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Daughter of Abraham You are an inheritor of the promise
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A
story
Let’s begin with a story. Once there was a man (not just an ordinary
man you understand) and his name was Jesus. He had got himself into
trouble in the synagogue because he had been ministering to a woman—which
was just not the done thing (and on the Sabbath—which was also not the
done thing). But worse than that, he had upset the
religious teachers because he had re written their understanding of half
the human race by addressing that woman as a “daughter of Abraham”
(Luke 13 v16). |
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Big Deal "Big deal," you may think from your modern and British (this website is aimed at the UK) and post-Jesus standpoint. But understand this, women in that synagogue were not thought to be under the covenant of Abraham. Oh no, the only way a woman could have any access to the covenant of blessing was to live at home under her father’s umbrella of blessing or to be married to a man who was a son of Abraham. And what did this Jesus person do? He called this woman “daughter of Abraham”. Not daughter of a son of Abraham, not wife of a son of Abraham. He put her directly under the covenant of Abraham. Well that would give her direct access to God through the covenant for herself! Jesus then took it further by dying on the cross and God tore down the curtain to the Holy of Holies so that not even a priest was needed to bridge the gap between the holiness of God and sinful human beings. We women, it seems, have direct access to God for ourselves. God always wanted it thus. God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. He made a covenant of Blessing with the sons and daughters of Abraham and Jesus died on the cross for sinful men and women. |
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Jesus came to reiterate our position when he saw for himself that it had all gone a little wonky. |
Lost confidence Somehow some of us have lost the confidence that Jesus wants us to have. Jesus came to reiterate our position when he saw for himself that it had all gone a little wonky. He wants us to have confidence in Him for ourselves. Is the image you have of yourself the one that Jesus wants you to have? Is the image you have of yourself the one that Jesus gave his life for? |
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Are you standing in front of Jesus while he wants to tell you how wonderful you are and how much he loves you but your attention is else where? |
Attention needed Sometimes when I want to talk to one of my children I am aware that he is not giving me his attention. He is standing in front of me but he is concentrating on something else. I will tell him to look at me so he turns his head to line up with his body in front of me and looks at my face briefly but although his head and body are pointing my way, his eyes wander straight back to what he was doing and what I was trying to say still doesn’t get through. Are you standing in front of Jesus while he wants to tell you how wonderful you are and how much he loves you but your attention is else where? - perhaps listening to a world that tells you you should be living your life the world’s way; perhaps comparing yourself with other people though you shouldn’t; perhaps not believing Him. Fix your eyes on Jesus, really fix them there, read the Word, let it seep into your innermost being so your image can be like that of Christ Jesus. You are a daughter of Abraham, an inheritor of his seven-fold promise. Take that promise and live with all the boldness of someone Jesus has empowered to fill those shoes. |
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(place holder) Return to top Return to Home Page This article © Linda Faber 2006-2009.
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