TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 49-50 & Matthew 25
Old Testament: Genesis 49- Blessed
Genesis 49:22-24
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.
But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), . . .”
As the day of his death rapidly approached, Jacob gathered his children together and spoke regarding what lay ahead. The writer of Hebrews summed up this chapter by saying,
“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.” Hebrews 11:21… Read More
Genesis 50- Meant For Good
Genesis 50:20
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
We have all faced times in our lives when we have looked up from our circumstances and wondered, “How God could truly love me and let me go through this.” If any man had a right to allow his circumstances to call into question the loving-kindness of God, it was Joseph. I can only imagine the horror he must have experienced when his brothers suddenly turned on him and cast him into a pit. That scene must have played over and over in his mind, perhaps even while he slept. That first bitter act put Joseph’s life on a course that would seem to be leading ever downward, from kidnapped… Read More
Matthew 25- Are You Ready?
Matthew 25:13
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Chapter 25 seems to be about being ready. Jesus warns about a final day of reckoning, when the sheep will be separated from goats. To ensure that we are ready for what is coming, Jesus gives two parables. The first explains the need to be born again, the second the need to be busy about the Lord’s… Read More
Jim Gallagher 