January 18
January 18
One Year Bible Readings:
Genesis 37:1-38:30
Matthew 12:22-45
Psalm 16:1-11
Proverbs 3:27-32
Supplemental Reading For The One Year Bible
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog
Genesis:
Today in Genesis chapter 37 we begin the incredible last portion of the book of Genesis where we read about Joseph! This portion of the story that starts in today's readings will carry us through the rest of the book of Genesis and will set the stage for the exodus from Egypt. In chapter 37 today we read about Joseph's dreams and how these dreams make his brothers jealous. A couple of things came to mind to me today as reading through this. First is that it is clear that God does some communicating through dreams in the Old Testament. We've already seen this in our previous readings - via a dream Abimelech had or a dream Laban had. And here we see some powerful prophetic dreams that Joseph has. Actually, while I am on this topic of dreams, let me share this. I did used to have nightmares periodically. However, when I started reading the One Year Bible each night before going to bed a few years ago the nightmares basically went away. Seriously. I honestly believe because of the Light & life-giving power of the Word of God that the nightmares went away. Just a little testimony here for you on the power of reading the Bible each day. It is spiritual food and nourishment and protection for you in ways that you may not consciously realize. For me, there has been maybe a time or two in recent years where a nightmare has still come to fruition - and I don't remember the details of the nightmares, but somehow I know that in the midst of my dream I called out the name of Jesus and the nightmare stopped immediately! I am not kidding. I don't know how I got myself to call out Jesus' name in the nightmare, but I am so thankful that I did! Maybe this is something that prayer brings - or maybe this is something that happens when we really understand and believe in the all-powerful name of Jesus? If you suffer from nightmares, my two prescriptions are to 1. read the Bible before going to bed, 2. somehow someway say the name of Jesus in your nightmare. Pray about this before you go to bed. Maybe this will help you do this in your dream. I hope so!
Q: My first question I had was whether Joseph should have shared these dreams with his family? And I asked this question because I wonder if sometimes we also maybe get an insight or what we believe to be a word from God - and if we should share these things with others? Or keep them between God and ourselves? The other thing that came to mind for me here is what role do dreams play for us today? Does God still communicate to people via dreams today?
Genesis chapter 38 brings us the story of Judah and Tamar. Keep in mind that Judah, Tamar, and Perez from this chapter are all part of the genealogy of King David and Jesus as we recently read in Matthew chapter 1 verse 3: "Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron." Verse 24 stood out to me in this chapter as sad irony: "About three months later, word reached Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant as a result of prostitution. "Bring her out and burn her!" Judah shouted." This verse reminded me quite a bit of a recent teaching we read about from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 verse 3: "“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Q: How in our lives are we too are sometimes like Judah? Do we sometimes condemn others for sins that we ourselves commit too? Even if we don't commit the same sin as someone else, should we instead leave the judging and condemning to God?
Today in Genesis chapter 37 we read about Joseph in Potiphar's house! Verse 5 stood out to me in this chapter: "From the day Joseph was put in charge, the LORD began to bless Potiphar for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished." I found it fascinating that God was blessing Potiphar for Joseph's sake. It reminded me of God blessing Laban for Jacob's sake earlier in Genesis.
Q: Today, how does God today continue to bless others around those who love God? Do you think God intervenes and blesses our work lives? Do you pray about your work life regularly? Do you think God blesses your work life? And like Joseph, does God maybe bless those around you, even if they aren't necessarily in relationship with God? And maybe does He do this for your sake?
Verses 8 & 9 also stood out to me in today's readings, demonstrating Joseph's strong moral integrity when being approached by Potiphar's wife: "But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."" I admire this so much. Joseph was gaining more and more favor with Potiphar and more and more "power" so to speak. And here we see a situation where Joseph could have abused his favor and power. But he did not. He stood strong with his moral convictions. And I wonder about this in our lives.
Q: As we maybe gain more and more favor in our work or personal or ministry lives, do we also gain more and more "power" so to speak? And when this happens, do the temptations maybe even somehow seem to get bigger and bigger and our opportunity to abuse our favor or power get easier and easier? And in light of all this, will we stand strong by our moral convictions? Will we realize, like Joseph, that our favor or power only comes from God - and it can be taken away in an instant if we sin against God?
