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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 43-45
Is he playing with them or is he testing them? I think a little of both.
In either case, Joseph really has his brothers squirming, doesn’t he? He keeps putting money in the bags of the brothers, then his silver cup, causing great fear to come upon them. But it becomes more than he can stand.
As Joseph reveals his true identity, you can almost feel the astonishment of his brothers – and of the Egyptians who are serving in the house.
So what started out as the most devastating circumstances for Joseph, and his father, turn out gloriously. The Pharoah hears of it and showers the family with gifts. The best land in Egypt will be theirs, if they move over. He also provides carts to bring the entourage, ten donkeys loaded with the best goods of Egypt, and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father’s journey.
Talk about “paid moving expenses!” This Pharoah obviously loves Joseph! (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 39-40
I have probably heard more sermons about Joseph than any other Old Testament figure. His story can only bring hope to any who are believing God for great things, and having to wait awhile before they come to pass. There are many lessons we could learn from Joseph.
The dreams he had from God showed his brothers – and even his parents – bowing before him. Yet almost immediately, it seems, his life takes a turn south. First his brothers sell him into slavery. And then, if that isn’t bad enough, Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses him, and he lands in prison.
Would you have given up? Would you have said by that time, “I guess those dreams weren’t from God?” Would you have been mad at God for allowing those incidents to take place? Many people would have done all those things after going through Joseph’s experiences.
Not Joseph! He obviously remains faithful to God and trusting in His mercy. There is no account of Joseph feeling sorry for himself. Instead, everywhere he is placed, God’s favor is upon him. That favor blesses every place he goes, and causes him to be promoted to the top job.
God had a big plan, and Joseph was to be part of it. The devil stirred up the brothers and he stirred up Potiphar’s wife, not knowing that everything he did to hurt Joseph ended up being for his good.
Psalm 105:19 says about Joseph, “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”
Anytime there is a word from God, the enemy tries to steal it. So Joseph gets tested by the word. Yet the devil is constantly playing into God’s hands.
In fact, God wanted Abraham’s family to become cohesive as a nation, so His plan is to take them to a place where they can grow in unity. The devil does that for Him. Then we know that Joseph is to become a ruler in Egypt, but he needs administrative training first. So the devil provides that also. He learns to administrate in Potiphar’s house and in the prison. He also needs to understand the customs of egypt. What better place to learn those than in a house of a high official? Done!
This should be a lesson for our lives. We may have heard from God about some tremendous things He wants to accomplish, yet all we see is doom and gloom. Look around and you might see some attributes you are developing in the meantime. (If nothing else, you might be gaining some humility)! If we stay faithful to Him, we will see His promises fulfilled.
It’s obvious that Joseph remains full of faith. At the very end of these adversities, as he is interpreting dreams, he gives God all of the credit.
He’s ready now for the really big promotion. Are you?
Matthew 12:22-50
Jesus is having to get tough with these Pharisees. Their hearts are very hard – like rock. So He’s having to do what Jeremiah talks about. He’s having to use a Word which will break a rock in pieces.
These leaders want the status quo to continue. They’re enjoying their roles as “big shots,” and they don’t want to be pushed out of their place by this “new doctrine.”
Jesus doesn’t give them what they want; He gives them what they need. If there is any hope for these guys, it’s going to be contained in a hard-heart-breaking word. It’s His love which provides them with that Word. Tough love. Hopefully some of them are listening.
In verses 33-37, Jesus gets back to words again. He takes it deeper than we have heard so far. He says that “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure, brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil.” So we see that the way to change the words is to change the heart. We have to keep our hearts pure to do this thing right.
Then he goes on to say that “By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.” And that even “idle words” count!
When we first learn about the significance of words, it’s easy to think that we can make “official statements” that count and then blast off in “off the record” statements which don’t count. But Jesus says that it all counts. Even idle words. We have to guard our tongues.
Yikes! You mean that all of that grumbling I’ve been doing when by myself and to my family counts? Yes, it counts!
If we want to live our lives for God with the greatest potential possible, we are going to have to guard our tongues. It’s a necessary part of God’s plan.
Words are powerful, and we need to use them wisely.
Blessings,
Suellen Estes
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I hope you are enjoying your reading as much as I am. Every time we read the Bible we find something new, don’t we?
