Psalm 7

Psalm 7:9 O Lord, judge of the nations. Grant me justice, Lord, for I am blameless, free of any guilt.

I guess it's just the mood I woke in this morning, but here again I wonder if this person is truly innocent. Maybe they are, but I know when children try to get out of punishment, they try the put the blame on someone or something else. And even we as adults will do that. But as I remind my child (yes I have two currently, but the baby is still blameless in my eyes), God is watching and He knows what really happened. It usually works to get my 4 year old to be honest. I bet if we adults kept that in the back of our mind, we might be a little more honest also. I know I sure would be. I may need to keep this verse at my desk to remind me not to think I am blameless. 

Psalm 6

Psalm 6:6 For who among the dead remembers you? Who praises you in Sheol?

I don't know why this morning this sentence irks me. This person is asking God to save m from dying by basically saying "you should keep me alive because if I'm dead, I can't praise you." How many times have we gone through life saying "ok God, I will do this if you do this for me"? I know I have many times. And I didn't notice until my child starts using that on me. "Mommy, I can clean me room, then I have cookie?" As if she needed a promise of a reward to do her chores I expected of her. 

Young Christians, although referred to as children in books they mean those who haven't been in th faith long, including adults, often think they deserve a reward for doing what is expected of them in their faith. "If I take the time to go to church, I want ______." Instead they need to be taught that they need to be in church praising God for allowing them to be there, without any earthly reward, because our ultimate reward is Heaven. (I know that this psalmist didn't have the promise of Heaven.)

Psalm 5

Psałm 5:10 For there is no sincerity in the mouths; the hearts are corrupt. Their throats are open graves; on the tongues are subtle lies.

How many times have I said something harsh or told a subtle lie and immediately regretted it? Sometimes you can't take back the pain caused by words. How many more times have I said something and not regretted it, trying to reason with myself that I was correct in what I did? The harm that my words have done to others is dreadful. The saying "words could never hurt me" is wrong. I've seen the look on my child's face when my anger lashes out. I need to control my tongue before it controls me.

Lord please hold my tongue. where I easily get overwhelmed, be by my side to put a hand on my shoulder and calm me down before I lash out at people. Amen. 

Psalm 4

Psalm 4:9 In peace I shall both lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me secure.

God alone is where we should put our trust. Because he alone can fill all our voids. God alone can make us feel secure. People can deceive, stocks can fall, animals can turn wild, but God will still be there for us. 

I'm not saying we shouldn't have faith in humanity. Rather, we need to put our faith in a God, that he will show us the way.

Psalm 3

Psalm 3:5-6 Whenever I cried out to The Lord, I was answered from the holy mountain. Whenever I lay down and slept, The Lord preserved me to rise again.

This person writes of thousands of men who are against him, but he continuously prays to God, and God protects him. 

In our darkest hour, we need to remember God is near. When all hope seems lost, we must turn to God. It would be great if we turned to God in all our good times as well, but we shouldn't think we are ever alone in situations. 

Lord, I pray that you shield me from this who want to harm me. I seek shelter in you. Amen.

Genesis 50

Good morning! We have walked through the entire book of Genesis together! If you haven't read it before, hopefully something was picked up. I had been through it befor years ago. But I am still amazed at all the sin committed by the ancestors of Jesus. 

In the final chapter, Joseph's brothers beg for forgiveness saying their father told them to ask for it. Whether Jacob did or not, Joseph's answer was extraordinary. In verse 19, Joseph said "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?" He is saying only God can make the brothers slaves because of their crimes, that he (Joseph) can not make those decisions. 

This is such a good reminder to us. When people ask our forgiveness, do we stil hold a grudge or judge them unfairly? We need to remember that only God can make final judgement. We cannot make those people "slaves" to workoff their sins against us. Later in the bible, forgiveness is talked about so many times. It is easy to say it, but hard to mean it sometimes. I think if we turn to God and ask him to help us open our heart to forgive, it may be a better ending. We shouldn't do it on our own, He doesn't expect nor want us to. And that goes for everything in our life. We need to remember we are never alone.

Have a great weekend!

Genesis 49

Genesis 49:10

The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the peoples' homage.

This could be telling of the tribe of Judah. The scepter shall never depart from Judah because through this tribe, Jesus comes. How amazing is the blessing bestowed upon Judah!  To be the tribe through which the son of a God is born? He had no idea at the time I'm sure. 

 As Jacob was dying, he fortold the divisions of the 12 tribes. Some were not so pleasant. I wonder what the sons were thinking at that time. He cut Reuben,  Simeon and Levi from any blessing, it was more of a curse. Almost like removing them from a will. 

Lord, I pray that I can always be honest with you, as you know my secrets anyway. I do not want to had any defilement on my heart, any fierce or rage in my soul. Help me to cleanse my spirit so I may  be ready to accept a blessing. Amen. 

