January 29 – Genesis 48-50

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 48-50. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today we close out a second book … Genesis. We have seen God’s hand at work in multiple ways. We experienced creation, destruction through the flood, the scrambling of languages, learned how to cope from calamities through Job, and witnessed the building of a nation through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Genesis closes out on a high note. Jacob blesses his son Joseph and his two boys, he calls all his sons together and showers blessings on them, Jacob is buried with full Egyptian pomp, and Joseph dies understanding the harm his brothers sought was meant by God to save his family and preserve the promise. God has been good to Joseph and his family.

I think there is a good lesson to learn from the blessings Jacob shares with his sons. Reuben had done a detestable thing sleeping with Bilhah Jacob’s concubine. Both Simeon and Levi sinned in murdering the Shechemites after they raped their sister Dinah. We see that there are consequences because of sin. Reuben looses his seat at the table of nations … he will not be counted in the twelve tribes … one of Joseph’s sons occupies his place

Friends there are always consequences for sin. But let me remind you, while there are consequences for sin there is also forgiveness. We might have to spend the rest of our life dealing with the consequences of our sinful actions, but in Christ there will always be forgiveness, and those consequences only last in this life. In Christ we are considered righteous and have the privilege of spending eternity in the presence of God.

January 28 – Genesis 46-47

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 46-47. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today we see a joyous reunion between father and son and we see God’s blessing being poured out. God has been building a nation and now he is getting ready to protect the nation he has built. Joseph was in just the right place to save his growing family of brothers, their wives, their children and even grandchildren. The whole family, seventy in all is now in the land of Egypt where there is food because of the work Joseph has kept.

As we read today’s events we quickly see how long and sever this famine is. It is so severe that the people finally place themselves in bondage to Pharaoh just to remain alive and not starve. What would Joseph’s family do if they had not been in Egypt during this time? What would Joseph’s family have done if his brothers had not sold him into slavery where he ended up in Egypt in charge of life saving food? The family line may have been wiped out and the promise with Abraham not fulfilled. But that is the God we serve. God had a plan and a purpose with Abraham and his decedents. And his purpose will play out no matter what natural events happen or choices we as humans make.

This is a theme we will continually see as we read through the Bible. Time and time again it will look bleak for God’s people. But each time it does, God works it out for them. He brings them through it. All so that his son can be born and die so that all mankind can know salvation. It is neat to see these little sprinklings of hope as God works to preserve his purpose. When it looks bleak in life, remember, God is in control, and he has a purpose and plan for your life. Will you accept it?

January 27 – Genesis 43-45

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 43-45. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

God is good. If we faithfully serve him, if we faithfully follow him, if we faithfully submit to his leadership even when it does not seem to make sense, God is going to deliver. I firmly believe that. Joseph must have and it certainly worked out in the end.

After being sold into slavery and thrown into prison he could have easily given up on God. But he never did. His life and actions showed the faith that had been instilled in him through his father Jacob. Joseph stayed the course and came out victorious. Maybe while going through it he never saw it, but he certainly did by the time his brothers arrived in the land. “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Genesis 45:7-8 NIV84.

What turmoil have you encountered in life? Have you look for the good that God may be doing through it in your life and those around you? If not, pray that God will open your eyes to see what it is he is doing.

January 26 – Genesis 41-42

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 41-42. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

God’s providence is always for the best. Do you believe that? I mean do you really believe that or do you pay it lip service? When things aren’t going right, do you utter the words … “God knows what he is doing, so I just have to trust him” … and really believe those words? Sometimes it’s hard to believe those words, because God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s plans are not our plans, and sometimes God’s plans seem to take much longer than we would ever orchestrate them to be.

Joseph had every reason to pay lip service while constantly questioning God’s plan for his life. He was loved and cherished by his father. He was hated and despised by his brothers. He was sold as a slave by his own brothers. He rose to prominence in his master’s house only to wind up in jail because his masters wife wanted to seduce him and cried rape when he resisted. Joseph’s life has been full of ups and downs. It seems like whenever things are going well it is just then that everything is cut out from under him. He could play lip service to God’s plan while still doubting in his heart.

