Today our guest poster is Shelly Stansfield.

Ezra 1-3 The Proof of Our “membership.”

Membership to a club costs. For the Jews, it cost them proof of their ancestry. For those without proof of their ancestry, they were not allowed the same privileges. Ezra says: 59 … they could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: …62 These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor told them they were not to partake of the holiest food until a priest consulted Urim and Thummim. (Ezra 2:59-63, ESV)

How do we prove our ancestry? Who is in our ancestry that qualifies us to partake of the holy food?

These people believed they were Jews, believed in the same God, worshipped the same way, but had no proof.

Who is our ancestry with? Are we in the right family?

If we are in a true, personal relationship with Christ as Lord of our lives, not someone we just know a lot about, then we may partake of the holiest food- heaven, eternity, the fruit of the Spirit, and all His promises.

How do we get adopted into His family? First, by asking Him to be Lord of our lives (heart, will/soul, Spirit); trusting His payment for our sins on the cross and resurrection from death, and that He’s coming back for us to take us to His home; and confessing our wrongs (sins).

Whose family are we living moment-by-moment with today?