Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . One of my favorite verses of the Bible is Romans 8 .
It says it's a short verse but with a very powerful message . We all battle with things of our past , with our failings , with our mistakes , with things we did wrong or things we didn't do . The Scripture is still true there is no condemnation for us . In Christ , we have the ability to move ahead .
In the Gospel of Matthew , the very first chapter , it lists the lineage of Jesus Christ , and in that lineage there is a woman by the name of Rahab . Now , most of us know her story a little bit . She was an occupant of Jericho . In fact , she lived in the wall of Jericho and was a prostitute within that city .
Joshua had sent two spies into Jericho to check out the city and while they were there they met Rahab , who protected them from the soldiers of Jericho .
In fact , she helped the two spies of Israel to escape and in return , they guaranteed that she would be safe when Jericho was taken and she joined the people of Israel , and then she shows up in Jesus' lineage in Matthew , chapter 1 .
I think this really gets exciting , because Rahab probably would not have been the first choice of any of the people if they had been trying to decide who was going to be a forerunner of the Messiah . This woman had too much baggage . She had too many mistakes behind her . There was too much disgrace and shame and regret .
In fact , she probably should just have been straight out disqualified from ever being able to be considered as an ancestor of Jesus Christ . But yet God chose her and put her in that place so that she could become an ancestor of Jesus . One of the things that we can learn from this is that Rahab's past did not cancel her future .
We have heard a lot about cancel culture over the last few months , about people trying to cancel out anything they disagree with and any people that they disagree with , by basically eliminating them , by silencing them . Well , our past tries to do that to our future .
There are times when our past tries to cancel what our future can and should be , and yet Jesus Christ was born over 2000 years ago in that manger so that we would not be canceled so that we would have a future and so that we could move ahead in everything that God has for us .
We don't know why Rahab had to make the choice she did while living in Jericho , but maybe that was the only choice she had . We don't know what her situation was , but whatever that situation was , whatever was going on in her life , god still accepted her and he saved her .
He saved her from her past in Jericho and gave to her a new life with the people of God , with Israel . Have you ever noticed that most of the people that God chose to use were less than perfect ? In fact , you might say that almost all of them , from the outside at least .
In fact , you might say that almost all of them , from the outside at least , look completely unqualified to do what God asks them to do . It's been said that God does not call the qualified , but he qualifies the called .
In other words , if God tells you to do something , you are fully qualified to do it , and in him there is life and grace and direction for our lives . God has that for us and he used it and he gave it to Rahab to become one of the great ancestors of Jesus Christ . Her past did not prevent her from leaving a tremendous legacy .
Jeremiah 29.11 , for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord plans not to harm you , but to give to you a hope and a future . Lord plans not to harm you , but to give to you a hope and a future .
God has this amazing ability to take a messed up life , with all the mistakes that we make , with all of the things that we view as complete and absolute failures that we think have disqualified us from being able to do anything for God or for anyone else . And God says to us you give me your past , I will give to you my future .
And God says to us you give me your past , I will give to you my future . I will lead you to the place that you need to be and so that , with your life , you can leave a legacy that you will be proud of , and people will look back at you and they will honor your name .
So today , my friends , let me leave you with this your life is more important than you believe right now . There is nothing in your past that will hold you back from what God has for you . There are plans that God wants to reveal to you with your life , no matter how old you are .
He wants to show you more of what he wants to do , and God wants to bless you and allow you to be a blessing . Have a great day , my friends . We'll talk to you again tomorrow . Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right , with Danny Mac .