TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 1-2 & Matthew 26
Old Testament: Exodus 1- Help!

Exodus 1:14
“And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage . . .”

The conditions of life were growing worse and worse for the people of God living in Egypt. They had once been a highly favored part of the nation, even receiving special… Read More

Exodus 2- Baby In The Basket

Exodus 2:3
“But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.”

The book of Exodus begins with a love story. A young man and a young woman meet, fall in love, marry and have … Read More

Matthew 26- Fear Of The Lord

Matthew 26:5
“But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.’”

Matthew 26 and 27 record the final events in the life of Jesus. The hostility toward … Read More

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… 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… 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… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 47-48 & Matthew 24
Old Testament: Genesis 47- Association

Genesis 47:6
“The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

Jacob and his eleven sons were given the best that Egypt had to offer. While the Egyptians suffered under the famine… Read More

Genesis 48- Reflection

Genesis 48:15-16
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil…”

… Read More

Matthew 24- Hope In God

Matthew 24:3
“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Psalmist, in a time of great despair, wrote, “Why are you cast down oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil? Hope in… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 45-46 & Matthew 23
Old Testament: Genesis 45- Perspective

Genesis 45:7
“And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”

Everyone of us has had the experience of being mistreated. For most, it has been … Read More

Genesis 46- Egypt

Genesis 46:3
“So He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.’”

Egypt has already played an interesting role in the narrative… Read More

Matthew 23- He Wants You

Matthew 23:27
“How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…”

Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that they would comprehend the love of God which he described as beyond our ability to understand.

That you “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…” Ephesians 3:19… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 43-44 & Matthew 22
Old Testament: Genesis 43- Don’t Wait

Genesis 43:10
“For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

We have no way of knowing how long Simeon remained incarcerated in… Read More

Genesis 44- That’s Heavy Man

Genesis 44:16
“Then Judah said, ‘What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.’”

Guilt is a powerful emotion, and very effective motivator. We can all think of times when we have been “guilted” into doing something we did not want … Read More

Matthew 22- Who’s Image Is This

Matthew 22:20 ”
“And He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’”

As the cross approaches, so does the opposition to Jesus. The religious leaders are desperately trying to turn the people against Jesus. In this case, they sent the young Pharisees, and the Herodians, a political sect that favored the Jews being… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 41-42 & Matthew 21
Old Testament: Genesis 41- Prepare For The Future

Genesis 41:28
“This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.”

On a night that probably started out like every other night, Pharaoh’s life was suddenly interrupted by… Read More

Genesis 42- For Me Or Against Me

Genesis 42:36
“And Jacob their father said to them, ‘You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.’”

Sometimes perspective is reality. How we see things will determine how we act. Jacob had experienced a series of very difficult trials. He lost… Read More

New Testament: Matthew- Rejected Stone

Matthew 21:42
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Jesus told a story that the original audience understood to be speaking… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 39-40 & Matthew 20
Old Testament: Genesis 39- Overcoming Obstacles

Genesis 39:9
“…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Joseph faced a temptation that many would have succumbed to, yet he resisted, even when it cost him his job, reputation and freedom. There were many factors that could have… Read More

 

Genesis 40- Eyes Wide Open

Genesis 40:6-7
“And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’”

We cannot be sure how much time Joseph spent in prison. We know it would… Read More

 

New Testament: Matthew 20- Many Are Called

Matthew 20:16
“For many are called, but few chosen.”

This verse is the conclusion of a parable Jesus spoke regarding God’s reward system. All those who responded to the offer of the vineyard owner received the same wage, whether they worked for a few hours or for the entire day. What a beautiful picture… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 37-38 & Matthew 19
Old Testament: Genesis 37- Such Comfort

Genesis 37:35
“And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’  Thus his father wept for him.”

Dealing with the death of a  … Read More

 

Genesis 38- Busted

Genesis 38:24
“And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, ‘Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.’ So Judah said, ‘Bring her out and let her be burned!’”

Our sin always looks worse on someone … Read More

New Testament: Matthew 19- Thoughts On Marriage

Matthew 19:4-6
“He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’ … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 35-36 & Matthew 18
Old Testament: Genesis 35- Go Back

Genesis 35:1, 2
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’ And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.’”… Read More

New Testament: Matthew 18- Let It G0

Matthew 18:21
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’”

I think Peter had a little more insight into the mind of God than he gets credit for. In the passage leading up to this, Jesus spoke regarding confronting those who are in sin. He spoke of going to a sinning brother, bringing … Read More

Genesis 36:2
“Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan…”

Esau was the son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob. His life is a study of contrasts. He was an incredibly successful business man, the founder of a nation and upon the return of Jacob from Haran, Esau even serves as a beautiful picture of forgiveness. On the other hand we read that Esau was a secularist who gave little thought to how his decisions would affect eternity; when he was younger he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup and later lost his inheritance to a conniving brother. Perhaps the greatest illustration of his temporal mindedness was in his choice of a bride. Ignoring the warnings of his parents, he chose a wife from among the canaanites whose lives were diametrically opposed to the worldview of Abraham and Isaac.

Sadly, Esau is not alone in this decision. Many people have made very poor relationship decisions driven by loneliness, low self worth, fear of never being loved by another or in some cases simply settling for the first person who shows interest in them. None of these are wise ways to select a suitable marriage partner. Instead we must learn to wait upon the Lord, “fish in the right pond” and allow God to make us into a person who would be a suitable spouse.

Don’t let loneliness or hopelessness drive you to search in the wrong places for someone to spend your life with.

Pastor Jim