Matthew:
Jesus' teaching in Matthew Chapter 12 verse 30 stood out to me in today's readings: "Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me." This is a really really powerful verse if you think about it.
Q: And I think we then need to ask ourselves - are we really helping Jesus? How are we really working with Jesus? How are we really being obedient to Jesus' teachings for our life? Are there times in our lives when we are actually working against Him?
Jesus' teaching on the sign of Jonah in this chapter is awesome! In verse 40 Jesus prophesies His death, burial and resurrection: "For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." And then the following verse is just so powerful and convicting: "The people of Nineveh will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here--and you refuse to repent."
Q: In what ways is Jesus greater than Jonah? And greater than Solomon? (as we read in verse 42) How has understanding Jesus' teachings led you to repent in your life?
Psalm:
Today we read Psalm 16, which I absolutely love! I could probably share with you some thoughts on just about every verse in this Psalm. Verse 1 tells us: "Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge."
Q: When has God kept you safe when you’ve come to Him for refuge?
And verse 2 is so true: "I said to the LORD, "You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you."" Everything good thing in our life - absolutely everything good thing in our life - comes from God.
Q: How have you experienced this? Verse 3 reminds me to rejoice for and pray for our pastors and spiritual mentors: "The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!" Q: How do you appreciate your pastors / ministers / priests and spiritual mentors? How do you appreciate other godly people you know too? Are they true heroes? Do you pray for these folks regularly?
Proverbs:
Today we read Proverbs chapter 3 verses 27 and 28: "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you.""
Q: How often do we say to ourselves when we think about serving the poor – "oh, I'll maybe do that in the future." Is this similar to saying "come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you" as this Proverb tells us? Can you help your neighbor now? Do you regularly volunteer with ministries or nonprofits that serve the poor? Do you consistently give offerings of your finances to ministries and/or nonprofits that serve the poor? Are the poor your neighbor? Should you be helping them today? Is it in your power to do so?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
One Year Bible Readings:
Genesis 37:1-38:30
Matthew 12:22-45
Psalm 16:1-11
Proverbs 3:27-32
Supplemental Reading For The One Year Bible
The following are excerpts from Mike’s One Year Bible Blog
Genesis:
Today in Genesis chapter 37 we begin the incredible last portion of the book of Genesis where we read about Joseph! This portion of the story that starts in today's readings will carry us through the rest of the book of Genesis and will set the stage for the exodus from Egypt. In chapter 37 today we read about Joseph's dreams and how these dreams make his brothers jealous. A couple of things came to mind to me today as reading through this. First is that it is clear that God does some communicating through dreams in the Old Testament. We've already seen this in our previous readings - via a dream Abimelech had or a dream Laban had. And here we see some powerful prophetic dreams that Joseph has. Actually, while I am on this topic of dreams, let me share this. I did used to have nightmares periodically. However, when I started reading the One Year Bible each night before going to bed a few years ago the nightmares basically went away. Seriously. I honestly believe because of the Light & life-giving power of the Word of God that the nightmares went away. Just a little testimony here for you on the power of reading the Bible each day. It is spiritual food and nourishment and protection for you in ways that you may not consciously realize. For me, there has been maybe a time or two in recent years where a nightmare has still come to fruition - and I don't remember the details of the nightmares, but somehow I know that in the midst of my dream I called out the name of Jesus and the nightmare stopped immediately! I am not kidding. I don't know how I got myself to call out Jesus' name in the nightmare, but I am so thankful that I did! Maybe this is something that prayer brings - or maybe this is something that happens when we really understand and believe in the all-powerful name of Jesus? If you suffer from nightmares, my two prescriptions are to 1. read the Bible before going to bed, 2. somehow someway say the name of Jesus in your nightmare. Pray about this before you go to bed. Maybe this will help you do this in your dream. I hope so!
Q: My first question I had was whether Joseph should have shared these dreams with his family? And I asked this question because I wonder if sometimes we also maybe get an insight or what we believe to be a word from God - and if we should share these things with others? Or keep them between God and ourselves? The other thing that came to mind for me here is what role do dreams play for us today? Does God still communicate to people via dreams today?
