Daily 19 Bible Readings – Genesis 39: 21-23 (ESV)

Genesis 38 & 39, Matthew 13: 36-58, Psalm 15

Genesis 39: 21-23 (ESV)

“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.”

At the end of Genesis 39, Joseph was bought Pontiphar as a slave. Joseph did a great job, which was appreciated by his owner. He was then thrown in prison after he was falsely accused of trying to seduce the Pontiphar’s wife. But God did not abandon Joseph when it seemed like he was at his lowest point after being thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit. In verses 21 through 23, the keeper of the prisoner put Joseph in charge of the prisoners. And again, because God was with him Joseph also did very well while in prison.

We need to always remember that if we have favor with God and he had a plan for our life, God will never abandon us. Even it seems like we are off God’s plan and we find ourselves in what seems to be the worst circumstances, God is always with us. No matter what our circumstances, if God is with us he willshow us favor so we will always succeed no matter where find ourselves in life.

Day 18 Bible Readings – Genesis 37: 19-20 (ESV)

Genesis 36 & 37, Matthew 13: 18-35, Psalm 14

Genesis 37: 19-20 (ESV)

“They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”  

In verses 19 and 20 from Genesis 37, Joseph’s brothers wanted to cause harm to him because of his dreams. Since Joseph’s dreams were a prophetic revelation from God, Joseph’s brothers were trying to defeat God’s words and plans for all of their lives. But despite their evil act, God turned what they did for the good to fulfill his plan. If God has a plan for our lives nothing can defeat God’s plans. God will turn any act to ruin his plan to his own advantage, so his prophetic words for our lives are fulfilled. So if we receive a prophecy of God’s plan for us, we should have confidence that God’s plan for us will always come to past no matter what anyone does or what we ourselves do to prevent God’s plan from becoming fulfilled.

Day 17 Bible Readings for January 18, 2025 - Matthew 13: 3-8 (ESV)

Genesis 34 & 35, Matthew 12: 46-50, Matthew 13: 1-17, Psalm 13

Matthew 13: 3-8 (ESV)

“And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

I am starting to have a new appreciation for the parable of the sower from verses 3 through 8 from Matthew 13. Even though I consider myself a person of faith, sometimes the word of God falls on me and I do not absorb it like good soil. Sometimes I listen to the words of God and it’s like I don’t hear it and I feel like my stress and worries have devoured them. At other times, I do listen to the word of God but they do not really take root in my life. I remember the words of God for a week, but the day to day concerns of life comes up and they scorch them and I forget what I’ve heard and the words of God die inside of me. At rare times, I hear the words of God and they conflict so much with something inside of that the words are choked by the thorns inside me. Finally, sometimes I hear the words of God and immediately they take root and become part of my life and grow abundantly inside of me because they fell on good soil. I think what I need to do to improve the good soil inside of me is too analyze why the words of God do not take root and grow. Once I find out the “root cause”, I will ask the Holy Spirit for help to make all of me good soil so the words of God will fall on me and always take root and grow.

Day 16 Bible Readings – Genesis 32: 24-25 (ESV)

Genesis 32 & 33, Matthew 12: 22-45, Psalm 12

Genesis 32: 24-25 (ESV)

“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.”

I love verses 24 and 25 from Genesis 32. God appeared to Jacob as a man and wrestled with him. Many Bible commentaries on this verse have said that God wrestled with Jacob to take his self-reliance and his scheming. I have never had the physical experience of wrestling with God, but I think sometimes God does wrestle with me in my mind when he wants me to behave better. And like Jacob I fight with God. I hate being told what to do and I know that God is often trying to get me to give up my self-reliance. I don’t scheme like Jacob, but I constantly have doubts about my faith. I know when God does win my life turns out so much better. I am improving, but the wrestling with God still goes on, and thankfully they are now short and God always wins.