About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2013)
PAGE 5 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013 Intriguing Facts Front Jesus' Genealogy Almost everyone knows the names of his/her father and grandfather. A lesser number can name his/her great grand father, while few individuals can identify his/her great, great grandfather. This is not the case for Jesus, because Matthew’s gospel provides the names of Jesus’ ancestry dating back 42 generations to Abraham. Although Jesus— bom to a virgin~was not biologically Joseph’s son, Matthew lists Jesus’ great, great grandfather of record as Eleazar. No biblical informa tion exists on Eleazar. My brother, Dwayne, conducted a comprehensive genealogy of the Powell family dating back to the early 1700s. Dwayne’s records show that my great, great grandfather was William Gibson Powell, great grand father was William Griffin Powell, grandfather was William Thomas Powell, and father was William Lee Pow ell. Whereas Dwayne reached into history some 300 years to capture the Powell family tree, Matthew’s genealogical research on Jesus spanned over 2000 years. In ancient Palestine, an indi vidual did not use a surname, but was known by his given name, sometimes qualified by his town of residence. Jesus, for example, was known as Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew’s 42-generation ancestry of Jesus is grouped into three successive periods of Jewish history. (1) Fourteen genera tions of lineal descent from Abraham to David: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Aram, Ammi- nadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (mother was Rahab), Obed (Ruth was mother), Jesse, David. (2) Fourteen generations from David to Babylonian captivity: Da vid, Solomon (Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, was his mother), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jechoniah. (3) Fourteen generations from the end of Babylonian captivity to Jesus: Jechoniah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok,Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was bom Jesus, who is called the Christ. Based on Matthew’s genealogy, Abraham was the grandfather of Jesus prefixed by 38 greats. King David was the ‘25 great’ grandfather of Jesus. Jesus’ lineage includes three women of disreputable character: Boaz’ mother, Ra hab, was the harlot of Jericho; Obed’s mother, Ruth, was a socially shunned Moabite; and Solomon’s mother, Bath sheba, was unfaithful to her husband, Uriah, and bore a child by David who later died. Whereas Matthew provided Joseph’s lineage 42 genera tions from Abraham, Luke traced the Virgin Mary’s an cestry in reverse lineage back to the time of creation, docu menting 76 generations from Mary to the first man, Adam. Luke’s genealogy lists Mary’s father as Heli. Her grandfather was Matthat, and her great grandfather Levi-who also was the ‘maternal’ great, great grandfather of Jesus. Nothing biblically is known of Heli, Billy Powell Columnist www.billypowellbooks.com Matthat, or Levi. Although Jesus was con ceived in Mary’s womb with out the sperm of an earthly father, God evidently blocked the transfer of Mary’s genetic makeup, including man’s sinful nature, to the holy fetus. This inference is reinforced in the Nicene Creed which states that Jesus is “the only-begot ten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begot ten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” Even Mary was incredulous, asking the angel, “How shall this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. The child to be bom will be called the Son of God.” This Is What New Looks Like It was just before New Year’s and the Gracious Mis tress of the Parsonage and I were relaxing after a busy week of toil and labor. Not paying much attention to my surroundings, I had immersed myself in a favorite book. As far as I am concerned, nothing compares to a favorite book when you are trying to relax and unwind. I turned the page and happened to notice on the other side of the room my wife was all a twitchy. I have seen this behavior before and I knew she was anxious to say something. I pretended not to notice. Finally, it was as if she ex ploded. ”1 can’t wait for the New Year. Aren’t you ex cited?” I answered in the af firmative to try to keep the conversation as minimal as possible. ”No, I mean aren’t you re ally excited about the New Year?” I knew if I was going to get back to my book I would have to let her say, what was on her mind. According to her, the approaching New Year was going to be spectacular. Ev erything old, she explained to me, would be new again. We have been in this New Year for a couple of weeks now and, I will not contradict my wife, at least aloud, but this New Year looks suspi ciously like the Old Year. I am not quite sure what she thought would be differ ent this year, but to me it is just the old year run through again. And, that is good with me. I am not one of these per sons that needs the latest flash in the pan. I quite prefer the tried and true. It was about two weeks af ter the New Year and my wife said, ’’I’ll be back in an hour or two, I’m going shopping.” It did not dawn on me at the time but about 10 minutes lat er, it did. The reason my wife was so excited about the New Year was that she was going to go out and buy some new clothes. After all, according to her calculations, the New Year deserves new clothing. I smiled as I thought about her going to the store try ing on dresses, seeking one that would fit her both in size and in fancy. As for me, I am quite comfortable in my old clothes. They fit me just fine, thank you. Women have to look fine all the time. Men, on the other hand are not that particular about what they wear. I can wear the same shirt for days on end and feel just as com fortable as the first day I put it on. My clothing does not make me feel any younger. I go along with the saying that says you are only as old as you feel. Of course, I do have some of those Methuselah moments. Everything old was