Thur.’s Devo - Unleavened Bread

Read: Exodus 12:14-13:16; Matthew 20:29-21:22; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 6:12-15
Unleavened Bread was to start on the fourteenth and last seven days until the 21st. During those days all the leaven was to be removed from the house. Leaven stands for sin and whoever continued to eat leaven would be cut off from the Israelite community, even if you were a foreigner.
Unleavened Bread started as soon as the Passover lamb was slain and eaten. Passover is a picture of our salvation. We apply the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of our hearts and we enter into a new life with Jesus as our Lord. From that time on we are to be sanctified. Unleavened Bread is a picture of our sanctification. We are to leave our old life and sins and enter into our new creation.
That night, the Israelites killed their lamb, smeared the blood on their doorposts and went to bed. During the night, the death angel passed over and killed the firstborn sons and animals of all the people who did not have the blood on their doorposts. No house was without a death so the mourning was horrendous Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to leave and take their livestock and everything. Just leave! But he added, “But bless me, too.” The Egyptians also wanted them to leave quickly, so they left with bread before it had risen (since it was to be unleavened) and fled Egypt. They had been there 430 years to the day.
God gave Moses commands for Passover in the future and laws for the first born. From that time, they were to kill all the first born animals and give to the Lord their first born sons. God would redeem their sons but their animals stood for the sons of the Egyptians; they had to die. They could choose to redeem the donkeys with a lamb. If they didn’t want to redeem it they had to break its neck. The donkey is the humble animal that Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on.
In Matthew, a crowd who also thought he was going to Jerusalem to be crowned the king, followed Jesus out of Jericho and two of them were blind. They kept crying out for Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus finally stopped and asked them what they wanted. They wanted to see, so Jesus opened their eyes. They instantly could see and followed him. What a picture of what happens to a person whose spiritual eyes are opened… they follow Jesus.
Jesus sent James and John to get a donkey and its colt. The prophet, Zechariah had prophesied that the King of Zion would come “riding humbly on a donkey and on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden!” The donkey was a symbol of slavery that God redeemed Israel and its offspring from.
Jesus entered through the eastern gate and was hailed their king at the same time the Pascal lamb was entering the northern gate and hailed their deliverer. To both lambs the people put down their coats and waved palm branches and cried out for deliverance.
Jesus went straight to the temple and cleansed it of the merchants and proclaimed that his house was to be called a house of prayer.
Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not have fruit as a picture of Israel. She was not ready for her savior when he came either. Lord, may we be fruitful and ready when you return.

Wed.’s Devo - The First Passover

Read: Exodus 10:1-12:13; Mathew20:1-28; Psalm 25:1-15a; Proverbs 6:6-11
God explained to Moses why he was hardening Pharoah’s heart. It was so he could finish his judgment on Egypt for all the sin and idolatry they had brought in the earth. Moses told Pharaoh that if he didn’t let his people go, God would send locusts to finish what the hail left of their land. Pharoah’s officers wanted Pharaoh to just let Moses go and sacrifice because they realized Egypt was being destroyed plague by plague. So, Pharaoh called Moses in and wanted to know exactly who he was taking on this sacrifice. Moses told him everyone from babies to animals. Pharaoh tried to negotiate just the men going. The locusts came. Then the plague of three days of darkness came. After that, Pharaoh tried to negotiate them leaving their animals there. That is when God sent the last plague and said that after that one, the Egyptians would drive them out. The Israelites were to plunder the Egyptians asking for their gold, silver and costly material. The Egyptians feared Adonai and gave them everything. They would use this to build the tabernacle.
The last plague was called Passover and it would be the picture of the cross. They were to take a lamb into their house on the 10th to be examined and found perfect. I was to be sacrificed at dusk on the 14th. The father was to put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost and lintel of the door and then walk under the door and be safely inside. They were to totally roast the lamb in the fire, eat it quickly with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. That night the death angel would pass over the houses and kill the first born of any house that didn’t have the blood on the door.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth and was arrested that night after he had his last meal with his disciples (the passover seder). He was brought before the Pharisees, Pilate and Herod and none of them could find any fault in him. He was nailed to the cross on the fourteenth and crucified as the Lamb of God. `He took the penalty of death and sin away from us if we apply his blood to our hearts.
In Matthew, Jesus gave a parable about the end of time. Those who come into the kingdom at the end of their lives will get the same payment as those who have been Christians all their lives. The payment is eternal life.
Then, Jesus told his disciples exactly what was going to happen in Jerusalem. He was going to be arrested, beat and crucified on a cross as a criminal but on the third day, he would rise from the dead.
They thought they were going to Jerusalem to have Jesus crowned the king. James and John’s mother thought that too and wanted to make the request that her sons sit with him as ruler. Jesus explained that he could not make that decision, only God. He also explained that that priviledge would come with great suffering on this earth.
They thought they were going to Jerusalem to have Jesus crowned the king. James and John’s mother thought that too and wanted to make the request that her sons sit with him as ruler. Jesus explained that he could not make that decision, only God. He also explained that that privledge would come with great suffering on this earth.
Lord, I know that what you are about to do is not what we are expecting you to do because it never is. You are full of surprises and your way is always best and helps more people. Help us to trust your will.

