Monday, December 14, 2020
Redeemed Life, Redeemed Name
“He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David” (Luke 1:32 nlt).
During Jesus’s earthly ministry, people identified him as Jesus, the son of David. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David” (Luke 1:31–32 nlt).
And Bartimaeus, who was blind, called out to Jesus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47 nlt). David not only was part of Jesus’s family tree, but he also was the most important member of it (other than Jesus Himself).
The Bible dedicates a lot of ink to David’s life and exploits. He’s uniquely called “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14 nlt). God plucked him out of obscurity and directed the prophet Samuel to anoint him to replace the wicked King Saul.
David was the greatest of all of the kings of Israel. We know about his victories, including the defeat of Goliath, a massive giant of a man.
We also know about his horrible failure with Bathsheba, identified in Matthew’s genealogy as the wife of Uriah (see 1:6 nkjv). David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and he tried to cover it up. That didn’t work, and so he effectively had Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle.
You could sum up David's name with two other names: Goliath (his greatest victory) and Bathsheba (his worst defeat). Yet David makes it into the most exclusive genealogy in all of human history.
Even after all the mistakes David made, he was part of this exclusive genealogy. Talk about the redemption of a life and a name. God redeemed David despite his shortcomings.
In the same way, God can redeem your life. And He can redeem your name as well.
Copyright © 2020 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
In thanks for your gift, you can receive a copy of the Hope for Hurting Hearts.
Grief is one of life’s most difficult challenges. Pastor Greg Laurie experienced this truth when his son Christopher passed away suddenly. Discover comfort and healing in times of pain as you read his book Hope for Hurting Hearts. Receive your copy as our gift for your donation of any amount to Harvest Ministries this month.
