January 25th readings
~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Genesis 50:1 - Exodus 2:10 ~ Matthew 16:13-17:9
Psalm 21:1-13 ~ Proverbs 5:1-6
Old Testament - Today we finish up Genesis and begin Exodus! In Genesis chapter 50 verses 19 & 20 jumped out at me as Joseph spoke to his brothers - ""Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people." Again, I am impressed with Joseph's character here. His brothers seemed to think that Joseph hadn't really forgiven them, and that he was waiting to get back at them after their father had passed away. But, I think we see here that Joseph had truly forgiven his brothers! It was water under the bridge. And not only had Joseph forgiven them, but he saw the power of how God turned something bad into something incredibly good. I wonder about this in our lives today - do we truly forgive other people like Joseph forgave his brothers? Or, do we maybe hold some piece of unforgiveness within us? Maybe we keep bringing up the wrong that somebody did to us? Maybe we do this to make them feel a bit guilty from time to time? Should we instead fully forgive and fully move forward?
One interesting side note in this chapter 50 was the embalming of Jacob & Joseph. I read that this was an Egyptian custom - not a Hebrew custom. And that Jacob & Joseph were likely being respectful of the Egyptian customs of the day. The Egyptians believed in an afterlife - and believed that the embalming allowed the deceased to utilize their body in the afterlife.
Bible.org commentary on Genesis chapter 50 is at this link.
Exodus! Okay, I really should not confess this publicly... but I have known for the past few days that the book of Exodus has been coming up in our readings. And I've been really excited about it... and I love music generally speaking.... and so... I have been singing the Bob Marley song "Exodus!" in my mind to myself over the past few days quite joyously. I know, I know, this is a strange behavior. I'll work on it! "Whoa-oooo Exodus! Movement of the People!" :)
An introduction to the book of Exodus is at this link, and an argument of the book of Exodus is at this link.
In Exodus chapter 1 verse 12 was awesome - "But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more quickly the Israelites multiplied!" It's amazing how when God wants people to flourish, they flourish! Even in the midst of oppression. This verse kind of reminds me of the flourishing of churches over the centuries and even today where the body of Christ is still often oppressed. It flourishes! Praise God for flourishing his people then - and now!
Bible.org's commentary on Exodus chapter 1 is at this link.
In Exodus chapter 2 we are first introduced to Moses! The author of this book of Exodus - along w/ the overall first 5 books of the Old Testament - also known as the Pentateuch or the Torah or the Law.
New Testament - In Matthew chapter 16 we read about Peter’s confession of Christ. In verse 15 we hear Jesus ask ““But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” And then in verse 16 Peter replies – “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is a question that is asked of each of us today as well. Who do you say that Jesus is? Is your answer the same answer as Peter’s?
I love verse 18 - "Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." Praise God for Jesus instituting his church! And all of the powers of hell will not conquer Jesus' church! Do you praise Jesus regularly for the church you attend? Do you pray for the ministry of your church regularly? Do you pray for your pastors? Do you pray for others in your church? Do you pray for those that will soon be coming to attend your church? I have to say... I absolutely love my church. Those that know me well know that I love a lot of different churches! :) I've had a hard time staying put at one church - much less one denomination. I just love seeing Jesus glorified and worshiped and being taught at so many different churches that I visit. I honestly cannot imagine what my life would be like without the church. I met Jesus in the current church I attend about 4 and a half years ago. And Jesus changed my life forever. Thank God for the church! (I know, I know, some churches have some issues to say the least - but I honestly do believe that we are called to be in community with others in a church - and that you really can find a great church if you search a bit. Trust me, they are out there! If you are not currently attending church - maybe because of bad experiences you had at another church in the past, will you pray about this with Jesus? Will you try to attend a different church again soon? I know it will bless you immensely when you find or are called to the right church for you...)