Tues’s. Devo - God’s Plagues Begin

Read: Exodus 7:25-9:35; Matthew 19:13-30; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 6:1-5
Today we read the first seven plagues. The first was the water to blood, the second was frogs, the third was lice and the fourth was the insects. From that time on, God separated the land of Egypt from the land of Goshen and the plagues didn’t touch the Israelites. The lice ruined the whole land of Egypt so the Pharaoh told Moses to sacrifice right there in Egypt. Moses explained that the sacrifices they were required to do would offend the Egyptians since they worshipped the animals they were to sacrifice. So God continued his judgment on Egypt.
The fifth plague was against their livestock The sixth was to turn the dust to sores on the men and livestock. The seventh was a hailstorm. Their flax and the barley was ruined.
God destroyed Egypt’s gods and their seed so they would not have a harvest. That is the same thing the devil is out to destroy - our God and the seed which produces a harvest.
After each plague, God would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he could continue his judgment on the land.
In Matthew, we see Jesus’ love for children. He blesses them and lays his hands on them. A man came to Jesus wanting to know how to be saved. Jesus gave him the requirements of the Ten Commandments concerning how he treated his fellow man. Interestingly he left off the ones concerning loving God and not worshiping idols. Apparently he being rich, had issues about his money. It wasn’t the fact that he was rich that was keeping him from eternal life, it was the fact that he didn’t see his responsibility to help the poor. In the kingdom of God everything is reversed. The rich are those who are humble and poor in spirit.
Lord, help us to have faith like children and hearts to give.

Mon.’s Devo - Forgiveness

Read: Exodus 5:22-7:24; Matthew 18:23-19:12; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 5:22-23
Moses complained to the Lord that since he told the people what God had said, everything had gotten worse instead of better. God explained to Moses that he had been Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s God but these descendants didn’t know him as their God, so he was going to redeem them in a way that they would know who he was and what he could do. He would do this with his outstretched arm and his mighty acts of judgment.
When Moses told this to the people they couldn’t hear it because of their discouragement and the heavy oppression they were under.
God told Moses he would make him like God to Pharaoh and Aaron would be his prophet. He was to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country, then God would harden Pharoah’s heart. After that, God would come to their rescue with judgment on the land.
Moses went to Pharaoh and showed him the sign of the staff turning to the snake. God chose a sign that they would be able to duplicate, then he had his snake swallow all of theirs. The judgment against Egypt was against Egypt’s gods. God wanted the Israelites to see that the gods of Egypt were powerless against him.
Moses turned the water to blood making them have to dig for their own water. All the fish died and the water stunk. One of the Egyptian gods was the Nile River.
In Matthew, Jesus explained judgment in the kingdom. God wants to have mercy on us, but if we have not had mercy on those on earth, then he will not be able to have mercy on us in heaven.
The Pharisees came and tried to trap him by asking if a man could divorce for no reason. Moses allowed men to divorce with a legal writ if the man found out his bride was not a virgin, even though it was not God’s original plan. God planned for a virgin to marry a man and stay married their whole life. In Jesus’ day, men were divorcing their wives without a legal writ causing them to commit adultery if either remarried. Jesus’ ground for legal divorcement was sexual unfaithfulness. He gave three reasons why men don’t marry: they have no desire to marry, they have been castrated, or they have renounced marriage for the kingdom’s sake.
Lord, you have a lot to say about judgment but you make it very clear how to be righteous. Help us to forgive anyone that we have any aught against.

