Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 14: God Knows

Good afternoon, everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful morning.

We had a Messianic Rabbi come speak at our church today. It was amazing to hear God's Word along with the original Hebrew words and historical & cultural Jewish context.

It was just amazing.

I wish I could add more historical and cultural context to what I'm reading. I think I'll look for a book on that, and perhaps a Hebrew-English dictionary as well.

If I do, I'll include some of what I research with my posts.

So, today I read Genesis 41-42.

It starts with Pharaoh, who has two dreams. And he calls in all the magicians in the land of Egypt, but no one can explain the dream.

Until the cupbearer remembers Joseph.

When Joseph comes before Pharaoh, freshly washed and shaven, Pharaoh tells him the dreams, and asks if Joseph can interpret them.

Joseph once again points the glory back to God.

Genesis 41:15-16 - And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

So Joseph interprets the dreams, which were a warning from God.

7 years of plenty, followed by 7 years of famine in Egypt. Everywhere, actually.

But because of Joseph, whom Pharaoh then places in charge of everything except his own throne, food is stored away during the 7 years of plenty.

God had Joseph right where he needed to be the entire time.

Not a moment of Joseph's life in Egypt was wasted.

From running Potiphar's household, he had experience for running Pharaoh's affairs.

From his time in prison, he had a witness to his interpretation of dreams, a witness who could bring Joseph to the attention of Pharaoh, for whom Joseph would then interpret dreams sent from God.

God knew exactly where Joseph was, and where he needed to be.

So, now, the famine has come upon the land, not just in Egypt, but everywhere.

And Joseph's brothers hear about Egypt's plenty, and come for grain.

When Joseph sees them, he recognizes them, but they don't recognize him.

All of his brothers except Benjamin have traveled to Egypt.

And what happens next is Joseph's plan to get all of his brothers in one place.

After reading it, I also think it was a bit of a practical joke, which brothers sometimes play on one another.

He accuses them of being spies, and since he's such a high-ranking official, they can't dispute it.

Then, he throws them in jail for three days.

Hey, I said a bit of a practical joke.

After the three days, he agrees to send all but one back to their father so they can bring the other brother, the youngest, the actual baby of the family - Benjamin, Joseph's brother by his own mother, Rachel - to Egypt.

So the brothers return, all except for Simeon, who stays in the dungeon.

But Jacob, or Israel, refuses, declaring that if this son is lost to him too, he will die.

Reuben tries to convince his father by offering up his own sons' lives if he fails to protect Benjamin, but Jacob isn't going for it.

At first.

But that's more for next time.

So, in today's reading, we learned that God places us right where we need to be, and if we are faithful and obedient to Him, He will prosper us.

God placed Joseph in an elevated position, over his own brothers, so that Joseph could save the entire land of Egypt, but also his kinsmen.

That's powerful.

Sometimes God places us in a position over other people, sometimes even above our own families. Instead of using it against them, we need to use it to be able to help other people.

But remember that God always places us where we need to be, if only we obey His promptings.

Until next time, when I'll be reading Genesis 43-45.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 13: God Remembers

Hello everyone!

Today I read Genesis 38-40.


Now, last time we left off with Joseph's story, but today's reading begins with Judah, one of Joseph's brothers. Since I actually did a post on part of chapter 38, I won't revisit it. You can read the other post if you want.


The next chapter takes us directly into Joseph's life, where he is serving Potiphar. He has been put in charge of the whole of Potiphar's household, and prospered greatly.

But Potiphar's wife is about to mess it all up. She wants Joseph to sleep with her (and you thought the Bible was boring!) but he refuses.

Several times.

Well, the last time, she grabs onto him, and he escapes, but leaves his coat behind.

These coats keep getting Joseph into trouble.

Potiphar's wife screams and accuses Joseph of trying to attack her. He denies it, but Potiphar is so angered at the thought of the betrayal that he throws Joseph into jail.

Which, as it turns out, is where God needs him right now.

Isn't it amazing how God always puts us where we are needed, even if it's not what we originally planned, or somewhere we would have originally chosen to go?

Joseph is faithful to God and His commands, so Joseph prospers in the jail and is put in charge of the prisoners, where he meets Pharaoh's chief baker and chief cupbearer. 