Verses 24 - 26 are so powerful today - ""If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Wow... there is so much going on in these verses... I pray they speak to you powerfully as well? Do you want to follow Jesus? Will you put aside your selfish ambition? Will you shoulder your cross? Do you know what your cross is? Are you trying to "keep your life" in any area of your life? Or, will you give up all of your life - every area - to Jesus so that you will find true life? Is there indeed anything that this world has to offer that is worth more than your soul?
Psalms - Psalm 21 today follows up Psalm 20 from yesterday - yesterday's being a prayer for victory for the king as he goes out to battle - and today's being a psalm of praise for victories granted to the king.
Proverbs chapter 5 verse 6 jumps out at me - "For she does not care about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn't even realize where it leads." For some reason this year, as we've been going through the One Year Bible, the idea of "paths" keeps jumping out at me over and over again. Every time we read about paths now in the Bible, it jumps out at me. And here it does again. The idea of paths in the Bible seems to clearly indicate that there are good paths - straight paths - paths through the narrow gate - paths of life - that we can choose to take. Or... there are crooked trails. Or we take our eyes off the path. Or we stumble on the path. How about for you? What type of path do you think you are on these days? Is it a straight path? Are you keeping your eyes straight ahead on the path and focused on the prize? Will you pray to Jesus regularly to keep you on the straight path? Will you allow God's Word, the Bible, be a lamp unto your feet on the path that you walk?
What verses or insights jumped out for you in today's readings? Please post up in the Comments section below! Grace,
Mike
Thanks for this resource, Mike. The church small group I'm in has decided that we need to be accountable for being in the Word every day and the one-year bible is an excellent way to do it. I've been following along with you for a week now, and I love it: I read it on my laptop before I even get out of bed.
As for paths, it reminds me of two things. The first is a book by Steve Farrar called "Gettin' There: How a Man Finds His Way on the Trail of Life" and he noticed the same thing you did about all the paths (trails) in the scripture. This book focuses on the Psalms.
The second thing is your question of how I am doing on my path. I think I see it as I mostly am going straight, but occasionally start to veer off to the side. Thankfully, I have those grooved bumps on the sides that give me a wake-up call when I get too close to falling off the road into the dirt. Those "bumps" are my friends from the church and my family, whom I trust to keep me accountable.
I've learned over the years that I can't trust myself to keep myself accountable. The more I walk with God each day the easier it gets because I can see his blessings, but I still need other people to know that they can say, "Should you really be doing that?" and I have to let them without becoming defensive. We aren't on this journey alone.
Thanks again for this resource. I appreciate it.
Posted by:Ian Roberts | January 25, 2005 at 12:38 PM
Speaking of paths........ I know that if I take my eyes off the Lord for even a second, and begin to focus on circumstances that I am headed for big trouble. It is when I am centered on the Lord, through His Word, and in prayer that I am at my best.
He promised to be our Light, and I believe with all my heart that He is the way, the truth and the life.
As long as my eyes are on Him, then my path is clear. : )
Blessings.
Posted by:Amber | January 25, 2005 at 02:32 PM
Mike, i love the idea about paths. Maybe jungle paths or battle paths or beating a well worn path 9trodden by saints who came before us). It's all about seeing God build his church and leading us in ways that are complementary and for his glory!
I also think that we need to be careful that we don't take this to mean that there is just one path for us - and if we "miss it" we are in trouble for the rest of our lives... I think God gives us generic guidance in the bible as to good paths for a Christian, and also gives us individual guidance for our own path: but this too has breadth and he is gracious when we take our time getting where he wants us to be!
Posted by:rob | January 25, 2005 at 04:02 PM
Mike:
Thanks for your daily posts. I've been browsing them for several weeks now.
Everybody:
Here are some of my questions and thoughts on today's reading.
In Exodus 1:8-14, why does God bring hardship on the same people he previously blessed so richly? Is it because His plans include both providence beyond measure and hardship? It seems the two are brothers. God uses both through scripture and history quite a bit. He shows Himself mighty through both - an incredible and worthy God!