Sun.’s Devo - Moses’ Assignment

Read: Exodus 4:1-5:21; Matthew 18:1-22; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 5:15-21
God called Moses to go back to Israel and deliver the whole nation from Egypt - not an easy task. Moses had plenty of questions about how this was going to happen and “what ifs” about what to do if they didn’t listen. God gave Moses three miraculous signs: turning his staff to a snake and back again, turning his arm to leprosy and then back to healed and turning the Nile’s water to blood.
Moses’ next fear was about his mouth. He was not a good public speaker. God got a little frustrated with that one. He reminded him that he had made his mouth and he would tell him what to say, but then God mellowed and told him that his brother Aaron could be his speaker. Aaron was on his way to meet him at the time.
Moses left with his wife, Zipporah and his son, Gershom and on the way God told him…by the way, when you tell Pharaoh and do all these signs, I am going to harden his heart so he won’t let you go. Then you will tell him that I am going to kill his first-born son. (Moses might have wanted to know that before he left.)
Right after that, God would have killed Moses if Zipporah hadn’t taken a knife and circumcized their son. I don’t know if that was a matter of argument between them or what, but that needed to happen before Moses entered into his next step with God. I have a feeling that it had to do with covering his first-born with the blood of Jesus before he could pronounce judgment on Pharoah’s first born.
Moses met Aaron and told him everything and Aaron got him a meeting with the Jewish leaders. Everyone was excited that Adonai had remembered them and was coming to deliver them, until, they met with the Pharaoh and his response was to give them more work in less time. Then they accused Moses of making it worse for them. So, Moses turned and accused God of the same thing.
In Matthew 18, Jesus taught his disciples about faith, agreement and forgiveness. Jesus used the example of a child because they have no reason not to believe everything you say. Their faith is pure and undefiled by the world and disappointment. We are to have that kind of faith toward God. When we agree with another person in prayer and we both have that kind of faith, it will be done. One of the biggest hindrances in prayer is unforgiveness. We are to forgive not just perfectly (seven times) but perfectly and completely (seven times seventy). Our forgiveness cannot keep records of past offenses. Unforgiveness clogs up our channel to heaven and keeps our hearts from being able to receive or give to God and others.
Lord, cleanse our hearts of all offense and unforgiveness. Help us to forgive as you have forgiven us.

