The Same Family!

I do not like throwing my 

daily Bible readings and so 

I brush it over with either gesso 

or the cheaper alternative, wall putty. 

 Then I play with my acrylic paints, rubber stamps, and other mark makers. 

Then I either draw or pick a picture 

to transfer to the page with carbon paper. 

I usually draw on a separate sheet

of paper so I can easily erase

and redraw lines. 

Plus I can reuse my drawing! 

Then I paint with acrylic paint.

When it is time to paint shadows

I use two brushes.

One to apply the darker flesh paint,

the second one to water it down 

to make the shading gradual. 

Next I use a pencil to outline and shade.
 

And then I use a thin permanent pen to put the Bible verse. 

"It was of Mary that Jesus who is called the Messiah was born." Matthew 1:16

Going through the first part of Matthew can be tedious, and I tend to skip all the begats and son ofs. I am sure I can go through all of them and find some nugget of wisdom. That's what the Bible is, after all- a treasure chest of gems, precious jewels and pearls. 

I skip all that and reach Matthew 1:16, and find that instead of the son of the father, we see that Jesus is the son of the WIFE of Joseph. That is unusual in a genealogy. Women were not usually mentioned in Jewish genealogies. Nowhere in the Bible is the name of King David's poor mother mentioned! But all that changes with Jesus! 

Matthew lists Jesus' genealogy all the way from Abraham, showing His roots and His family. But He becomes part of that family through the Holy Spirit because Mary conceived by the power of the Spirit. Do we realize that we are part of that same family by the power of the same Spirit? 

From Anawim, I read, "We cannot choose our ancestors. As much as we might prefer to descend from a line of great and powerful kings, there is nothing we can do about it. But now, because of Jesus Christ, we can choose to be part of a greater and more powerful family that far surpasses our natural background. By faith, we are children of Abraham, we are children of David- we are children of God!" Now that is something to rejoice about!