Genesis 35 and 36
God tells Jacob to return to Bethel where God had met with him when he was reuniting with his brother and was having an anxiety attack over it. (Genesis 28:20-22) Wat was interesting to me was that before going back to Bethel they had to clean their spiritual houses. They collected all the idols the boys had collected. WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH IDOLS?!
It makes me look at my own life and wonder what idols I've collected - how do I get distracted from my devotion to God? Sometimes we all need to go back to where we first connected with God - made our vows and get our spiritual houses back in order again.
Side note - did you catch that Rueben slept with his dad's concubine? ICK. Now fastforward to Genesis 49:3-4.
Psalm 18
Read this psalm and look for the declaration the author makes about faith, his trust in God and his reasons for trusting.
Proverbs 18
Read vs 2,6,7 and 21
For those of us who use a lot of words in our homes and jobs. It should give us cause to think before we speak. Makes me nervous, because I use a lot of words~
John 18
As you read John 18, make a list of all the signs in the chapter that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and was totally in control. For example, Verse 4 says "Jesus fully realize all that was going to happen to him".
After you make the list... answer this question: Why is it important that we know Jesus had full knowledge of what was going to happen? And why does it make his sacrifice even more meaningful?
Hint: John 10:11
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 17 - Week 16 - Merv Miller
Editor's comment: Merv always ends up with the most interesting passages!
Genesis 33-34
So you wake up one morning with a sore hip from wrestling with an angel (use your imagination here) and here comes your brother whom you stole his birthright (Inheritance) from... but from the looks of things his done alright for himself.. he’s got four hundred men and you... well you’ve got your two wives, (let’s hope they are good with sling shots). So the odds don’t look good. Your brother just might take away the birthright (He just may kill you) the only thing that cane save you now is... mercy, forgiveness.
Love, fear, revenge, sex, deception, violence, power... (sounds like 90% of the story line coming out of Hollywood these days) isn’t the Old Testament awesome? Why is it that we are drawn to these stories. It used to disappoint me that these stories are in the Bible at all, a part of our spiritual heritage, but really the Bible is telling like it is, what really happened, and how God worked through people with messed up lives.
Jacob seems to be a man of deception and manipulation. Esau forgave Jacob and wanted to renew their relationship by traveling together and even living in the same area. But Jacob, instead, embraced fear and miss-trust. What a sad way to live.
Even his son’s got caught up in deception, (after all it seemed to work for their father) and they use a most powerful tool, romance, to lure the men of Shechem into a deadly trap.
Psalm 17 is a Psalm of David written before he became King. Most likely when he was fleeing King Saul, who was out to kill him. Here we see a true God-follower who is interested in justice and trusts his God to see his need and protect him. What a contrast from Jacob who lived in fear and whose only way out was deception. Are we observing an evolution of spirituality? Do we see spirituality mature when we read the New Testament?
Proverbs 17
The proverbs(if we let them) show us how to live. We benefit from this wisdom when we apply it. Verse 10, take criticism well and learn form it. Verse 17 ask a brother to help you move. Verse 22 use laughter as a fitness strategy . I can especially relate to Verse 6 as I have just spent 3 hours babysitting my granddaughter. What a joy. And what a joy to observe how loving of a mother my daughter has become.
John 17
This is one awesome chapter, Here Jesus is praying for future believers... he’s praying for you and me.
Vs17 “... teach them your word, which is truth” We can embrace truth where we find it.
Vs 21 “And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” I think Jesus is hoping that followers will be an accurate representation of God and Jesus. So that the world will have idea of the character of God. Our western Christian culture, without doubt, sends mixed message to seekers and the lost.
The chapter ends with the idea that the love of God will indwell future believers. An awesome thought... how’s your love?
Genesis 33-34
So you wake up one morning with a sore hip from wrestling with an angel (use your imagination here) and here comes your brother whom you stole his birthright (Inheritance) from... but from the looks of things his done alright for himself.. he’s got four hundred men and you... well you’ve got your two wives, (let’s hope they are good with sling shots). So the odds don’t look good. Your brother just might take away the birthright (He just may kill you) the only thing that cane save you now is... mercy, forgiveness.
Love, fear, revenge, sex, deception, violence, power... (sounds like 90% of the story line coming out of Hollywood these days) isn’t the Old Testament awesome? Why is it that we are drawn to these stories. It used to disappoint me that these stories are in the Bible at all, a part of our spiritual heritage, but really the Bible is telling like it is, what really happened, and how God worked through people with messed up lives.
Jacob seems to be a man of deception and manipulation. Esau forgave Jacob and wanted to renew their relationship by traveling together and even living in the same area. But Jacob, instead, embraced fear and miss-trust. What a sad way to live.
Even his son’s got caught up in deception, (after all it seemed to work for their father) and they use a most powerful tool, romance, to lure the men of Shechem into a deadly trap.
