{"id":51606,"date":"2023-03-06T06:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/?p=51606"},"modified":"2023-03-06T09:40:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T14:40:46","slug":"a-son-of-abraham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/devotionals\/a-son-of-abraham\/","title":{"rendered":"A Son of Abraham","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGU<\/em>E<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you know your inheritance?\u00a0 Do you know that as a believer of Jesus Christ, you have the blessings of the\u00a0 Abrahamic Covenant? Are you actively sharing the Gospel with those you interact with daily in the marketplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Jesus said to him \u201cToday salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham<\/em>. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 Luke 19: 9-10 (NKJV)<\/a><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Son of Abraham<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Abraham was a wealthy businessman whom the Lord called out of a tradition of serving multiple gods to serve Jehovah, the One and Only true God<\/strong>. Jehovah declared a promise to Abraham and to the generations that would follow him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This promise is known as the Abrahamic Covenant:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the Lord had said unto Abram<\/em>,
\u201cGet out of your country from your family <\/em>
<\/em>And from your father\u2019s house <\/em>
<\/em>To a land that I will show you.\u00a0 <\/em>
<\/em>I will make you a great nation; <\/em>
<\/em>I will bless you and make your name great; <\/em>
<\/em>And you shall be a blessing.\u00a0 <\/em>
<\/em>I will bless those who bless you, <\/em>
<\/em>And curse him who curses you, <\/em>
<\/em>And in you all the families <\/em>
<\/em>of the earth shall be blessed\u201d<\/em>.
\u2013 Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Abrahamic Covenant promised greatness, blessing, and divine protection to all the families of the earth through Abraham.<\/strong> All those who would come to believe in the one true God, Jehovah, could receive the promises of God that were based upon the Abrahamic Covenant, provided that they could identify themselves as sons of Abraham.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those who would come to believe by faith in the Son of God would automatically become children of Abraham through Jesus Christ. This meant that one did not have to be born a Jew to be a son of Abraham. One could become a son by believing in Jesus Christ,<\/strong> thus opening the way to receive the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Luke 19:1-9<\/strong>, Jesus met a businessman<\/a> named Zacchaeus who worked in the tax collecting business. Although born a Jew, Zacchaeus had decided to become a publican who collected taxes for the Roman Empire. Jews who became publicans were viewed as traitors because they had built their wealth by taxing their own people, placing heavy financial burdens upon them in the name of an empire that oppressed them. Zacchaeus had built his wealth by becoming a part of a system that opposed the Jews and worked against everything Godly that the nation of Israel represented and valued.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zacchaeus recognized his shameful position, and he longed to see this Messiah that everyone was talking about \u2013 the Messiah who would bring an end to the very Roman system of which he was a beneficiary.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zacchaeus, being short in stature, was so eager to meet this Messiah that he climbed a sycamore tree so that he could get a good look at Jesus as He passed through the crowd.\u00a0 Jesus noticed Zacchaeus up in the tree. He saw the intent look on his face. He called him to come down and declared before everyone that today, He would stay at Zacchaeus\u2019 home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow! Jesus the Messiah is going to stay at the house of Zacchaeus the sinner, the betrayer of his people, the one who built his wealth purely based upon greed! Zacchaeus had traded away the future of Israel to amass his wealth, and now Jesus appeared to be endorsing his behavior by visiting his home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, that was the external view. Jesus was only interested in redeeming Zacchaeus\u2019 heart, just as He is interested in redeeming yours and mine.<\/strong> It is man who looks at the external things, whereas God always looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7b)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who heard Jesus\u2019 declaration must have thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n