Genesis 36-38
The whole 36th chapter names the descendants of Esau. He took a turn from Jacob. Esau married wives from the inhabitants of the land and mixed with many foreign gods. (Lower case “g” intended). These aren’t “children of the promise,” but later as we see kings rise up against Israel, we will be able to trace some back to here.
I think it’s significant that three times in this chapter it says, “Esau was Edom.” (vs. 1,8,and 19). Later when we encounter the Edomites, we’ll remember where they came from.
I’m sure that all of us have Joseph on our favorites list. He is the epitome of someone who has a dream or prophecy from God, and has to wait a long time for its fulfillment.
There are lots of teachings which incorporate Joseph’s life. I think that one of the major ones is that God gave Joseph the dreams at the beginning – before he was to go through horrific trials.
I’m sure that there will be many times when those dreams keep Joseph hopeful – and on track, as his life takes such a down turn. When we leave him, he has been sold into slavery to Potiphar, the captain of Pharoah’s guard. That’s hardly what he saw in his dream, is it?
Matthew 12:1-21
Jesus has an interesting way of dealing with people. He is tough on the leaders, but very gentle on the others. We begin to see this in chapter 12.
The religious leadersof the day are arrogant and full of pride. They see their leadership roles as ones of prestige, and they expect people to hold them in high esteem because of their position.
At the same time, they are not deserving of that esteem, because they are hard task masters for the people. They hold rigidly to what they believe to be the “Law of Moses” and use that Law to intimidate and abuse their constituents.
Jesus, on the other hand, introduces them to the long-forgotten concept, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
When the law is held higher than God’s people, skewed thinking always follows. When the disciples eat some grain from the field on Sunday, the Sabbath law, and not their need, is what the Pharisees think about. When Jesus heals on the Sabbath, the same happens.
Can you imagine that these leaders, instead of rejoicing over a precious man’s withered hand being healed are concerned about it being done on the Sabbath? I’m sure that in our time, such attitudes prevail from time to time.
To understand the dilemma Jesus faces here, we need to understand what the Law is all about. The Law was created for man, and not vice versa. What do I mean? When men have no standards at all, anything goes. “If it feels good, do it.”
Under that attitude, people are always hurt. When selfishness prevails, there is murder, rape, incest, abuse, stealing, you name it. It’s all there.
The Law of God was introduced to lead people to know that they needed to honor only the One true God, and that they needed to treat others well. Love God and love others.
When the spirit of the law is there, there’s clarity. When the letter of the law is there, there’s hardness and harm.
When people truly worship God, they know that He wants others healed and whole. These people rejoice with a man whose hand is healed – whenever it is.
That’s why Jesus continually says, “I desire mercy (or compassion) and not sacrifice.”(Hosea 6:6)
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 33-35
Throughout God’s dealings with His covenant people, we see flip-flopping extremes. From time to time, the people are setting up altars and showing themselves honorable, and the next thing we know, there’s violence and bloodshed.
These chapters certainly exemplify this trend. Jacob, very concerned about his reconnection with Esau, plans his approach very carefully. When things go well, he builds an altar to God as thanksgiving.
Next thing you know, Jacob’s daughter gets raped, and two of his sons trick the local clan into weakening themselves through circumcision, so they can slaughter every male. Not exactly the best way to win friends in the new territory.
Back to God. As Jacob approaches Bethel, where he had wrestled with the angel, he encounters God again – with another promise that God will continue to bless him and his lineage.
We have a long suffering Heavenly Father. As we proceed through these chapters, there will be times when we can’t imagine how God could bless such a raucous bunch of people.
Then we realize that He is dealing with us in this day and age. He blesses us – many times in spite of ourselves. He picks us up, dusts us off, and tells us to go again, and try to do better next time.
Matthew 11
I think there is a powerful lesson in the first part of chapter 11. John the Baptist had baptised Jesus and recognized Him as the Lamb of God. But now, as John is in prison, he begins to doubt.
That’s the way we can be sometimes. We may hear God’s voice so clearly giving us direction. We know that we know that He has spoken to us. Then when circumstances arise which look differently, we need more confirmation. We begin to doubt.
So John sends to Jesus a question. “Are you the One or do we look for another?”
Notice how Jesus answers. He could have easily said, “Yes. I am the One.” But he doesn’t do that. Instead He answers with scripture.
He says “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raise, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” All of these are prophecies which appeared in Isaiah when he was speaking of the Messiah to come. (Is. 29:18; 35:5,6; 61:1; and 8:14) Jesus knows that John the Baptist is familiar with the prophecy. He is saying, “Yes, John. All of these prophecies are being fulfilled.”