Psalm 17 is a Psalm of David written before he became King. Most likely when he was fleeing King Saul, who was out to kill him. Here we see a true God-follower who is interested in justice and trusts his God to see his need and protect him. What a contrast from Jacob who lived in fear and whose only way out was deception. Are we observing an evolution of spirituality? Do we see spirituality mature when we read the New Testament?
Proverbs 17
The proverbs(if we let them) show us how to live. We benefit from this wisdom when we apply it. Verse 10, take criticism well and learn form it. Verse 17 ask a brother to help you move. Verse 22 use laughter as a fitness strategy . I can especially relate to Verse 6 as I have just spent 3 hours babysitting my granddaughter. What a joy. And what a joy to observe how loving of a mother my daughter has become.
John 17
This is one awesome chapter, Here Jesus is praying for future believers... he’s praying for you and me.
Vs17 “... teach them your word, which is truth” We can embrace truth where we find it.
Vs 21 “And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” I think Jesus is hoping that followers will be an accurate representation of God and Jesus. So that the world will have idea of the character of God. Our western Christian culture, without doubt, sends mixed message to seekers and the lost.
The chapter ends with the idea that the love of God will indwell future believers. An awesome thought... how’s your love?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
May 10 - Week 15 - Taylor Hays
Genesis chapters 31 & 32
You have heard the saying “What goes around comes around” and it applies well to Jacob’s life. Jacob lived his life by his wits and cunning but he finally met his match in Laban his father-in-law. Jacob thought that getting ahead in life meant outsmarting your opponent. Although he believed God’s promises, his faith was small. In chapter 31 Jacob saw a prime opportunity to escape from Laban’s grasp and he took it. He did this knowing that God had already promised to return him to the land that was promised to him. There was a lot of fallout from Jacob’s decision… his wife Rachel ended up becoming part of the deception and his relationship with his father-in-law was damaged beyond repair. They decided to draw a line in the sand and part ways. We can only wonder what might have happened had Jacob lived by faith and not by sight.
In the concluding verses of Genesis 32 Jacob is finally confronted with a decision about how he was going to live his life… guided by God or by his own will. Everything in his life to this point had been a “wrestling match.” He wrestled with his brother, his father, his wives and his father-in-law. The truth is all his life he had been wrestling with God… resisting God’s guidance by making his own way. On one night he finally met his opponent in the ring… God in the form of “the man.” Although it sounds like the match was a draw, in reality Jacob was hanging on for dear life. He limped away from that fight with a broken body but a spirit that was finally whole. Are you wrestling with God?
Psalm 16
It is hard to say that life is always “good.” When really bad things happen everything can start looking bad. That is why God is a “refuge”… a safe place no matter what is going on. The key word in this Psalm is “always” (v. 8). His refuge extends from birth to beyond the grave and “forever” (v.11). These verses are also looking forward to Jesus death and resurrection (see verse 10). The fact that He lives forever is assurance that we also will live forever with Him.
Proverbs 16
This chapter is packed with famous “words to the wise.” Your mother must have said some of these things to you:
Pride goes before the fall (verse 18).
Man proposes but God disposes (God is in control ultimately- verses 1, 9, and 33).
There is a way that seems right to a man but the end is destruction (verse 25).
My personal favorite is verse 31… I knew there was something good about turning gray!
John 16
Important things are often said as “famous last words.” In this chapter Jesus continues to provide his last words of instruction to his disciples… in just hours he will be facing his crucifixion. Although they do not understand all he is saying (despite the fact that they say “now we understand”), with our perspective today, we do understand.
There were 3 important messages:
1) The Holy Spirit would come and indwell every believer. In this way we are now able to be directly connected to God (see v. 13);
2) All believers now have direct access to God since Jesus has opened the way (see v. 23-24); and
3) Hardship is inevitable, but we will overcome because Jesus has overcome (see v. 33). Because of this we can “take heart” no matter our circumstance.
You have heard the saying “What goes around comes around” and it applies well to Jacob’s life. Jacob lived his life by his wits and cunning but he finally met his match in Laban his father-in-law. Jacob thought that getting ahead in life meant outsmarting your opponent. Although he believed God’s promises, his faith was small. In chapter 31 Jacob saw a prime opportunity to escape from Laban’s grasp and he took it. He did this knowing that God had already promised to return him to the land that was promised to him. There was a lot of fallout from Jacob’s decision… his wife Rachel ended up becoming part of the deception and his relationship with his father-in-law was damaged beyond repair. They decided to draw a line in the sand and part ways. We can only wonder what might have happened had Jacob lived by faith and not by sight.
In the concluding verses of Genesis 32 Jacob is finally confronted with a decision about how he was going to live his life… guided by God or by his own will. Everything in his life to this point had been a “wrestling match.” He wrestled with his brother, his father, his wives and his father-in-law. The truth is all his life he had been wrestling with God… resisting God’s guidance by making his own way. On one night he finally met his opponent in the ring… God in the form of “the man.” Although it sounds like the match was a draw, in reality Jacob was hanging on for dear life. He limped away from that fight with a broken body but a spirit that was finally whole. Are you wrestling with God?
