness temptation. There are recorded three temptations Jesus experienced after the period of forty days fasting that illustrate that. Of course, Jesus was tempted the entire forty days, but we only have these three temptations to look at specifically.

The first way that Satan will use subtlety is that he will tempt us with what we need. In verse three, knowing Jesus was hungry, Satan tells Jesus to turn rocks into bread. Of course, Jesus indicates that bread is not our greatest need with the statement “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Food is a need; one of the basic necessities of life. I think a lot of folks get bent out of shape at noon on Sundays when the preacher is still preaching and they are hungry. Is that a temptation? Does taking focus off of God because the belly is rumbling constitute sin? I think Jesus’ answer is clear, even the most important bodily needs should not take precedent over God. Matthew 6:33 tells us that if we keep our focus on God, He’ll take care of our needs. How about this…are we ever tempted with other needs? Sure, I think so; we need shelter, but how many times do we buy houses that are too big for us and struggle under the weight of the payments? That’s bad stewardship! Clothing is a need, but we exercise bad stewardship and vanity in that many times. We often buy clothes that are far too expensive so we can “look good” or “fit in” with the crowd. The object is to be clothed, not exalt our status. I could go on and on, but the point is clear; Satan WILL tempt us with things we need. Be watchful!

The next thing we find is that Satan will tempt us with what we will get. In verse five Satan tempts Jesus by offering Him the world as a kingdom. Lest we forget, Jesus is God! He made the world! It’s already His and on the cross He bought it back again; He redeemed it. Satan tempted Jesus to shortcut that process; avoid the cross. The devil tempts us with the same kind of things. Most notable in my mind is the temptation to have sex outside of marital bonds. Sex is a beautiful gift from God and if we wait until we are married, it is even more beautiful AND it honors God AND it keeps us from disobeying Him. I also think of gambling; we’d get money if we’d only work, but the devil tempts us with shortcuts; the easy way out. There are no easy ways out when it comes to honoring God. Even in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus proved that to us; His prayer was “Not My will, but Thine be done.” We are to put God first, but Satan’s subtle way is to try and make us impatient and resentful; to take shortcuts. Be watchful!

Lastly, Satan will tempt us with what is already ours. In verses 10-11 Satan tells Jesus to jump from the top of the temple to prove that God would care for Him. Jesus response was to tell the devil that we are not to tempt God; we are not to try to make God prove Himself. For us, He’s already done that by giving Christ on the cross. Too many times we come to God with “if you…” prayers. What I mean is that we pray saying “If you…” do such and such then I will do such and such. God’s love was extended to us while we were still in our sins. His love and provision are ours already; we do not need to try to get Him to prove it over and over by demanding that things from Him. Be watchful!

Watch out for Satan. His temptations are often very deceiving. We need to be very alert. We need to constantly analyze what is going on by the Word and in prayer; falling before God begging for His guidance. Also, we need to be honest with ourselves and not try to justify even our most subtle of sins. Remember, God hates ALL sin; it is an affront to Him. Whether subtle or obvious, be on guard for temptation. Be watchful!

Luke #41 – DISTRACTION: Under New Management

Luke #41 – DISTRACTION: Under New Management

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the devil said…” (Luke 4:1-3a – King James Version).

So, as Paul Harvey would say, here’s the rest of the story. As I sat on the roadside with my very broken down car I was having the grandest time worshipping and having fellowship with God. No phone! No car! Not a single luxury! Like Jesus Christ my Savior, as undistracted as can be! (You can sing those last few lines to the Gilligan’s Island tune…FYI.) Once all the distractions were removed there was nothing in my way so the devil decided to make it personal.

Scripture says that Satan is beautiful (2 Corinthians 11:14). Scripture also says that Satan is tricky (Ephesians 6:11). That means he will try to slip in on us. We’ve got some nutty picture in our heads that Satan is ugly; a red devil so to speak. We never see the rascal coming because he is so beautiful and wily. But, we’d better be watching because he is looking to eat somebody up (1 Peter 5:8)!

Though Jesus had escaped the crowds, his family, and the carpenter business to get alone with His Father, Satan was there the entire time. Today’s verses tell us that Jesus experienced “being forty days tempted of the devil”. THEN He was tempted some more! My point here is simple; once all the distractions were removed, Satan moved in for a personal campaign.

