Heritage Hunting

So I have to start with an extension of last week.  God truly has had every step of the journey...from the amazing doctor...to even the surgery timing around the storm that dumped a lot of snow on Long Island!

Marah was the Drs 5th P.O.E.M. patient at Stony Brook. ( he has done approximately 50 before he came to Stony Brook )   and he said she was one of his most satisfying patients!  Because of how restricted her esophagus was, with no hope of relief on its own...and his "repair" was showing immediate positive response!!

While we were there on Long Island staying with dear friends (another amazing blessing) we decided to do a little "heritage hunting".  Google is an amazing thing!! (Google Maps is the BOMB in my book...with it I can travel anywhere!)

Kevin's grandfather was the principal of a school on Long Island...and they named the school after him.

"Okay Google..." We found Harry B Thompson Middle School!  It was only minutes from our friend'8s house!!

We took a ride...took pictures!

On our way back...we find out the street address where grandfather lived...and where Kevin's father grew up....literally around the corner...down the street and across the road from our friends! All of 3 minutes by car! Another drive by and photos!

It was so strange for Kevin to touch a part of his past he knows very little about, he never knew his grandfather. 

But it got me thinking how so important our heritage is to us.  Ancestry.com is huge, as well as other tracing family lineage sites.  How many of us have our family trees all done? 8 I have family lines traced back to ships crossing the ocean!

We like a connection with our past...helps us feel a part of something...bigger than ourselves.

If you are a believer of Jesus Christ you have an amazing heritage! And your "hunt" doesn't have to go any further than God's Holy Word!!

The lineage of faith recorded in Hebrews 11  lists all those who were faithful, and the amazing things that God did through their faith.
Then there is the family tree of Jesus.  Important enough to be listed in God's Word!

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, [Bathsheba]

 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Matthew 1:1-16

I highlighted the women listed because it fasinates me the people God uses to accomplish great things!  There is a great book called Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers that tells the story of each of these women.  

We can't even imagine, when we allow God to use every part of us, what impact that will have now or in future generations!

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:14-17

When I read this scripture I feel that, as a believer in Christ, I am in that lineage....I have a part in Christ's family line!!! Enough so that I am an heir to His Glory!!
How exciting is that?!
What better connection!  Being a part of this is definately part of something bigger...the biggest!!
I pray that you claim your heritage in Christ today!