once new and if new last very long it ends up being old. There fore, whatever is old was once new and whatever is new will one day be old. This is where most people make their mis take. They fail to see the re lationship between old and new. For example, as much as our culture pretends to be youth oriented, it does every thing to get old while looking young. I often have this con versation with my wife. I am not old, I am just getting older and my plans are to get older and older and older. The great object in life is to get as old as you possibly can while looking and feeling new. Nothing to me is sillier than a 40 year old trying to act 20. The mind may say 20, but the body really knows it is 40. If people would put the money they spend to look young in a 401 (k) their golden years would truly be golden. How much money is spent each year on plastic surgery? What I want to know is, who in the world do they think they are fooling? Their mirror? Right after the New Year’s celebration, I got up one morn ing feeling terrific. There was a bounce in my step, a giggle on my tongue; I was feeling like I was 20 something. I had not felt this good since I can not remember how long. Then it happened. No matter how good you might feel some day, there is always something or some one who can undermine that Out to Pastor Rev. James L. Snyder jamessnyder2@att.net or whatafellowship.com and put you in your proper place. My mistake was going into the bathroom. There in the bathroom for all the world to see, especially me is this ghastly object called a mir ror. When I looked into the mirror, I was shocked to see I was not alone. I thought I had come into the bathroom by myself but there in the mirror was this old guy I hardly rec ognized. My first reaction was to ask him to leave the bathroom and then I noticed something. That person in the mirror was me! All of those exhilarating feelings dissipated as reality grabbed hold of my soul and soundly shook me. In my Bible reading that morning, I read what the apostle Paul said. ’’And be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and that she put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24 KJV). Only God, in His wisdom, can create in me something that is truly new. Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Sil ver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www.jamessny- derministries.com. Church Happenings Prayer Line, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Christ Abundant Life Ministries, S. Dugger Ave., Roberta. Call 478- 836-3912. Word of God Tabernacle invites you to join us for the following weekly services: Sunday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., Sunday Service at 11:00 a.m.; Monday Prayer at 9:00 a.m.; Wednesday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.; Friday Prayer at 9:00 a.m. Everyone is invited. Pastor Frank Martin, Sr. Springhill Baptist Church is providing free Tutoring Service every Monday at 5:30- 6:30 p.m. 71 Springhill Church Rd. Roberta. Revival, Monday through Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Open Bible Tabernacle Baptist Church, 6490 Sandy Point Rd., Lizella, GA. Bro. Kenny Greenway from High Point, NC will be preaching, Sunday, January 27, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Special music by New Grace from Roberta at 6 p.m. For information call 478-935-8163. New Haven Independent Baptist Church, 106 Hortman Mill Road, Roberta, Sunday, January 13, 11 a.m. service will feature the Potter’s House. Potter’s House helps women get back on track with the Lord. Everyone invited to hear the testimony of these ladies. For information call Denise at 478-957-3559. The Kingdom Heirs and The Jordans in concert at Byron Baptist Church, Friday, January 25, 7-10 p.m. Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5pm Pastor Phillip Bakon and Mt. Zion C.M.E. Church members prepared goody bags and delivered them to residents at Roberta Nursing Home for Christ mas. Revenge Have you ever been falsely accused or badly hurt and wanted revenge? We can be honest with God even if we are filled with anger and despair because He knows us thoroughly and wants the best for us. Because we trust in our all-powerful God, we don’t have to be weighed down by what someone is doing to us. Be honest with God and He will turn your attention from yourself to Him. We cannot control all of life’s circumstances but we can control ourselves in the circumstance. When people are trying to “do you in”, don’t get bitter; get better. Instead of striking back, and taking matters into your own hands, take it to the Lord in prayer and He will plead your case. God said, “Vengeance is mine”; I will repay. Don’t give your enemy what you think they deserve. Forgive them. Returning evil for evil hurts you just as much as it hurts your enemy. Even if your enemy never says they are sorry; forgiving them will free you of a heavy load of bitterness. Remember, God is watching how we treat our enemy. Although it is not always easy to bless those who persecute you and say evil things against you, God tells us to rejoice and be glad, for great is our reward in heaven. We must show love just as Jesus did on the cross. He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Now that was love. Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. Only God knows when we have truly forgiven and He will judge us. We are hypocrites if we claim to love God and hate each other. Our attitude toward others, reflects our relationship with God. Be Blessed! The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him ; to the ones who seek him... —Lamentations 3:25 McLeighton Funeral Service obituaries at www.mcleightonfuneralservice.coin 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna McLeighton - owners ’Our Family Serving Your Family Granite • Marble • Bronze • Coping • Monument Cleaning • Sandblasting ”Serving all Middle Georgia cemeteries 33 Kade E. Rooks P. O. Box 1711, Fort Valley, GA 31030 *478-825-2424 or 478-951-1571 *Fax: 478-825-3794