Genesis chapter 38 brings us the story of Judah and Tamar. Keep in mind that Judah, Tamar, and Perez from this chapter are all part of the genealogy of King David and Jesus as we recently read in Matthew chapter 1 verse 3: "Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron." Verse 24 stood out to me in this chapter as sad irony: "About three months later, word reached Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant as a result of prostitution. "Bring her out and burn her!" Judah shouted." This verse reminded me quite a bit of a recent teaching we read about from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 verse 3: "“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Q: How in our lives are we too are sometimes like Judah? Do we sometimes condemn others for sins that we ourselves commit too? Even if we don't commit the same sin as someone else, should we instead leave the judging and condemning to God?
Today in Genesis chapter 37 we read about Joseph in Potiphar's house! Verse 5 stood out to me in this chapter: "From the day Joseph was put in charge, the LORD began to bless Potiphar for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished." I found it fascinating that God was blessing Potiphar for Joseph's sake. It reminded me of God blessing Laban for Jacob's sake earlier in Genesis.
Q: Today, how does God today continue to bless others around those who love God? Do you think God intervenes and blesses our work lives? Do you pray about your work life regularly? Do you think God blesses your work life? And like Joseph, does God maybe bless those around you, even if they aren't necessarily in relationship with God? And maybe does He do this for your sake?
Verses 8 & 9 also stood out to me in today's readings, demonstrating Joseph's strong moral integrity when being approached by Potiphar's wife: "But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."" I admire this so much. Joseph was gaining more and more favor with Potiphar and more and more "power" so to speak. And here we see a situation where Joseph could have abused his favor and power. But he did not. He stood strong with his moral convictions. And I wonder about this in our lives.
Q: As we maybe gain more and more favor in our work or personal or ministry lives, do we also gain more and more "power" so to speak? And when this happens, do the temptations maybe even somehow seem to get bigger and bigger and our opportunity to abuse our favor or power get easier and easier? And in light of all this, will we stand strong by our moral convictions? Will we realize, like Joseph, that our favor or power only comes from God - and it can be taken away in an instant if we sin against God?
Matthew:
Jesus' teaching in Matthew Chapter 12 verse 30 stood out to me in today's readings: "Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me." This is a really really powerful verse if you think about it.
Q: And I think we then need to ask ourselves - are we really helping Jesus? How are we really working with Jesus? How are we really being obedient to Jesus' teachings for our life? Are there times in our lives when we are actually working against Him?
Jesus' teaching on the sign of Jonah in this chapter is awesome! In verse 40 Jesus prophesies His death, burial and resurrection: "For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." And then the following verse is just so powerful and convicting: "The people of Nineveh will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here--and you refuse to repent."
Q: In what ways is Jesus greater than Jonah? And greater than Solomon? (as we read in verse 42) How has understanding Jesus' teachings led you to repent in your life?
Psalm:
Today we read Psalm 16, which I absolutely love! I could probably share with you some thoughts on just about every verse in this Psalm. Verse 1 tells us: "Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge."
Q: When has God kept you safe when you’ve come to Him for refuge?
And verse 2 is so true: "I said to the LORD, "You are my Master! All the good things I have are from you."" Everything good thing in our life - absolutely everything good thing in our life - comes from God.
Q: How have you experienced this? Verse 3 reminds me to rejoice for and pray for our pastors and spiritual mentors: "The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!" Q: How do you appreciate your pastors / ministers / priests and spiritual mentors? How do you appreciate other godly people you know too? Are they true heroes? Do you pray for these folks regularly?
Proverbs:
Today we read Proverbs chapter 3 verses 27 and 28: "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you.""
Q: How often do we say to ourselves when we think about serving the poor – "oh, I'll maybe do that in the future." Is this similar to saying "come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you" as this Proverb tells us? Can you help your neighbor now? Do you regularly volunteer with ministries or nonprofits that serve the poor? Do you consistently give offerings of your finances to ministries and/or nonprofits that serve the poor? Are the poor your neighbor? Should you be helping them today? Is it in your power to do so?
Copyright © 2004-2012 One Year Bible Blog
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