Psalm 16
It is hard to say that life is always “good.” When really bad things happen everything can start looking bad. That is why God is a “refuge”… a safe place no matter what is going on. The key word in this Psalm is “always” (v. 8). His refuge extends from birth to beyond the grave and “forever” (v.11). These verses are also looking forward to Jesus death and resurrection (see verse 10). The fact that He lives forever is assurance that we also will live forever with Him.
Proverbs 16
This chapter is packed with famous “words to the wise.” Your mother must have said some of these things to you:
Pride goes before the fall (verse 18).
Man proposes but God disposes (God is in control ultimately- verses 1, 9, and 33).
There is a way that seems right to a man but the end is destruction (verse 25).
My personal favorite is verse 31… I knew there was something good about turning gray!
John 16
Important things are often said as “famous last words.” In this chapter Jesus continues to provide his last words of instruction to his disciples… in just hours he will be facing his crucifixion. Although they do not understand all he is saying (despite the fact that they say “now we understand”), with our perspective today, we do understand.
There were 3 important messages:
1) The Holy Spirit would come and indwell every believer. In this way we are now able to be directly connected to God (see v. 13);
2) All believers now have direct access to God since Jesus has opened the way (see v. 23-24); and
3) Hardship is inevitable, but we will overcome because Jesus has overcome (see v. 33). Because of this we can “take heart” no matter our circumstance.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May 3 - Week 14 - Doug Weincouff
Genesis 29 & 30
When I read the stories from the Old Testament I am amazed at the straight forward and sometimes messiness of God’s people’s lives. Chapter 29 starts with Jacob being a single guy and by the end at least 10 years have passed and he now has 2 wives and 4 children! By the end of chapter 30 he has 2 wives 2 maidservants, 12 sons and at least 1 daughter!
Now the person that caught my attention from the chapter was Leah. We were told she was not as attractive as her younger sister. Sibling rivalry begins. I wonder how she felt when her Dad tricked Jacob into marrying her. Was she relieve or embarrassed? We know she was miserable because Jacob loved Rachel more. She even hoped that by having children it would change Jacob’s heart. It didn’t. She even gave Jacob her maidservant so she could have more children! It still did not change Jacob’s heart. I see a little of myself in Leah, trying to earn approval. There have been times when I tried to win approval from parents or friends by accomplishments and efforts. Struggling for approval has been around forever. When are you temped to earn approval from others? Why do we tend to seek the approval of man more than the approval of God?
Psalm 15
As I read this Psalm it seems obvious this is early in David’s life pre-Bathsheba. He is passionately pursuing life with God. What would it take for you to be able to pray this psalm?
Proverbs 15
How are Proverbs 15 and James 3 similar? The battle to control our tongue is a daily challenge. As you speak to others today pay special attention to what you say.
John 14
After 3 years the disciples continue to struggle with the teachings of Jesus and understanding their master. The patience of Jesus is comforting to me. As he prepares the disciples for the future he encourages them to stay the course and “obey his teachings” even when it will soon appear that everything went wrong. Often we think of obedience as an act of submission but this chapter clearly frames obedience as an act of love. How is your love life with God?
When I read the stories from the Old Testament I am amazed at the straight forward and sometimes messiness of God’s people’s lives. Chapter 29 starts with Jacob being a single guy and by the end at least 10 years have passed and he now has 2 wives and 4 children! By the end of chapter 30 he has 2 wives 2 maidservants, 12 sons and at least 1 daughter!
Now the person that caught my attention from the chapter was Leah. We were told she was not as attractive as her younger sister. Sibling rivalry begins. I wonder how she felt when her Dad tricked Jacob into marrying her. Was she relieve or embarrassed? We know she was miserable because Jacob loved Rachel more. She even hoped that by having children it would change Jacob’s heart. It didn’t. She even gave Jacob her maidservant so she could have more children! It still did not change Jacob’s heart. I see a little of myself in Leah, trying to earn approval. There have been times when I tried to win approval from parents or friends by accomplishments and efforts. Struggling for approval has been around forever. When are you temped to earn approval from others? Why do we tend to seek the approval of man more than the approval of God?
Psalm 15
As I read this Psalm it seems obvious this is early in David’s life pre-Bathsheba. He is passionately pursuing life with God. What would it take for you to be able to pray this psalm?
Proverbs 15
How are Proverbs 15 and James 3 similar? The battle to control our tongue is a daily challenge. As you speak to others today pay special attention to what you say.
John 14
After 3 years the disciples continue to struggle with the teachings of Jesus and understanding their master. The patience of Jesus is comforting to me. As he prepares the disciples for the future he encourages them to stay the course and “obey his teachings” even when it will soon appear that everything went wrong. Often we think of obedience as an act of submission but this chapter clearly frames obedience as an act of love. How is your love life with God?
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