Read Genesis 46:5 through 48:22 The time had finally come. After years of separation, Joseph would finally see his father, Jacob. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time (Genesis 46:29). Joseph stood before his father, having seen God’s vision fulfilled. This scene of restoration is only one …
Worried? Stop, Breathe, Pray
Read Genesis 31:1 through 32:32 News of Esau’s pending arrival terrified Jacob, and with good cause. Jacob had stolen his brother’s blessing by deception and trickery. Esau had sworn to kill him. Twenty years later, Jacob worried that his brother was still seeking revenge. After all, why would Esau be approaching with four hundred men? Jacob strategized to protect his …
Worthy of the Kingdom
Read Matthew 1:1 through 4:25 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:8–9). John the Baptist showed his repentance by living a life worthy of God. He did not rely …
A New Year
Read Revelation 21:1–27 Another year is about to come to a close. Has it been a good year for you, or one you are glad to see end? Sadly, we often wish our life away. Things will be better, we tell ourselves, when the children are in school, the mortgage on the house is paid in full, or the long-awaited …
A Royal Crossroads
Read Haggai 1:1 through 2:23 Have you ever felt like you were running hard but getting nowhere? Zerubbabel probably felt that way. He was governor in Jerusalem over the first wave of returnees from the Babylonian captivity. A rush of excitement had initiated the rebuilding of the temple, but opposition, economics, and fatigue had caused a halt to the construction. …
Bring Hope into Despair
Read Ezekiel 39:1 through 40:49 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile . . . (Ezekiel 40:1). It is easy to miss the important message hidden in this verse. God’s prophet was not exempt from the devastation that brought Israel to its knees and led them into captivity. I’d like to believe God’s children will escape the judgment He sends …
A Lesson in Humility
Read Ezekiel 29:1 through 32:32 Swelled with pride. A legend in his own mind. Too big for his britches. All these phrases describe Pharaoh Hophra, who had allowed his personal successes to go to his head (Ezekiel 29:3). Along the way, the pharaoh had mistakenly decided that he was the reason for his own success, that he was the reason …
Out of Darkness
Read Ezekiel 4:1 through 11:25 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land’” (Ezekiel 8:12). The elders of Israel pretended to worship God, …
The Source of Hope
Read Lamentations 1:1 through 5:22 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope . . . The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him (Lamentations 3:21,25). In boxing terms, the people were down for the count. But they were far from out. In the middle of this series …
Speak Up!
Read Jeremiah 38:1 through 40:16 Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city” (Jeremiah 38:8,9). Upon hearing …