Genesis 48

Jacob is dying and he wants to bless Joseph's children. During the blessing, he tells Joseph his children shall be considered that of Jacob, then crosses his hand and gives the blessing to the younger one over the old one. Jacob himself had deceived his own father, taking his older brother's blessing. Maybe this was to repay that? I didn't fully understand the reason given by Jacob. Can anyone give light to this for me? 

Genesis 47

Genesis 47:9 Jacob replied: " The years I have lived as s wayfarer amount to a hundred and thirty five. Few and hard have been these years of my life, and they do not compare with the years that my ancestors lived as wayfarers."

Jacob is acknowledging how his ancestors lived many more years as travelers on the earth. In a way, we are all just wayfarers here on earth. Though maybe not by foot, all our life we are traveling. This is figurative, not literal of course, because some people never leave their hometown. But still we are travelers here on earth until we reach our final destination: Heaven. 

The journey is not an easy one, and will have its hardships. But as long as we have our Bible or even just our faith along on our journey, we will be at ease knowing the twists and turns on the road is worth it. 

Lord, I pray you keep me safe on my journey here on earth. Help me suit up with your armor to protect me from the evil one. Ease my heart so I may always know you are near. Amen. 

Genesis 46

Good morning everyone, I hope y'all had a great weekend.

In this chapter, we see great response to God "Here I am!" Jacob eagerly responded to God's calling. Are we doing the same thing? Or do we hide from God when he calls? I would love to say I always answer him, saying "here I am" but that would be a lie. There are times, like a child, I pretend not to hear him. And then I fear if keep doing that, will I never hear him call me again?

We should always be listening to we can rightly respond. I am the first to say I am needing to work on that. And I think this advent season is a great time to start. I am not sure if how yet, but I will.

Lord, please keep my heart and ears open to always hear your call. Amen.

Genesis 45

Genesis 45:4-5 ...I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypyt. But do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me ahead of you. 

Joseph forgave his brothers for having sold him into Egypt as he ended up being a savior for the land. Just as Jesus forgave us for turning against him and allowing him to be crucified as he was the one sent ahead of us so that we may be saved. 

That kind of forgiveness is powerful. I pray I can be that forgiving when I need to be. 

Genesis 44

In this chapter, Judah again recounts his conversation with his father about bringing Benjamin to Egyot. Again he talks about how Jacob was devastated over the loss of Joseph and would die if he also loss Benjamin. But at no point does it say that they came clean with their father about what really happened to Joseph. I am surprised that their conscious never got the best of them. I know growing up, if I did wrong, I could only hide it so long. Even as an adult, at age 25,  I, who had acheived a post grad degree and had a full time job (was taking care of myself), felt the guilt of the world on my shoulders as I dialed my parents number to call my parents and tell them my fiancé and I were pregnant. 

I don't want my children to ever be fearful of my reaction,  but I want them to grow up knowing that they should come clean if they have done wrong. 

Lord, please continue to guide me as I raise my babies to be Christians for your glory. I am not the best teacher, but you gave me to them for a reason. I ask that you always weigh on their hearts when they have wronged someone so they search for you for forgiveness. Amen, 

Genesis 43

Genesis 43:30 With that, Joseph had to hurry out, for he was so overcome with affection for his brother that he was on the verge of tears.

Joseph had not seen his whole brother Benjamin in years, and he was so happy to see him. In previous chapter Joseph secretly wept as he heard his brothers saying in his native language how they shouldn't have wronged Joseph. Is is possible Joseph has forgiven his brothers for the wrongdoing against him? 

I couldn't imagine being away from my siblings for long. It's hard enough sometimes that it's 3 months been visits because none of us can't take off work to drive the 8 hours to see the other. I know when we song to see each other, we all rejoice, as Joseph is preparing to do when he sees Benjamin. I am always looking forward to the next time I get to see my siblings.

Lord, please keep my travels safe this holiday season as I drive back and forth across states to see my family. Please keep all of our families safe from harm. Amen. 

Genesis 41-42

Good morning! I am so sorry I missed yesterday! Sunday evening, we ENT out to eat, and I got car sickness on top of the pregnancy sickness. So I was having dinner come up all through the night and was nauseated all day yeterday. 

Today is a new day! I feel so much better after getting lots of sleep last night. So here is my recap of yesterday and today's chapters:

41:19-20 So Pharaoh said to Joseph: "Since God has made all this known to you, no one can be as wise and discerning as you are. You will be in charge of my palace..."

Again because Jospeh trusted in God and was faithful to Him in all things, God allowed Jospeh to be able to understand Pharoah's dreams. This in turn allowed Joseph to have his freedom from jail and be an overseer of everything in the palace and the land. 

