Day 21 Bible Reading

Genesis 41 & 42, Matthew 14: 22-36, Matthew 15: 1-9, Psalm 12

Matthew 14: 29-31

“He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”’

These verses from Matthew 14 remind me so much of my own journey with Christ. There have been so many times where I feel like God has asked me to trust him as a demonstration of my faith. And I have tried to do that, and so many, many times, I felt afraid and it felt like I was sinking. And then something happened which saved me, and it felt like Christ was reaching out his hand to me and saying the exact words he said to Peter. Except unlike Peter, my experience wasn’t as dramatic as his out on the sea of Galilee. Peter had to experience it once, whereas I’ve had this experience many, many times. And after all these years, I still have doubts even though I have so much evidence that God never breaks his promises to me. And maybe it’s because when God did fulfill his promise, it didn’t happen in exactly the way I wanted it to happen, didn’t happen like the picture I had in my head. But God always came through with his promise, and it was much later in hindsight that I realized his way was the best way for the thing to happen.

Day 20 Bible Reading

Genesis 40, Matthew 14: 1-21, Proverbs 2: 12-22

Matthew 14: 17-21 (ESV)

“They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

I love this story from Matthew 14 where Jesus feeds the crowd with five loaves and two fish. This miracle shows his power, and I think also shows his compassion for the crowd that had gathered to hear and see him. When we think of Christ we remember his miracles, but we should also think about how much he cared for the wellbeing of the people who were so eager to hear his words. Christ will do miraculous things in our lives, but he will also make sure that all our basic needs are met for food and shelter. God is a miracle worker for everything in our lives.

Day 19 Bible Reading

Genesis 38 & 39, Matthew 13: 36-68, Psalm 11

Genesis 39: 20-23 (ESV)

“And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”

Verses 20-23 from Genesis 39 shows that if God favors you, you will succeed no matter where you go. Poor Joseph! It seems as if he had no luck when he got thrown into prison on false charges. But even in prison, Joseph did well. He was put in charge of all the prisoners. And if you know the story of Joseph, this was all part of God’s plan. How many times have I been upset that I had bad luck and thought in that instant, God was not looking out for me. But in hindsight, the bad luck ended up being a good thing. When I moved and changed jobs, I made a financial decision to take my money out of an investment because I wanted to manage the money myself. It was the right thing to do because of the move, but if I hadn’t moved I would have left the money in that investment. A year later that investment fund went belly-up, and if I hadn’t taken my money out because of the move I would have lost a very large amount of money. So what I thought was bad luck turned out to be the best thing in the world for me financially. So the move in many ways turned out to be the best thing for me in more ways than one. God always seems to have a plan for our lives that works out for the best, even when we can see only see in in hindsight.

Day 18 Bible Reading – skipped a day. This was supposed to have been posted on January 20, but I fell asleep.

Genesis 36 & 37, Matthew 13: 18-35, Psalm 10: 12-18

Matthew 13: 31-32 (ESV)

“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.””

I love the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13: 31-32. If you’ve ever held a mustard seed in your hand, you know how small it is. It’s so hard to believe that this tiny seed will go into a tree. I discovered on YouTube last year a channel called WorshipMob. I believe they call themselves “Jesu Co”. This group of various worship leaders from different churches in the Colorado Springs Colorado area. All of the singers are amazing worship leaders. The musicians are excellent as well. I love this song they do on the parable of the mustard seed.