Listen to me closely here…the average person has far too many distractions. We need to remove most of them. I am always amazed at how close people get to the Lord on retreats, mission trips, and camps. During those times we are insulated from our normal routines and free to meet with God. As soon as that period of time is over, we go right back to the things that were distracting us in the first place. I always remind my youth at church that camp is like a butcher; it teaches them how to trim the fat from their lives. They must then go home and do it themselves.

Know this though, when we do remove the distractions or when God removes them we need to be aware that Satan will move in and be the distraction himself. That’s why we need to wear the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6).

Again, pay close attention…the devil loves for us to have distractions. One of his favorites is worry; worry about money, work, our children, and a host of other things. Another is busyness; sometimes all Satan wants to do is fill our lives with so many activities that we are drowned by busyness. Another is people; we often become so consumed by the search for love or consumed with a love interest that our vision is skewed. Another distraction is material things; we become caught up in the pursuit of things—money being chief. Often we are distracted by hobbies; golf, softball, fishing, watching TV…you name it. Now we need to trim the fat! After doing that the business of distraction will still be Satan’s chief aim. Once a Christian matures enough to remove

Jesus experienced that in the Wilderness. If you will remove the distractions in your life or let the Spirit lead you away from them you will experience it too. Get ready! It will require serious sacrifice to concentrate on God with a direct assault from Satan. Jesus ate nothing, not wanting even food to get in His way. Are you prepared for distractions to move in under new management?

Luke #40 - Wilderness Blessings

Luke #40 – Wilderness Blessings

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1 – King James Version).

I was traveling from my church in Orange County to a meeting in Caswell County. As I was going by Hyco Lake something broke in my transmission and I was stranded by the road side.

The night before my car broke down I read and reread Luke 4. I begged the Lord for a word to share in a devotion. The more I read the more the Scripture the more I understood it, but I could not find a devotional thought for the day. I read that chapter until 1:30 AM and decided it was time to go to bed. I was worried about myself; as I lay awake I prayed Lord, show me why I cannot hear from you! Is there some sin? Is there some hidden pride? Help me! I awakened the next morning and the whole business was weighing heavy on my mind. I was worried about not sending a devotion out to those expecting to receive one. I was worried; What will they think? I carried the kids to the sitter’s house, went to a chiropractic appointment, drove back to the office, made some phone calls, read a chapter in a book, and headed off to the meeting.

As I waited there on the roadside God broke through to me. As I leaned on the hood of my car trying to get a signal on my cell phone, I realized what a beautiful day it was. I was not at the church office or my home office. There was no computer. There were no people. There were no telephones. Whatever schedule I had was shot; I couldn’t go anywhere. There were no children to feed, no grass to mow, no bills to pay, and no household chores to do. There was no television to watch, no books to read, and no errands to run. Everything that I HAD to do could not be done. I had not ONE red cent in my pocket; no water and no food. I stood out there looking at the clouds and I finally heard from God! The Holy Spirit had led me to the wilderness! Every distraction had been removed and I was truly free. That freedom came with a choice though; I could wallow in self pity or I could take advantage of a moment fully free from distraction and fellowship with God.

Our Lord was led into the Wilderness in His lifetime on earth. Of course we know that it was there that Satan tempted Him, but it was there also that Jesus did not succumb to temptation. Jesus escaped the throng at the Jordan and He was alone and free from distraction.

How many times does this happen in our life and we mistake it for a bad break? How many times do we think Why is this happening to me? when all God is trying to do is get alone with us? Often we seem to count these times as the devil being after us or we think that it is bad luck. I believe with all that is in me that the Holy Spirit led me out to that lake, on the side of that road that I may be alone with my Lord.

God often has what we might think to be strange methods. Where we might see “bad things” happening to us, it very well may be that God is stripping the distractions away. Where we might only see that our schedule is ruined it may be God resetting our schedule to get alone with us. Where we may only see difficulty, God sees, and leads us to, a time and place where we may be free to fully worship Him.