Joseph could have easily turned from God when he was put in jail. He could have given up hope saying that God had forsaken him, allowing him to be sold into slavery and then thrown into jail. But he didn't! Jospeh continued to pray and thank God every day. As should we. Even in our darkest hours, we need to be thanking God.

42:11, 31: All of us are sons of the same man. We are honest men... But we said to him: We are honest men.

Joseph's brothers trid to explain their situation to Joseph, whom they don't recognize. And they tell him they ar honest men, how they are twelve brothers but one is gone. And then they repeat the story to their father in order to bring Benjamin back with them to Egypt. They watch their father cry about losing his son (Joseph) and them wanting to take Benjamin from them. But again they are "honest" men. I think this would have been a good time to confess what had actually happened to Joseph. And I wonder if that is what Joseph was trying to get them to do in first place. He knew they weren't being honest about the brother they lost. I guess technically they did lose him. 

Lord, please bless my heart so that i may always be gracious for things in my life no matter the circumstances. I pray that I can honest and forthcoming on good days and bad. Please continue to guide me in my child rearing years. Amen

Genesis 40- dreams interpreted

In this chapter, Joseph is still in jail when the royals cup bear and baker end up there. They both have strange dreams on the same night, and Joseph interprets them through God. The dreams are very different and have very different consequences for the two men. 

We all have strange dreams sometimes. I know I have had several moments in life where I have a déjà Vu moment where I know I have been through the situation before, and then I realized I dreamed it. I just didn't remember the dream until it happened. I don't know if I would want someone to interpret my dreams. There are the people who you pay money to who can tell you what your dreams mean, but I mean I don't know if I would want someone who could interpret them through God. Fearful maybe? I like going on through ice without knowing when the happy or sad times are coming. That wy I can't prevent a lesson that needs to be learned. Of course, there is nothing to be prevented for the cup bearer and baker. Their fate was sealed when they were put in jail. 

Genesis 39

Genesis 39:3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and brought him success in whatever he did, he took a liking to Joseph...

Because Joseph was a good man and obeyed God, God looked kindly upon him. He blessed Joseph so that all the things he dealt with in or out of the house flourished. Joseph's master saw how everything Joseph he managed was successful because of God, he let him be in charge of the entire household. 

If people could see how we obey God today, we might find great successes like Joseph. It may not be monetary things or higher statuses, but it shouldn't matter. We should strive to live our life for God like Joseph did. He didn't pretend to live in God in hopes of being successful. He faithfully did because that was what was right. We need to stop putting things in front of God and making excuses for why we can't so things for God and live our lives for him. He is the reason we are here on this earth. He is the reason w are here in this bible study. Stop waiting for tomorrow and live for God today and every day like Joseph did.

Lord, pease open our hearts to you so that we may begin to willingly devote our lives to you every day, not to gain for ourselves but to gain for you. Amen.

Genesis 38

This chapter shows the Lord's anger again as he took the life of two of Judah's sons because they disrespected him. It doesn't say exactly what the first son did, but the second son "spilled his seed" instead of fulfilling his duty. I can understand why he didn't want to have children with his brother's wife, as they wouldn't be considered his, but if in that time that was their job, he failed to do it. I think it is mentioned another time in the bible about the man spilling their seed and disrespectful that is. God meant for husband and wife to have children, and by Onan's actions, a child wouldn't be made. There is a whole soap box that could go on and on with this topic, but I'll just stop with the fact that God took theses men's lives because they didn't obey Him.

Lord, I am grateful that I am still here on earth because I have not always obeyed you. There is a greater purpose for me here and I hope I can live up to your expectations. Amen. 

Genesis 37

We have all had moments (those of us with siblings) in which we wanted to sell them, or lose them, or send them back. But Joseph's brothers actually wanted to kill them. All except Reuben who tried to help Joseph, plotted to kill Joseph because they were jealous of them. Instead, they sold him while he was in a cistern. As their father mourned, did his brothers feel regret? I believe Reuben did, even though he was not part of the act, because he knew what had been plotted. Why didn't he say anything to his father though? Was he scared his brothers would rebel against him, the oldest brother? 

I couldn't imagine losing a child, whether through death or kidnapping. I've watched many families suffer greatly with both. And here, to have had your own children sell your son because they were jealous is wild. 

Lord, please keep our children under your protection. Amen.

Genesis 35 & 36

So sorry I didn't get to these this weekend. With Halloween Friday night, I thought I would sleep in Saturday. But Hunter had other plans. We had a busy day Saturday with a party that night. Then Hunter woke up at 215 spitting up. So yesterday was catching up on sleep. 

Chapter 35 talks of Jacob's journey home, and mentions how his mother's nurse as well as his wife Rachel both died along the way. And when they got back to Mamre, his father Issac died. But at least he got back in time for that. Chpster 36 talks of Esau's descendants. His first wife listed is Adah. Neat.