Here’s the cool thing, God’s plan was still best. It may have taken a while. It was thirteen years after being sold as a slave when Joseph is thirty that he enters Pharaohs service (Genesis 41-46). It won’t be another seven plus years until he is reunited with his brothers. But as we will find out in tomorrow’s reading God’s providence really is best, even if it has taken almost twenty years to work out. I know patience is hard, but sometimes we just need to sit back, keep moving forward and let God work. 

January 25 – Genesis 38-40

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 38-40. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

What do you do when something isn’t right but there is nothing you can do about it? When Joseph ended up in Egypt after being sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelite’s he is then bought by Potiphar an official of Pharaoh. The Lord is with Joseph and he begins to prosper under Potiphar’s house and his master recognizes this and gives him command of his entire house.

Now Joseph was seventeen when he was sold by his brothers, so he at this time is either in his late teens or early twenties. Potiphar’s wife sees this handsome strapping young man and her heart burns with sexual desire for him. She tries to seduce Joseph but each time she does he takes the noble route and turns from her advances. One unfortunate day Joseph and his master’s wife are alone in the house with no one around. She thinks this is her chance but as she grabs Joseph by the cloak he flees. Sadly his cloak is in her hands and she screams rape.

When Potiphar returns home he is confronted with his wife’s allegations against Joseph. Now the Bible describes his reaction … “When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.” Genesis 39:19-20 NIV84. Potiphar was angry, but who was he angry with?

Was he angry at Joseph or was he angry with his wife? Now what you are about to read is only my speculation and not fact, simply some food for thought … I am sure Potiphar knew his wife. This kind of character seems out of sorts for Joseph. But maybe it wasn’t for his wife. However, she is crying rape, there are no witnesses, and there is no proof he can offer so what is he to do? He has the legal ability to have Joseph put to death for such a crime. But he opts to not. He puts him in prison and in such a way that Joseph becomes a high level servant to the chief of the guards. This is all speculation on my part, but maybe Potiphar had reacted out of anger towards his wife for costing him his best servant.

Now I do not know if that conjecture is the realities of history or my optimistic spirit. But I do know that sometimes we are faced with tough decisions in life. Sometimes the best thing to do is to do the very best for the person who wronged us. Certainly teaching and discipline need to happen, but in a way that allows the person who wronged us to benefit and prosper. How can you react different in the future and show grace, mercy, and love to those all around you?

January 24 – Genesis 35-37

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 35-37. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Jacob has returned home. He has been graciously welcomed by his brother whom he stole the birthright and their fathers blessings. He has been blessed with eleven sons and a daughter from two wives and two concubines. Now God is requesting that he return to Bethel the place where he built and altar when God appeared to him in the dream as he was fleeing from his brother.

This is a holy place and he knows that to enter and live there they must purify themselves. They have come from a pagan land. His children have grown up amongst idols of all kinds. Jacob knows their influence has crept into their lives, so before returning he gives this command … “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build and altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:2b-3 NIV84. Jacob knew what they were about to do was holy and that they were to enter a holy place, so he prepared his family for it.

Friends, as Christians we no longer have a holy place. Our church building is not any more holy than our schools, our cars, or our homes. God does not dwell in just one spot like he did during the patriarchal days. Before the Temple of Solomon, the Tabernacle of the wilderness period through King David’s life, and the altars built to God, God did reside in these specific locations. That’s what these altars, the Tabernacle and the Temple all represented … God’s presence. But now God resides within the believer. The temple is now each individual Christian as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 … “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Church, what actions do you need to take in your life to purify yourself before God just as Jacob and his entire household did? They did so when they came near the spot where Jacob had witnessed God. You as a Christian have the Spirit of God residing in you! Think about and pray about what impurities, what gods in your life need to be worked on and removed from being near and in the temple of the one true God.