The spot where the car malfunctioned was about three miles from the school where my wife teaches. When I did get my phone to work, I called her. She came down to encourage me and all she got for her trouble was a roadside sermon (or two!). I was so happy in Christ Jesus that all I had was praise. The wilderness was good to me and I was overjoyed that He had led me there!

The next time you think that everything is going against you stop and pray; it may simply be God trying to break through and get some undivided attention from you. I found out something on that roadside…all my busyness was interfering with my hearing from God. We got alone in the wilderness and He blessed me sure enough. Luke 4:1 came rushing to my mind on that roadside and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Spirit had led me to that place for that time; thank you Lord!

Luke #39 - He Wasn't Lying!

Luke #39 – He Wasn’t Lying!

“Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David” (Luke 3:31 – King James Version).

“And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias…And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon” (Matthew 1:7 & 11 – King James Version).

My daddy likes to play music. When I was growing up he and his friends would play at dances, fish fries, stews, family reunions and functions of that like; most of the time I went along with them. Most of the time I managed to stay out of trouble…or maybe the most accurate terminology would be that half of the time I managed to stay out of trouble. One particular night a boy and I got into a fight early in the evening; my dad hadn’t begun to play yet…that’s how early it was. My daddy caught me by the arm and said “I am going to whip your behind when we get home.” I was worried for a while, but by the time I got home it was late. We had been at that stew for nearly eight hours! I was sure daddy had forgotten about that whipping or would have forgiven me and decided not to whip me. Guess what…he wasn’t lying! My daddy did not forget how ugly I had acted and he did not forget to give me that whipping!

Yesterday I said that it was a big thing for Mary’s genealogy to be presented in Luke. Today I want to tell you why that is. Mary was descended from David’s son Nathan. Joseph was descended from David’s son Solomon. What’s the big deal with that? Of Solomon’s line there was a descendent named Jeconiah (Jechonias in KJV – same fellow, different spelling). Jeconiah was also known as Jehoiachin and in at least one instance was called Coniah (Jeremiah 22:24). Jeconiah was a bad king. God gives authority to any who have it and God will always deal with those who misuse His gifts. In Jeremiah 22:30 we find a curse pronounced on Jeconiah: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless, for none of his children will ever sit on the throne of David to rule in Judah. His life will amount to nothing’” (NLT). UUNNH! That’s hard! Read all of Jeremiah 22 and you will find that Jeconiah had fair warning from God but would not do as God said. As a result, God removed that line’s privilege to be king over Judah in His sight.

In 1 Samuel 22:9 God had promised to establish Solomon’s line as the kingly line, but in Jeremiah 22:30 God removes Jeconiah as king. Jeconiah’s sin did not disestablish God’s promise; there still was legal right from Solomon’s line, but sin had ruined the validity and holiness of the legal line. Still…legal is legal, so we get Joseph as Jesus legal father passing on the legal line to Jesus. AND we get Mary as Jesus physical mother passing on the uncursed line, still descendants of David, in truth to God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 (born of a woman’s seed), and in truth to Himself God would not allow Jeconiah’s descendent to rule as king. So, Jesus is legal before men, legal before God and righteous before both.

Some say the Bible is confusing, but the more I study that wonderful record of God’s dealings with man the more straightened out I get! When God disavowed Jeconiah, He wasn’t lying! God is always true to Himself and He never lies to us. He remembers His promises and by His very nature cannot forget them!

This little testimony of Jesus’ family tree serves as further truth that Jesus is the only One that could have fulfilled every prophecy and requirement of law involved in identifying the one true Messiah; King of Kings; Son of the Living God. God wasn’t lying when He said He would send a redeemer and no matter how much mankind sinned and goofed up in between God saying it and doing it God remained true to Himself and kept His promises.

What does this mean to us today? Well…we can be more confident in the holiness of God, more sure of His promises, and more confident that Jesus is exactly who He said He was and is. That confidence should breed in us more holy boldness than we have ever had before. We can share boldly about Jesus affirmed in the truth that He really is the way, the truth and the life. HE WASN’T LYING! God never forgot a single promise! He never forgot a single punishment either. That’s another thing we can be sure of although we’d probably like to forget.

Grab hold of the promises of God today…when He made them, HE WASN’T LYING!