Sat.’s Devo - Called Out to Serve

Read: Exodus 2:11-3:22; Matthew 17:10-27; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 5:7-14
Moses grew up in the palace but never forgot his Hebrew roots. One day as he was watching them labor under their taskmasters, he saw an Egyptian abuse a worker. He looked around and when he thought no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian. The next day he went back out among the workers and split up a fight between two Hebrews. When he did they exposed the fact that everyone knew what he had done the day before. He knew he had to flee or he would be killed for conspiracy. He fled to the land of Midian. He ended up at a well where seven daughters of the Midian priest came to water their camels. Moses fought off other shepherds who were guarding the well and watered the women’s camels.
When they returned home, their father, Reuel told them to go back to the well and bring their hero home. They found Moses and brought him home where he was given Zipporah as a wife. They lived there until she had a son named Gershom. Then God called to Moses out of a bush that refused to burn up and told him that he was to go back to Egypt and lead his people out. When Moses asked God his name he said, “I am”, which in Hebrew means I am and I will be what I am. He also said that he was Adonai: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God explained to Moses that he was to gather all the leaders of Israel together with the leaders of Egypt and declare to them that Adonai has commanded them to go three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to him. God told him exactly what would happen. The pharaoh would not want to do this so God would have to strike them with wonders before they allowed them to go. They would leave with the wealth of Egypt on their backs and in their bags.
Yesterday we read that Jesus took Peter, John and James to a mountain and they saw Jesus change to his glorified state with Moses and Elijah standing with him. Peter got very excited and wanted to erect three sukkoths for them. This let us know that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that this happened. This feast is to remind the Jewish people that their home was not here but in heaven. How appropriate for Jesus to show two people who were in heaven at the time. A cloud came and enveloped them all and God spoke from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the cloud lifted, they were alone with Jesus and he was back in his earth suit. Jesus told them not to tell anyone about this until he had risen.
Seeing Elijah on the mountain prompted them to ask why Elijah had to come first - before the Messiah comes. Jesus explained that he did and they killed him. He was referring to John the Baptist who carried the spirit of Elijah.
The disciples couldn’t cast out epilepsy and were told it was because they lacked faith. Jesus rebuked the demon and he came out.
Peter was asked if their master payed the temple tax and lied and said he did. When they were alone, Jesus answered Peter’s question before he asked it. He answered it with a question. He asked him if the kings of the earth exacted taxes from their own sons or the people. Peter said, the people. Jesus agreed. He was making the point that the sons of God owe this world nothing because we are not of their kingdom but since we are living her we choose to follow their rules. He told Peter to go catch a fish and open its mouth and the temple tax would be there. It would be enough for both of them.
Lord, help us to realize that this is not our home and that we are supernatural people because of who lives inside us. We are called out of bondage to serve you in freedom!

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Plan is Better

Read: Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10; Matthew 16:13-17:9; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 5:1-6
When Jacob died, the Egyptians who loved Joseph, mourned with him. They even traveled with his family to Canaan to bury Jacob in the cave at Machpelah. Once, Jacob had been buried, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would seek revenge on them because of all the things they had done to them. They sent word to Joseph that their father wanted Joseph to forgive them and that they would be Joseph’s slave.
I can’t help thinking this is how we are with God. We can’t comprehend the goodness of God and the power of forgiveness and the cross. We still live in condemnation, fear and like a slave when God wants us to be his sons and friends and live in power and freedom.
Joseph understood that what they meant for harm, was all part of God’s plan to preserve their heritage making it all worthwhile.
Joseph lived to be 110 and like his father, he made his sons swear that when they went back to Canaan, they would take his bones with them and bury them with his fathers.
Years after Joseph had died a new king came to office in Egypt that didn’t know the story of Joseph or care. All he could see was that the Israelites were multiplying more rapidly than the Egyptians and was threatened by their numbers. First, he tried to get the midwives to kill the sons that were born to the Jewish mothers but the midwives feared God more than the Pharaoh and let them live.
Next, the Pharaoh gave the decree that all the baby boys should be thrown into the Nile River. A mother named Jochebed had a son during that time and when she conceived him she felt there was something very special about this boy so she wanted to hide him. She made a floating basket and she put it in the Nile River and told her daughter, Miriam to watch it to see what would happen.
The Pharoah’s daughter just happened to be coming to the River to bathe and saw the basket and had it brought to her. When she saw the baby, she was moved with compassion also. Miriam popped out of her hiding place and offered her mom to nurse the baby for her. So Miriam, who gave her son up, got him returned to her for two years and was able to nurse and love on him. When he was weaned, he went to live in the palace to await his destiny.
The story of Joseph and Moses help us to see that God’s plans do not always look so good at first. There is always a process we have to go through that molds us into the person we are to become so we can humbly hold the position and not have it destroy us through pride. It usually has more to do with God’s kingdom than our own personal gain but to follow the Lord is the greatest gain.
In Matthew, Jesus asked his disciples who everyone thought he was. Then he asked them who they thought he was. It was Peter who said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Since he had given such a rock of understanding, God said I will also give you the keys to the kingdom to bind and loose. During their times, the terms “binding and loosing” were used to describe religious decisions. Since Peter had made such a powerful decision about who Jesus was, Jesus was giving him the power to make other religious decisions. To bind was to prohibit certain activities as given in the law. The scribes had used this privilege to decide what “work” meant on the Sabbath. So they had all kinds of laws concerning this. Jesus was giving Peter the license to decide for the church what to prohibit and what to “loose” or allow. Later, he would use this to decide that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to be saved.
We are given that same priviledge. We decide what we allow in our lives and what we prohibit. We are responsible for guarding our soul.
From that time, Jesus started explaining to his disciples what awaited him in Jerusalem. They could not see that as a part of God’s plan because it wasn’t a part of their plan.
Lord, help us to submit to your plan in our lives especially when it goes against ours. Help us to choose you.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Last Days