January 23 - Genesis 32-34

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 32-34. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

As we have read through the story of Abraham, Isaac and now Jacob there has been one theme that keeps rearing its ugly head and it really bothers me. Throughout this story we have seen all sorts of levels of dishonesty. We witnessed when Abraham lied not once but twice about Sarah being his wife. While the lie wasn’t fully true … she was his half-sister having the same father but different mothers … it was still a lie, she was his wife. We see Isaac make a very similar lie telling the same group of people that Rebekah was not his wife. We then see between Rebekah and her sons Esau and Jacob there is dishonesty when she sends Jacob in to receive Esau’s blessing from Isaac. Now today, we conclude our reading with a pact made by Jacob’s sons and the Shechemites.

Now the Schechemites do something very detestable to her … Genesis says he violated her 34:2. At the very best she was a willing partner but because no marriage had taken place he defiled her, and at the very worst … which is the most likely scenario … he raped her. This outraged her brothers. But her brothers did a detestable thing in making a pact with the Schechemites, tricking them into circumcision and then slaughtering them in their pain. I wasn’t there, I only have the benefit of reading about it, but there had to be a better more peaceful way to resolve this issue. At least there had to be an honest way to do so.

Maybe there is something in this I am missing. But let me encourage you … whenever you have been wronged, whenever you are in a tight situation, do not cause God to have to come to your rescue like he has done for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do the noble and right thing from the beginning. And remember, God’s story is full of people who haven’t always gotten it right. He has never hid that from us in his word. It is there bright and loud and he used them through their weaknesses. And he can and will use you despite your weaknesses. 

January 22 – Genesis 30-31

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 30-31. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

What hides in your family tree? Are there things in it that you are not completely proud of? Have people done some pretty detestable things? Affairs, arrests, alcoholism, prostitution, quarrels, murder, jealousy, and so many other things you try hard to forget about? No matter what has been hidden away … I wander if your family tree looks as sordid as Jacobs does?

Yesterday we first encountered the family tree Jacob has birthed. It began with sons born to his first wife Leah. Today we see that the wife he loved, whose womb was closed gives her maidservant to Jacob to give her children. When Leah sees that she is not having kids of her own she gives her own maidservant to Jacob to have children for her. In the heat of this back and forth, Leah turns to selling herself for her husbands affection when she sells to Rachel’s her sons mandrakes. She has more children and then finally Rachel’s womb opens and she has a son.

Friends this is an incredibly sordid family that is beginning. The cat fights and the back and forth would make any polygamist family today embarrassed. But here is the cool thing, no matter how much strife was taking place; God was using it for his kingdom. It is through Jacob that the promise God made to Abraham that his decedents would be numerous really begins to explode. Not only does Jacob’s family explode in number but God blesses him with material wealth. Again this blessing comes through some suspicious means, but God uses it for his purposes.

I do not know what is in your family history or even your own personal history, but remember this, no matter what is there, God’s grace, God’s love, and God’s mercy can and has cleansed you of it. God has a purpose for you. If you have found salvation at baptism, and the Holy Spirit now dwells in you, you have been justified, considered 100% righteous in the eyes of God. If you want a full explanation of that, see this earlier post. God can use you and has plans to use you no matter what guilt you carry around. So remove that guilt and turn towards him a little lighter and follow his lead.

January 21 – Genesis 27-29

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 27-29. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Have you ever seen God? Has he ever spoken to you? I have never talked with or met a person who has actually seen God in person or had an audible conversation with God. But that does not mean his prescience is not seen or his voice not heard. It’s amazing the way God shows himself to us.

Jacob saw God in a way that you and I probably never will until we walk through the gates of heaven. Jacob is on his way to his mother’s family’s house to find a wife when he stops to rest for the night. It is here that he has a dream where the angels of God are ascending and descending heaven on a staircase. At the top of this staircase is God himself who speaks to Jacob and confirms with him that the promise made to Abraham would go through him.

