Wrapping Up Genesis

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Did you ever think you could read through a whole book of the Bible? We did it! Oh, I hope some of my readers are going along side of me in my journey through God’s word! (please post a comment and let me know if you are!)

Genesis-a book of beginnings. A wild beginning at that. Think about the richness of the chapters in this book and all of the various people who were a part of the beginning. It is so important to keep in mind that these were real people; not just characters in a story. They had real lives, real troubles and real encounters with the Lord. For most of the main people in Genesis, God spoke to them audibly-how cool is that! But, it is also important to remember that these people were not perfect. Think back at all of the interesting mishaps along the way:

Forbidden fruit was eaten
A brother killed by his flesh and blood
A flood wiped out the earth
THREE women gave their maidservants to their husbands
one brother was ditched by his other brothers and sent to Egypt
the list goes on…

Though these events are not pretty to us and make us cringe, the are certainly NOT pretty to God either. Yet, He still loved them, forgave them, and used them to further His purpose. God also brought good things from bad situations as I wrote about yesterday.

As I move on to Exodus, I am reminded that every book of the Bible is important. God has something for each of us in His word. It might take time to read it and comprehend it, but through diligence and prayer, we all can have the awesome experience of knowing God’s Word-the Bread of Life.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (New International Version)
16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Isn’t it stunning to think that the very Bible that we have in our hands is breathed out by the God of the universe. The very God that made heaven and earth, yet wants to speak directly to you and me. Please know that EVERY word of this book is from God. It might be written by man, but God put the exact words in their heart to write. It is infallible, it is accurate and it is TRUTH. We have the truth right at our finger tips. Please don’t miss a single word of it!

Genesis 40-48, He makes the bad into good

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These last few days have been busy so I haven’t been able to post my thoughts on Genesis. But, don’t worry, I have still been reading my chapters, have you?

So we are wrapping up the story of Joseph, his brothers and their forays in Egypt. You will recall that Joseph was treated horribly by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. This is where God shows that He can take a bad situation and make it into good: Joseph found favor with the Pharaoh and obtained a high position in his court. Wouldn’t that surprise his brothers, they thought he would end up as a slave somewhere! But, even though the brothers were being evil, God again took a bad situation and made it into a good situation: when Joseph’s family was effected by the famine they found their way into Egypt. Low and behold, Joseph was the one who helped them out and the Pharaoh gave permission to move the entire family into Egypt so they wouldn’t go hungry.

Do you see the trend here in this story? The fact is, we live in a fallen world full of sinners. Bad things just happen. Good employees lose their jobs, hurricanes strike fragile land, car accidents injure entire families. This is not a pleasant topic, but it is the reality of the world we live in. Thanks to Adam and Eve, we are all sinners and treat each other badly like Joseph’s brothers treated him.

Here’s the good news! God knows each and every one of our situations intimately. He knows what is going on in our life and nothing surprises Him in the least. Just like He took Joseph’s situation and turned it around in Joseph’s favor, He is in total control of your situation too. So, we can’t loose heart, we must trust God and His sovereignty.

Romans 8:28 (English Standard Version)
28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose.

Loving God means trusting Him in every situation. We must not waiver in our trust when things in our life go south. This is a sign of true spiritual maturity when you can praise God for His goodness when life itself doesn’t seem very good.

LIVE IT OUT! application:
Make a commitment today to trust God in EVERY situation. How does the verse in Romans encourage you in this step of faith?

Genesis 37-39; God with Us

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Today’s reading is Genesis chapter 37-39. The majority of this passage is about Joseph who just happens to be the favorite son of Jacob. You might imagine that this made his brothers very jealous which lead them to dump Joseph in a ditch. Luckily some travelers pulled him out and sold him to an Egyptian officer.

What is so cool about Joseph is that he was such a great guy that the Egyptian, Potipher, put Joseph in charge of his estate. In fact, it is said 3 times in chapter 39 that the LORD was with Joseph and this brought favor upon him.

God was with Joseph. Hmmm… ring a bell…?

How about the angel telling Mary that her son would be Emmanuel, “God with Us.”
I just love that name of God. Something about it just makes me all warm and fuzzy. The very idea that the creator of the universe, the very ONE who builds up kings and tears them down, the Alpha and Omega is also WITH each and every one of us.

Some people, even Christians, ignore this fact. This seems crazy to me. When you have God with you, you have access to all kinds of wonderful things like peace, love, power, joy, patience and on and on. Those people are just missing out on all the fun. They might even miss out on some success; like the success that Joseph enjoyed because the LORD was with him.

LIVE IT OUT! application:
What kinds of things do you enjoy because the LORD is with you? Thank Him for being a God who cares enough about you to be with you!