I use this same principle when I am asking the Lord for confirmation. I ask for scripture. It’s amazing how much faith is generated when He answers with the Word.
Verses 28-30 are some of my favorite verses. Jesus speaks of His yoke, which is not burdensome.
When we are yoked to Jesus, He is the load-puller. We are just along for the ride, so to speak. He is the One with the power and strength.
There have been times during my walk with the Lord when extremely troublesome issues have come up. During those times, I have seen myself gathering the problem into a net – much like a fisherman’s net and handing it to the Lord.
Every time I hand it to Him, an unspeakable peace comes upon me – even when a storm is raging around. He will then give direction – say this; do that. I am working with Him, but Jesus is the burden-bearer. I am yoked to Him, and He is carrying the load.
Blessings and be sure to let Him carry your load!
Suellen Estes
![Read The Bible Through, Day 18]()
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 31,32
It’s amazing how many of our familiar Bible stories are in Genesis. The stories today we learned as a child. Yet as always, the simple stories have more meaning as we discern beyond the surface.
Do you remember how God gave Abraham a visual of the stars and the dust of the ground so that his faith would increase for his inheritance? Well, we see here that He does the same for Jacob.
Jacob is getting ready to leave Laban and return to Canaan. He has worked for Laban now for twenty years, and Laban’s flocks have been blessed because of God’s man being there. Now Jacob asks Laban to give him all of the spotted and speckled goats and sheep. And Laban agrees.
So Jacob peels tree limbs in stripes and puts them before the animals’ water troughs. The visual causes the goats and sheep to produce spotted and speckled offspring, so that Jacob’s flocks increase tremendously. I think that the visual is for Jacob, and not the animals. As Jacob looks at the striped and speckled tree limbs, his faith is increased tremendously, and his faith produces.
Is there something you are believing God for? Family? Provision? Health? As you are praying, keep your eyes focused on where you are going and not where you are, and your faith will be increased also. What we see greatly affects our belief system.If it takes looking at a picture, then do it.
So Jacob, his two wives, and all of his entourage start the journey back to Canaan. He first makes a pact with Laban; now he is approaching Esau. This is the big one. This is the brother whose birthright he stole, so Jacob is very afraid.
As he plans his approach, Jacob has an interesting encounter with an angel. He wrestles with the angel, and won’t let him go until this angel has blessed him.
I think of this as the Old Testament version of “ask, seek, and knock.” The Lord says that everyone who keeps on asking, seeking, and knocking will receive from the Lord. That’s what we see Jacob doing here. He is determined to receive the Lord’s blessing and won’t let go until he does.
While many others may have been casual about the blessing of the Lord, we see here a man who strives for it. He obviously considers God’s blessing to be something of great value. As a result, he gets what he is striving for.
Do you honor God’s blessing, or are you casual about it? Is His blessing something that you diligently seek? God is still looking for people who greatly honor that blessing. And He is still blessing those who do!
Matthew 10:21-42
Jesus is continuing to instruct His disciples for their mission. They are to represent Him as they go out.
He introduces some deeper concepts than we have encountered thus far. He says that there will be persecution as they go. Even close family members will turn on the disciples and attempt to bring them harm.
So what does He mean? Of course, we see in some places around the world where Christians are persecuted violently – even killed because of their beliefs.
Yet anywhere we live, when we are following Jesus closely, there will be persecution. Maybe not death, but other forms of persecution. Open your eyes and you will see that when evil is trying to prevail, Christians are always the ones taking the brunt of the campaign.
Why is that? It’s because hovering over our world is a spiritual world which tries to control things. That spiritual world is led by the devil and his demonic forces, in a war with God. They speak to people who will listen, and their entire purpose is to overthrow God and His Kingdom. So Jesus and His followers are His aim. They try to twist everything that God says and to mock His believers.
Yet God’s Kingdom is the one which will win in the long run. When thoughts come to you not to believe God and His Word, don’t listen. In fact, speak to the thoughts out loud and tell them that you believe God and all that he says. You belong to Him, and Him alone. You will not listen to voices which come against your Father in Heaven.
Heavy stuff, huh? It is heavy, but it’s important that we understand what’s going on. Only then are we able to discern good and evil, and to overcome.
So may the overcomer in you be blessed today!
Suellen Estes