The Lord is teaching me the difference between right/wrong and holy/evil. God blesses those that fear him - even if they lie in honoring him. What? It seems crazy. Look at Ex. 1:17-20. The midwives didn't kill the boys because they feared God, but they lied when questioned saying that they weren't there when the babies were born. God responded by dealing well with them and blessed them because they feared Him (despite the fact that they lied). God seems more interested in the holy/evil aspect than the rght/wrong aspect. This isn't liberty to go around lying or cheating for God, but it definitely makes you think. He knows our hearts. WOW!! It reminds me of how Jesus responded when he was questioned about performing miracles on the Sabbath. He sought what was HOLY.
(There was another instance in the Old Testament where a woman lied and then God blessed a woman because she feared him. I cannot find where I read this story. Please help me if you know what story I am referring to. She llied to the authorities about seeing ______ (God's servant) when the authorites came to her house looking for him. Thanks for your help.)
In the NT readings:
Matthew 17: I wander what Jesus, Moses and Elijah talked about.
I wander why Jesus met with them. Did he do it for Moses and Elijah? Did Jesus do it because he wanted visit with them? I visited the mountain where it is believed this took place while in Israel this October.
Go here to see my photo of it:
http://student.acu.edu/~bkl00a/shelyeshua/day4/source/eddsc_1980.html
To see other photos from my time in Israel go to:
http://www.shelyeshua.com
Today's reading in Proverbs reminded me how crucial it is to see with spiritual eyes and not trust mere externals. After reading Pr. 5: 4-6, the sweet lips and smooth words in v. 3 are no longer appealing. Without knowing the truth, many people are decieved by mere externals. That is why seeing how God sees is crucial. We tend to naturally only see with our physical eyes. Jesus saw with spiritual eyes while others around him saw only mere externals. (In yesterday's reading he spoke of what really defiles a person. It't not anything external or physical. Mt. 15:10-20)
God is good and his words are true and upright. It is good to seek him together.
Posted by:Brady | January 25, 2005 at 05:54 PM
Mike,
I absolutely love my church too. I don't go from church to church. I stay put. The church I am in I immerse myself into servanthood.
You had asked..."Do you praise Jesus regularly for the church you attend? Do you pray for the ministry of your church regularly? Do you pray for your pastors? Do you pray for others in your church? Do you pray for those that will soon be coming to attend your church?" And YES!!! I do. Everyday.
Not only that, I also pray that everyone in the city I live has the chance and oppurtunity and ability to hear the message before they pass on.
Not only that I also put myself out there available for service. I Know that God is going to do some awesome things not only in my city but also the world so I pray that God will give me the privilege of allowing me to get in on some of what He is doing.
And I pray that not only the churches in my area but ALL churches and their members plant and water the seeds and then let God create the growth.
God Bless
Posted by:BJ Hewitt | January 25, 2005 at 06:10 PM
I will not be doing my usual long post today because I’m a little bit tired and I’m taking a break but I want to address Brady’s questions, at least some of them.
Regarding people who lie: God doesn’t use perfect people, give Him praise for that, He uses willing people. This walk is a progressive walk it is not instantaneous as per the passage we read in Proverbs on Sunday, 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Why did Jesus meet with Moses and Elijah on the mountain? Jesus represented the culmination of the Law, Moses, and was the fulfillment what the prophets proclaimed, Elijah During the Passover Seder a chair is left empty which is Elijah’s chair, and there is an invitation for Elijah to come through the door and sit at the Seder table. In Jewish tradition the coming of Elijah preceded the coming of Messiah. Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. Another way to look at this is in understanding that God always confirms his Word, and that Word is Jesus, which is confirmed by Moses and Elijah.
Sorry this is not my usual post; I had a three-hour commute getting home. Hopefully I’ll incorporate today’s readings with what I post tomorrow.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
Posted by:Ramona | January 25, 2005 at 11:35 PM