by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Exodus 14, 15
The Israelites cross the Red Sea in a triumphant way. Just as they approach the sea, Pharoah decides to chase them and take them back to Egypt.
As we will see many times, when things are not looking great, Moses gets the blame. “Why did you bring us out to die?”
Moses remains steadfast in faith, but he gets it wrong in one aspect. He is wanting everyone to stand still and let God “do something.” But God has another plan. He says, “Why are you crying out to Me? Stretch out your rod and go forward.”
Now we have to realize that “forward,” meant walking into a giant sea – they would drown under normal circumstances. But God wanted a demonstration of faith, and He also wanted to show a principle. (more…)
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Exodus 7-11
Plagues, plagues, and more plagues.
During our reading throughout these chapters and as we continue on through the next phase, it’s important to remember what God is doing. He has a long-term goal which is the most important goal in the history of the earth. The goal is to bring a Savior to mankind, and to reclaim all of mankind who would receive Him.
Just think, if God were to beam a Savior down from Heaven, He wouldn’t be recognized. He would be seen as a majician, and very few would receive Him as Savior.
So God had to prepare a people who could carry the truths He would bring. Those people would then be prepared to understand the Savior when he finally came. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Exodus 1-3
Anyone who thinks that God is not involved in earthly affairs, just hasn’t read the Bible.
Another hero enters the scene: Moses. From the time of his birth, it was obvious that God’s hand was upon him. To think that this Hebrew child was protected by Pharoah’s daughter herself and brought up in a palace! And that his own mother was brought in to be his nurse. Wow, God can really do it right, can’t He?
Once again we see that God’s plan takes time to develop. Moses has been protected and brought up with great care and discipline, but he has arrogance. So it’s 40 years on the backside of the desert for him.
Discipline and wisdom will be required for this man to lead millions of unruly Jews out of Egypt, across the desert to the promised land. He has to develop all of that. After 40 years, when he is 80, and just happy being a farmer, the Lord shows up calling him into service. He’s ready now. He doesn’t think he can do it. He will have to rely upon God. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Genesis 39-40
I have probably heard more sermons about Joseph than any other Old Testament figure. His story can only bring hope to any who are believing God for great things, and having to wait awhile before they come to pass. There are many lessons we could learn from Joseph.
The dreams he had from God showed his brothers – and even his parents – bowing before him. Yet almost immediately, it seems, his life takes a turn south. First his brothers sell him into slavery. And then, if that isn’t bad enough, Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses him, and he lands in prison.
Would you have given up? Would you have said by that time, “I guess those dreams weren’t from God?” Would you have been mad at God for allowing those incidents to take place? Many people would have done all those things after going through Joseph’s experiences.
Not Joseph! He obviously remains faithful to God and trusting in His mercy. There is no account of Joseph feeling sorry for himself. Instead, everywhere he is placed, God’s favor is upon him. That favor blesses every place he goes, and causes him to be promoted to the top job.
God had a big plan, and Joseph was to be part of it. The devil stirred up the brothers and he stirred up Potiphar’s wife, not knowing that everything he did to hurt Joseph ended up being for his good.
Psalm 105:19 says about Joseph, “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”
Anytime there is a word from God, the enemy tries to steal it. So Joseph gets tested by the word. Yet the devil is constantly playing into God’s hands.
In fact, God wanted Abraham’s family to become cohesive as a nation, so His plan is to take them to a place where they can grow in unity. The devil does that for Him. Then we know that Joseph is to become a ruler in Egypt, but he needs administrative training first. So the devil provides that also. He learns to administrate in Potiphar’s house and in the prison. He also needs to understand the customs of egypt. What better place to learn those than in a house of a high official? Done!
This should be a lesson for our lives. We may have heard from God about some tremendous things He wants to accomplish, yet all we see is doom and gloom. Look around and you might see some attributes you are developing in the meantime. (If nothing else, you might be gaining some humility)! If we stay faithful to Him, we will see His promises fulfilled.
It’s obvious that Joseph remains full of faith. At the very end of these adversities, as he is interpreting dreams, he gives God all of the credit.
He’s ready now for the really big promotion. Are you?
