A Prayer for Baby

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb."

Jeremiah 1:5

"Lord, You know the plans You have and

i pray that You have Your way in my baby's life

that (s)he will always love You and put You first

and that You will give the same grace that You've given me

and let this child know everyday that You're there.

There is no greater gift than Your presence."

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

Lineages: What's the Point?

Well, when I read the Bible I am often discouraged when i come across a large portion of scripture dealing with the family tree of some famous Bible character. You start out strong, but after about five verses of sounding out names which have way too many syllables, you find yourself skipping along to the end of that portion of scripture and to the next topic. This was true until i began trying to figure out who all of these mysterious names were that i came across in the book of Matthew.

Now, i love the fact that Jesus' lineage is so perfectly ordered. I mean, you have 14 generations from Abraham to David and then 14 generations from David to Babylon and then 14 generations from Babylon to Jesus. This made digging deeper easy for me because i could cut this big pie in thirds.

Today, let's just take a peek at the first 14 generations talked about in Matthew and a few highlights from their lives:

1. Abraham - This man has an incredible story that needs to be read by all. A few highlights are: God cutting covenant with Abram, God giving him his son Isaac at the age of 100, Meeting God as He was heading into Sodom, God's provision in every area of his life, etc. (If you are unfamiliar with any of these stories, please stop reading this and open up a Bible to Genesis 12 and start reading. I promise you that you won't be disappointed!)

2. Isaac - This is God's promised son to Abraham. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and taken to the mountain to be sacrificed at the demand of God. However, God provided a ram to be sacrificed in his place at the last moment.

3. Jacob - I have an entire blog posting on Jacob, but a few quick facts are: He was a mama's boy, he deceived his dad and stole the blessing from his brother Esau, he fell in love with Rachel and was deceived into marrying her sister Leah before her and then ended up with their slave women also, he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, his name was changed to 'Israel' and he was the father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat.

4. Judah - This one was the greatest shocker for me. God provides an entire section in the OT about Joseph, yet uses Judah in his lineage. Not only that, but Jacob's true love was Rachel and Judah's mom was the girl that Jacob didn't even want - Leah. Here we see God using something that was entirely out of the control or plans of Jacob for His glory! Now, Judah had three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah. Er got married to Tamar and he ends up dying. Onan is ordered to impregnate her and takes advantage of the task without following through on the obligation and God kills him. Judah promises the third son's seed to Tamar when he gets older, but doesn't deliver. So Tamar dresses like a prostitute and lures Judah in after his wife's death. He sleeps with her - not knowing who she is. She takes some of his possessions and later, when she's found pregnant, he wants to have her killed until she brings out his possessions, looks at her belly and says, "Who's Your Daddy?" (not really. i added that) So Tamar has Judah's babies - twins - named Perez and Zerah.

5. Perez - not much said about him

6. Hezron - or him

7. Ram - or him

8. Amminadab - with a name like that i wish the Bible talked more about him

9. Nahshon - not much said about him

10. Salmon - or him, but i bet he was a fisherman

11. Boaz - Now Boaz is important for two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that his mother was Rahab. Rahab is an important piece of the puzzle because her story can be found in Joshua two. At that point in her life she was a harlot, or prostitute, and decides to help Joshua's army by hiding them and protecting them. She is promised protection when they come back to destroy the city and her entire family is spared. Later, she marries Salmon and enters into the lineage of the Messiah.

12. Obed - His mother was Ruth. This is very important to understand because Ruth was from the land of Moab, which was a foreign land. This is a country who did not worship the Lord Jehovah as the Jewish people did. Yet, God brings Ruth to a land and brings her and Boaz together. God shows us that the Messiah is for all people through this simple act of allowing Ruth to be part of His lineage.

13. Jesse - not much is said about Jesse except for the fact that he was a father and he ended up having a son and this son has provided some of the greatest life lessons of all time as we've witnessed God's hand on his life. And this son was...

14. David - If you don't know about David, please stop right now and read about his life. From being a boy and chopping the head of Goliath off to his infidelity with Bathsheeba to the final blessing of his family, it is a page turner. He has brought me much understanding into the heart of God and i'm sure it'll do the same for you.

Well, there it is! The first 14 generations of Jesus highlighted in the book of Matthew. I hope you enjoyed, but most of all i hope that you'll look at those long, boring lists in the Bible as nuggets of truth that will encourage us to serve God in a greater way! Be blessed.