Have you ever had an encounter with God like that? I have not. God has never given me a dream where there is some sort of angelic activity and him speaking directly to me with a perfect vision of himself. But I know God has spoken to me, and it is so amazing when he does.

One day late last spring I was having a horrible day. Two people in our church were struggling over issues with each other and it was getting rough. It broke my heart because of what was going on. It was at this time we were facing a leadership situation and in the midst of it all, I get an email from someone whose heart is breaking for these situations, as well as to inform me of some other issues we were facing. Right in the heat of my own pity party a good friend calls me to see about lunch sometime that week … great reminder whose in control … and he can tell something was not right with me. We schedule a meeting outside of Lebanon so I could openly talk with out anyone overhearing. I get off the phone, finished an email and then headed to Armco Park.

At Armco Park I find my favorite spot where I put in my headphones and spent an hour in worship and prayer. From there I opened up the laptop and done some journaling and letter writing. By the time I was done my entire mood had shifted. I had felt the prescience of God. I heard his voice in my worship, prayer, and time in His Word. The words I wrote were not mine, but God’s himself and I completely knew it. It was amazing to see and feel God speak to me. That night was a wonderful night of relaxation with my family. By the time my friend and I got together I was in a completely different place.

I love the way Jacob responded when he awoke from his sleep. It might have been extreme but it is similar to how I reacted that day. Read these words again … “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16-17 (NIV84) Friends, how awesome the place you encounter God. Treasure that place. Store it close to your heart. Seek times with God where he will speak with you.

January 20 – Genesis 25-26

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 25-26. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Apologies for missing yesterday’s thoughts on the blog. We had a rough previous night with Alivia sick and I simply got out of bed without much time to get ready and leave and failed to write out my thoughts.

Today’s reading reminds me of family. Abraham started out without any children. First his wife Sarah gives her maidservant to have a child with, which he does and Ishmael is born. Then Abraham and Sarah have a child, Isaac. Following Sarah’s death Abraham remarries and six more sons are born. Out of the sons listed one name stands out to me … Midian.

Abraham’s family tree is growing. The son of the promise, born to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, has children with his wife … two sons … Esau and Jacob. Ishmael has sons of his own … twelve to be exact. Esau and his brother have sons themselves. Slowly the promise of decedents as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore is beginning to take place.

For some of these names this is a simple listing, something we normally quickly read over. But if we pay attention to the names, they have some importance later in God’s Story. This is not the last time we encounter the Ishmaelite’s … when Jacob’s sons sell their brother Joseph it is to a group of Ishmaelite’s. When the Israelites return to the promise land, one of the groups they face is the Midianites.

Because of the sin in Abraham’s life, especially sleeping with his maidservant, the consequences are something his decedents have to battle with for years to come. Is there a sin in your life that you have received forgiveness for, but is something you are still dealing with the consequences of? Is there a sin in your life now that you can wipe out so the consequences would not be felt by your family for generations to come? Pray that God would give you the strength to overcome them.

January 17 – Genesis 16-18

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 16-18. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

God has made a promise with Abram that he is going to bless all people on earth through him. Abram’s wife Sarai looks at Abram’s age and her age and realizes that they are both past child bearing years, especially herself, and they have no kids. How is this promise supposed to play out? So they take matters into their own hands and Sarai gives Abram her maidservant Hagar and a child is born.

What I love about this story is the imperfect people God used. We read a list like Hebrews 11 … the great faith chapter of the Bible … and we see a list of people’s triumphs, and we get this idea of how great and “perfect” they were. When we go back and read their actual stories as it played out year by year we see they were flawed people. What I love is God used people just like you and me, people who had flaws.