They have dreams and need an interpreter.

And Joseph says something I really love.

Genesis 40:8 - ..."Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please."

He acknowledges that all of his dream interpreting skills come from God, and then asks them to tell him the dream to see if he can interpret it.

And God gives him the interpretation.

I love reading about the dreams that Joseph interprets. First, they are appealing to my imagination. The visual way they are written down makes my reader's mind happy. Second, they are all powerful dreams. 

Powerful!

Sent from God, so that Joseph could gain favor to get where God needed him to be.

But more on that later.

I encourage you to read all of this for yourselves. I won't write the dreams out here, but they are all worth reading.

Basically, the chief cupbearer's dream means that he will be restored to his former position. But the chief baker's dream means that he will be killed.

And it all comes to pass as Joseph interprets.

Now, Joseph asks for one thing from the cupbearer in return for interpreting the dream, which is to remember him to Pharaoh.

But the cupbearer is so caught up in his happiness that he forgets about Joseph.

But God didn't.

The last verse of chapter 40, verse 23, says Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

And that sentence alone is enough to remind me that God does not forget about us.

Joseph went through a lot, but God was always with him. God used the bad to get Joseph where he needed to be. Joseph didn't go through all the bad things for nothing. God had a plan, and it was not a plan to harm Joseph. Rather, God prospers Joseph.

Joseph never loses heart. He always trusts God. And God rewards his faithfulness.

Sometimes it is difficult to believe that God remembers us. When we are stuck in the "dungeon" of our circumstances, it is easier to believe that God has forgotten about us than to believe that He has a plan even for what we are going through.

But He hasn't forgotten us.

And He has a plan. He always does.

Jeremiah 29:11 says 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'

I love this verse.

Along with this one:

Romans 8:28 - And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

God plans to prosper us, to give us hope, to give us a future. To work even the baddest of bad things out for our good.

And all He asks of us? Love Him. Obey Him. Believe.

God hasn't forgotten you.

God has a plan for your life.

God will use the bad to prepare you for the good.

Trust Him. And don't stop believing.

Until tomorrow, my dear readers! I'll be reading Genesis 41-42.

Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 12: Jacob's Sons

Good evening, everyone! Sorry this post is so late. It has been all go around here today. Busy, busy, busy!

So, I actually did the reading this morning, but I ran out of time to do a blog post. Which means that I had all day to think about what I read. Which I didn't do. As I said, busy busy.

Anyway, today I read Genesis 35-37.

And a lot happens in these chapters.

First, Jacob moves to Bethel, and God officially renames him Israel, and tells him that he will become the father of a great nation.

Which makes sense, because Jacob has a lot of kids. Twelve sons and who knows how many daughters.

That's right. I said twelve sons.

Sons of Leah:

Reuben (firstborn)

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Issachar

Zebulun

Sons of Rachel:

Joseph

Benjamin

Sons of Bilhah (Rachel's maid):

Dan

Naphtali

Sons of Zilpah (Leah's maid):

Gad

Asher

Any of these names sound familiar?

What about Joseph?

See, what happens next is a familiar story to most people.

Joseph has these dreams, visions from God, of the future. Later, we learn that Joseph has also been given the gift from God of interpreting dreams. But we aren't there yet. Right now, he's dreaming the dreams.

So, Joseph tells his brothers about these dreams he has about his brothers bowing to him, where he is in an exalted place above them.

And this makes his brothers very angry.

In fact, it makes most of his brothers angry enough to want to kill him.

If not for Reuben (good ol' Reuben), they might have.

See, this is the part of the story I don't remember. According to Genesis 37:21, "But Reuben heard this [their plot to kill Joseph] and rescue him out of their hands and said, 'Let us not take his life.'"

What I remembered was all of his brothers except Benjamin wanting to kill him. But Reuben, the oldest, voted in favor of his younger brother, his father's favorite.

And what Reuben suggests instead is leaving Joseph in a pit until he could return the beloved son to their father.

Oh, did I mention Joseph is Jacob's favorite? No? Oops. That's pretty important. It's also a reason his brothers dislike him so much. Joseph is Jacob's favorite because he was Rachel's firstborn. Remember? Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, his first wife.

Joseph is so favored by his father, that Jacob gives him a multi-colored (read: valuable) coat.