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

Baby News

Well, my friends, rumor has it that the GP Hintz clan will be growing by a minimum of two feet in a few months! That's right, the wife took two tests and they both screamed out "Positive"! Can you believe it? It feels like a lifetime since we have went through the joy of pregnancy seeing as our youngest is already four, but we're ready to ease back into the doctor appointments, strange cravings and multitude of dirty diapers that are sure to come! We just want to ask our entire community of friends to keep this time for our family in your prayers. We know how difficult this time can be and are relying fully on our God to sustain us as we watch his will unravel in our lives.

So, stay tuned. I'll keep you abreast of the situation and maybe, just maybe, before too long you'll be able to have a sneak peak inside! I can't wait... GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

The Lineage of Jacob

As I read my Bible, I am so pleased with the honesty and transparancy that I find in so many of the central Bible characters who make up my faith. I am as equally disgusted as I am pleased because I begin to realize that the highlighted stories that so many people hear about often overshadow the darker, seedier stories which still shine so brightly in scripture when you read it. The purpose behind the dark side of scripture is not to tear down the central characters, but to show the humanity and the frailty and the sin and God's grace.

The character I want to look at today is Jacob. You know... Jacob's ladder (the angels ascending and descending), deceiving his hairy brother Esau so he could get the blessing, wrestles an angel, God changes his name to Israel, father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat, father of the 12 tribes of Israel, etc. This guy is central. This guy is foundational. This guy was human.

My antenna was raised as I was reading in Genesis 29 and started checking out Jacob's love life. Here he was in love with Rachel, is deceived into marrying her sister Leah and eventually gets them both in a 14 year work program with their dad Laban. But here is where it gets weird - kids were important in this time because they carried the legacy and helped around the homestead. Boys were very important and a sign of great things for the mom who could produce them. Well, are you ready? Fasten your seatbelt cause here we go...

Leah is the first to get prego with Reuben and then shortly later has Simeon. She doesn't stop there - next comes Levi and Judah. She has had four kids and they're all boys! Wow, does she have to feel good about herself or what? Now, Rachel wants to produce, but can't. So, she gets the great idea of giving her slave, Bilbah, to Jacob to impregnate. So, twisting his arm, he sleeps with her and gets her prego. She has Dan. Well, Jacob must've enjoyed himself because he goes back and the next baby to come out is from Bilbah and it's Naphtali. And the saga continues.

Now, Leah can't be outdone so she ends up giving her slave, Zilpah, to Jacob to impregnate. Twisiting his arm again he ends up sleeping with her and she has a son named Gad. Again, Jacob must've enjoyed himself because she ends up pregnant again and produces another boy who they name Asher.

Now, it's time for Leah to start earning her keep so she pops out three in a row - Issachar, Zebulun and a daughter named Dinah. The first one, Issachar, actually happened when Rachel wanted some mandrake root that Leah had. Rachel tells her that if she gives her the root than she can sleep with Jacob. Rachel gets the root and Leah heads out to meet her man when he gets home from work. She goes up to him and says, "You must sleep with me. I've hired you with my son's mandrake roots." (NIV) Quite a steal! Jacob relented and slept with her, producing Issachar and then the babies keep coming!

The good news for Rachel is that even though Jacob had produced 11 children from 3 different women, he didn't give up on her. Finally, after years of trying, Rachel gets prego with Joseph and then, to her demise, brings Benjamin into the world. Four women and thirteen kids later, Jacob's sitting in the middle of a family that is absolutely huge!

Now I understand that things were different in the time of Jacob and I understand that families were different and I know that God's plans are perfect and I think that's where I want to sit for a minute. God's plans are perfect. God used Jacob who was a deceiver. God used Jacob who was a horn ball. God used Jacob who was very carnal to usher in the 12 tribes of Israel. God used him.

In our culture I believe that we are too quick on writing people off and forgetting that God can work through weaknesses and God can work through mistakes and God can incredibly impact a generation through one person - you! It's easy to not give up on God sometimes, because He's so big and so awesome. The one that we have the hardest time giving up on is ourself. Draw the truth from this scripture that even in the midst of Jacob's weaknesses, God used him. Even in the midst of his lies and deceit, God used Him. Even in the midst of his infidelity, God used him (these slave women were not his wives even if we use the case of Biblical polygamy being alright).

God has a plan for you and it's bigger than your weaknesses! Don't let these things get you down and, more than anything, don't ever give up on yourself because God sure hasn't given up on you.

GP