Matthew 12:22-50
Jesus is having to get tough with these Pharisees. Their hearts are very hard – like rock. So He’s having to do what Jeremiah talks about. He’s having to use a Word which will break a rock in pieces.
These leaders want the status quo to continue. They’re enjoying their roles as “big shots,” and they don’t want to be pushed out of their place by this “new doctrine.”
Jesus doesn’t give them what they want; He gives them what they need. If there is any hope for these guys, it’s going to be contained in a hard-heart-breaking word. It’s His love which provides them with that Word. Tough love. Hopefully some of them are listening.
In verses 33-37, Jesus gets back to words again. He takes it deeper than we have heard so far. He says that “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure, brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil.” So we see that the way to change the words is to change the heart. We have to keep our hearts pure to do this thing right.
Then he goes on to say that “By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.” And that even “idle words” count!
When we first learn about the significance of words, it’s easy to think that we can make “official statements” that count and then blast off in “off the record” statements which don’t count. But Jesus says that it all counts. Even idle words. We have to guard our tongues.
Yikes! You mean that all of that grumbling I’ve been doing when by myself and to my family counts? Yes, it counts!
If we want to live our lives for God with the greatest potential possible, we are going to have to guard our tongues. It’s a necessary part of God’s plan.
Words are powerful, and we need to use them wisely.
Blessings,
Suellen Estes
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I hope you are enjoying your reading as much as I am. Every time we read the Bible we find something new, don’t we?
Genesis 36-38
The whole 36th chapter names the descendants of Esau. He took a turn from Jacob. Esau married wives from the inhabitants of the land and mixed with many foreign gods. (Lower case “g” intended). These aren’t “children of the promise,” but later as we see kings rise up against Israel, we will be able to trace some back to here.
I think it’s significant that three times in this chapter it says, “Esau was Edom.” (vs. 1,8,and 19). Later when we encounter the Edomites, we’ll remember where they came from.
I’m sure that all of us have Joseph on our favorites list. He is the epitome of someone who has a dream or prophecy from God, and has to wait a long time for its fulfillment.
There are lots of teachings which incorporate Joseph’s life. I think that one of the major ones is that God gave Joseph the dreams at the beginning – before he was to go through horrific trials.
I’m sure that there will be many times when those dreams keep Joseph hopeful – and on track, as his life takes such a down turn. When we leave him, he has been sold into slavery to Potiphar, the captain of Pharoah’s guard. That’s hardly what he saw in his dream, is it?
Matthew 12:1-21
Jesus has an interesting way of dealing with people. He is tough on the leaders, but very gentle on the others. We begin to see this in chapter 12.
The religious leadersof the day are arrogant and full of pride. They see their leadership roles as ones of prestige, and they expect people to hold them in high esteem because of their position.
At the same time, they are not deserving of that esteem, because they are hard task masters for the people. They hold rigidly to what they believe to be the “Law of Moses” and use that Law to intimidate and abuse their constituents.
Jesus, on the other hand, introduces them to the long-forgotten concept, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
When the law is held higher than God’s people, skewed thinking always follows. When the disciples eat some grain from the field on Sunday, the Sabbath law, and not their need, is what the Pharisees think about. When Jesus heals on the Sabbath, the same happens.
Can you imagine that these leaders, instead of rejoicing over a precious man’s withered hand being healed are concerned about it being done on the Sabbath? I’m sure that in our time, such attitudes prevail from time to time.
To understand the dilemma Jesus faces here, we need to understand what the Law is all about. The Law was created for man, and not vice versa. What do I mean? When men have no standards at all, anything goes. “If it feels good, do it.”
Under that attitude, people are always hurt. When selfishness prevails, there is murder, rape, incest, abuse, stealing, you name it. It’s all there.
The Law of God was introduced to lead people to know that they needed to honor only the One true God, and that they needed to treat others well. Love God and love others.
When the spirit of the law is there, there’s clarity. When the letter of the law is there, there’s hardness and harm.
When people truly worship God, they know that He wants others healed and whole. These people rejoice with a man whose hand is healed – whenever it is.
That’s why Jesus continually says, “I desire mercy (or compassion) and not sacrifice.”(Hosea 6:6)
