Welcome to our new project, the Daily Bible Devotional. The goal is to help you understand and

apply scripture as you go through a New Testament Bible read five days a week, Monday through

Friday as we move from Matthew straight through to Revelation. In just three minutes each morning, we will recap the chapter,

make some application, present thought questions for the day, and offer a prayer together.

I'm excited about exploring God's Word with you, so let's get started. Welcome to the very first

episode of the Daily Bible Devotional. We will begin today in Matthew

chapter 1. This first paragraph is a recap of the content. The book of Matthew opens with the

lineage of Jesus through his earthly father Joseph. Tying Jesus back to King David, the tribe of Judah,

and Abraham is a powerful opening point

for the Jewish reader. This means that Jesus is the one spoken of in the great promises

God made to these mighty men of faith. Jesus is the Messiah for which they were waiting.

If you're looking to get more out of this genealogy, take a pencil and

box in the names you recognize. There are some great men and women of faith listed here. Following

this, Matthew continues to confirm Jesus as the Savior from the prophets by citing Isaiah and telling

the story of Jesus being born of a virgin, just as the Hebrew

scripture taught. And here are a few beneficial things we can learn from this chapter. God

planned to send Christ to become, quote, God with us from the foundation of the world. He chose

to carry this out through the nation of Israel. God was incredibly patient for 2,000 years, dating back to the days of Abraham.

Repeatedly, he promised that all would be blessed, a ruler would be established, and his

son would be the savior of his people.

We are enjoying the fulfillment and substance of that promise. From the moment a virgin gave birth to a

child, the world was changed. We are blessed as a result of that change. Praise be to God for waiting

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