Fri.’s Devo - Believe

Read: Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1-4; John 1:1-18; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23b-38;Luke 1:5-38
I love to read genealogies which I know sounds crazy, but I do. The genealogy in Matthew is Joseph’s line and the one in Luke is Mary’s line. Joseph was the kingly line and starts with Abraham. It was to be proof to the Jewish people that Jesus was a true Jew. Mary’s line goes all the way back to Adam to prove that he was human. I do want to point out that Adam was the son of God who was a type of Jesus, the son of God and that Jesus was a priest and a king.
Speaking of Jesus…we are finally getting to his life on earth. Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed for a son for years and she had been barren. Zacharias was a priest and it was his turn to serve at the incense altar on the Day of Atonement - the most important day for the Jews. It was the day the people would bring a sin offering to the temple which would atone for the sins of their family and the sins of the nation. On that day all sins would be forgiven for another year. When the angel appeared to Zacharias he told him that he had heard his prayer for a son and was there to grant it. Zacharias’ answer revealed his heart which was unbelief. So the angel answered him in a rebuke for not believing. When Mary was visited by the angle and told she would have a son it seems like she asked the same question but got a totally different response. Mary was wanting to know how it was going to happen, not that it couldn’t happen. Her question was one of belief and surrender but she just wanted to know how God was going to physically do it since she didn’t have a husband yet. So the angle told her exactly how it would happen. Her response was not one of unbelief. Unbelief cost Zacharias his speech for 9 months. Mary’s belief gave her a voice to sing praises to God. Unbelief cost the children of Israel their lives in the wilderness and will cost us a life of powerless Christianity if we let it rule our hearts. All Jesus asks of us is to believe. When you find it hard to believe for a specific thing you are asking for try just believing in God and who he is. Then he is still free to answer your prayer. Unbelief totally shuts down heaven’s response.
Lord, help us to believe in you. All things are possible with You and all things are possible to those who believe.