And so most of his brothers want to kill him. But Reuben talks them out of it. However, before he can rescue Joseph, his brothers sell him into the hands of Midianite traders, who then sell him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's captain of the guard.

And then Joseph's brothers take a torn multi-colored coat, soaked in the blood of a goat, so Jacob believes his favorite son is dead.

It's not looking good for Joseph, is it?

What I love most about the story of Joseph is how we shouldn't lose hope no matter what happens to us.

But we aren't there yet, so today my focus is on Joseph's dreams.

Some dreams don't mean anything. You ate something weird. You watched a movie. You were thinking about people you miss. And your dream reflects that. But some dreams do mean something. And Joseph knew that his dreams meant something.

And his brothers hated him. But he still told them about the dreams.

Sometimes you may have dreams (literal sleeping dreams or something you carry inside your heart) and others may hate you for them or they may make fun of you or try to talk you out of them like you're crazy. But you know what you know, especially if you seek God in all areas of your life.

God will give you dreams. Don't be afraid of them. You don't have to tell everyone you meet, but don't be afraid to tell some people, even if they don't like your dreams.

God turns all things around for us.

Just wait and see what happens to Joseph.

Tomorrow I'll be reading Genesis 38-40.

I hope this encouraged someone today. If it's not encouraging because of what's happening to Joseph, just wait. His story gets a lot better.

Dreams

"Cut not the wings of your dreams, for they are the heartbeat and the freedom of your soul." - Flavia

We are taught to tell God our problems, and to always pray for His will.

The song Caught in the Middle by Casting Crowns says "But would we trade our dreams for His, or are we caught in the middle?"

I don't think it has to be one or the other. There will probably be some compromise, but I don't think we have to give up our dreams in order to serve God. We do need to figure out if, and how our dreams can be used to glorify God. If we can't use our dreams to glorify God, or if we know He is calling us to do something else, then we do have to love God more than the dream.

Want to become a teacher? Do it. Want to travel the world? Do it. Want to start your own business? Do it.

Don't know how? Well, I can't exactly give advice on that. I'm still stuck at my own "how stage." But we can't stay there forever. The how stage is an important part of dreams. It helps us to decide if the dream is one we really want to pursue, or if it isn't plausible. However, we shouldn't stay at the how stage because of fear.

Step 1: Decide what your dream is.
Step 2: Tell God about it.
Step 3: Wait a little while and see if the dream comes back to your memory.
Step 4: Plan for your dream - The how stage

If need be, sell all your things to make it happen, but don't neglect your responsibilities. If you have children or pets, don't neglect your responsibility to them for the sake of your dreams. Most importantly, God should come first, no matter what the dream is. We have to serve God first, wholeheartedly, and then He will help us to succeed.

God promises to take care of us. If we want to do something with our lives, we can't just pray for it, and not take action toward it. We have to work toward it. Make the plans, and do the work, and God will help us to succeed, if we first give ourselves up to His will.
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"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

"Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun" (Psalm 37:4-6).

"But seek first his kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

Declaration Four

The point of the 8 Declarations is that we have to be careful of our words and speak only ones that bring life.

Declaration 4: I declare that it is not too late to accomplish everything God has put in my heart.

"As long as you're alive, it's not too late," was one of the comments made about this declaration. If we are living and breathing, there is still time to accomplish what God has put us here to do.

I am just discovering the truth of this. I had so many things in my heart that I felt were "conditional" on certain things. God has recently pointed out that I can do them without the "conditions" I had placed on them if I let go of my fear, and just take the risk. I'm still working through some of this, but I know for sure now that it is never too late to start a new venture God has placed in your heart.

Philippians 4:13, KJV - I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me.

Matthew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

So, take the leap of faith. God has placed us here for a purpose. We are here to be servants of God and to shine for Him so that others may come to know His glory. The way we accomplish this could vary. God knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our desires, and our dreams and wants us to use them to glorify Him. We don't all have to be preachers behind a pulpit, but we can use the talents He has given us to reach out to people, to spread the Word of God, even if we aren't called to preach.

Declare first that you will serve God; follow through on this promise. Then, make the first 4 declarations. Speak these things aloud so that it will travel from your lips to God's ear.