So what have you done in your life that says you are not good enough … Did you sleep with your wife’s maidservant and get her pregnant? Probably not, but Abram did, and he still became the father of the Israelites … Jesus still comes from his family tree. Did you doubt the voice you heard from God and laugh like Sarah did? She still became the mother of Isaac in her old age. No matter the wrongs you have committed, no matter the pains you bear, God can still use you in a powerful way. His story is full of imperfect people being used by him. Remember, if you belong to Christ, if you have been buried with him in his death and been resurrected with him through baptism, your sins have been forgiven, you are a new creation in Christ, and he has big plans for you.

I think this is best illustrated with the way our reading today concludes. Abraham is talking with God himself represented in the Angel of the Lord. The discussion is about the pending destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is brave before God and request that life be spared for various levels of righteousness. We see that God has compassion, love, mercy, and grace for the people. It shows that his ultimate desire is to see people’s lives saved not destroyed. His desire is for you, that is why he sent his son to die so that mankind could find salvation. Sure he hates evil, but he has paid the price to wipe out evil. He is loving, gracious, and kind. Allow that to work in your life! There is power in grace!

January 16 – Genesis 12-15

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 12-15. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

We are again back in Genesis. When we were last in Genesis we were observing the creation story. We experienced God’s hand in establishing the world. We see an explanation for the fossil record that is in the ground. We understand why the world has many vast and different languages. Today we begin another creation story, but this one doesn’t involve plants, animals, mountains, or any other physical aspects of the world. Creation today comes in the form of salvation.

We experience the call of Abram, better known as Abraham, to be the father of God’s people. God makes a covenant with Abram that if he follows Him all peoples on earth will be blessed through him … Gen. 12:3. We see Abram accept God’s covenant and follow Him completely.

One of the amazing things about the relationship between God and Abram is that God protects the covenant. When Abram lies about Sarai his wife and tells those in Egypt that she is his sister, God protects the covenant … Gen 13. In a similar way Abram honors the covenant himself.

After saving Lot from his capturer’s Melchizedek, king and priest of Salem, offers blessings to Abram. Abram responds … “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me.” Genesis 14:22-24. God protected the covenant with Abram, and Abram honored the covenant by depending on God and God alone.

There is a powerful lesson to learn in this encounter. God has given us the promise of eternal life in His presence. Do we do all we can to protect that covenant? In the way we live, the words we use, the care we take of our bodies, and the love we show others? Do we depend on God for His blessings or do we try to take care of ourselves, to do it on our own? Do we acknowledge that it is God who blesses through the gifts and talents he has given us? If you want a rich full life, then living this way, with the give and take, understanding it is God who leads and guides, you will find it. 

January 3 – Genesis 8 – 11

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 8 – 11. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today’s reading ends the first eleven chapters of Genesis. These eleven chapters are often the most highly debated chapters of the entire Bible. The reason is they tell the creation story. They tell what to many is a fanciful story that could not be true. To many they offer no scientific explanation for the world we see and experience. This is the view that those who doubt the Bible or who interpret it liberally hold.

These chapters tell of creation, long lives, a great flood, and God scrambling languages. In my mind it gives a solid explanation for the world we live in and why it exists as it does. Think about it, an explanation of how this world and all that inhabit it exists because of the creation story. An explanation is given for the death, disease, and destruction we see in our world today … sin. An explanation for the great multitude of fossils we find in the earth can be found in Noah’s flood. I am reminded of what Ken Ham, founder of Answer’s In Genesis and the Creation Museum says about Noah’s Flood … “If Noah’s flood were true you would expect to find millions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth, and what do we actually see in the fossil record? Millions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth!” In these eleven chapters we even find an explanation for the multitude of languages spoken on the earth.

Does it take faith to believe these eleven chapters of Genesis are true? Absolutely! But I would argue it takes just as much faith to believe they are not true and that some other force or course of action took place to arrive at where we are today. So where do you want to place your faith? In a loving God who offers salvation through his son Jesus Christ? In a loving God who does not forget you as he did not forget Noah and his family on the Ark (Genesis 8:1)? Or through random actions that offer no explanation to the meaning of life, why we exist, and what we exist for? I will take the explanation that gives life meaning and purpose.