Read: Genesis 48:1-49:33; Matthew 15:29-16:12; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 4:20-27
Jacob was dying so Joseph was called to his bedside. He brought his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob told Joseph the promises that God had given him about their family. Joseph brought his sons in for Jacob to bless and made sure Ephraim was on Jacob’s side that he would naturally put his right hand on Manasseh’s head. Instead, Jacob crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left on Manasseh’s. When Joseph corrected him, he told him he was following the spirit of God. Manasseh was indeed the first born but it would be Ephraim who would become greater than Manasseh.
Jacob called in the other brothers to give them a look into what would happen to their tribe in the last days.
Rueben would be unstable because he went into his fathers’ concubine. Simeon and Levi (who stood for the organized religious system) would be dishonored, divided and scattered. Judah, who the Messiah would come from, would rule his enemies and his brothers would bow down to him. He would always have a king to rule on the throne. Through his blood he would make a righteous bloodline. Zebulun would be a port for ships. Issachar would be strong and a hard worker. Dan would judge his people and upset the proud and the exalted. Gad would be warriors who would not give up. Asher would have rich food, fit for a king. Naphtali would be like a deer set free. Joseph would be fruitful and stand in times of adversity. Benjamin would devour the prey and divide the spoil.
Joseph made sure to bury Jacob in the cave at Machpelah where Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Rebecca, and Leah were buried. When he died, he was gathered to his people which means that he spent his life in Sheol with his descendents. Wherever you were buried was where you lived in Sheol, the place of the dead. This land would become a designated city of refuge which we will talk about later.
In Matthew, Jesus was filled with compassion and healed the blind, lame, crippled, mute and many other diseases. He knew that the people had been with him for three days and needed to return home. Jesus didn’t want them to leave hungry so he told his disciples that he would like to feed them. Once again, the disciples gave him the practical answer. They only had seven bread and a few small fish. Jesus once again demonstrated the power of God which is above what is practical and natural. They fed 4,000 mostly Gentiles this time.
The Pharisees came asking Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. He rebuked them because they knew how to read natural signs in the sky but had no idea how to see spiritual signs. Jesus told them the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah. Jonah was dead in the belly of a whale for 3 days and resurrected on the earth. Jesus would do the same.
The disciples were not spiritually minded either. They couldn’t understand that when Jesus told them to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. He was not talking about natural bread but the corrupt teaching of the Pharisees.
Lord, help us to see with spiritual eyes the signs that are all around us. We are living in the last of the last days.

Wed.’s Devo - Covenants

Read: Genesis 46:1-47:31; Matthew 15:1-28; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 4:14-19
God spoke to Jacob in Beersheba, the same place that both Abraham and Isaac had made covenants with Abimelech and God had given them both a covenant of promise. God gave Jacob that same promise that he was his God and that He was going to make him into a great nation. He would go with Jacob down to Egypt and one day bring his descendants back to this land. Joseph would be the one to close his eyes when he died.
Jacob left with 66 family members to join Joseph’s four in Egypt making his family 70 total. Interestingly, he sent Judah first. Later, God will tell Moses to send Judah first when traveling and when going to war because Judah means “praise” and praise is how we should start everything we do and every day. It is how we fight the enemy and how we enter God’s courts.
Jacob and Joseph’s reunion was full of tears and joy. I can’t imagine the emotions of that meeting. I would think it would be close to when Jesus entered heaven after enduring the cross. That had to be another joyful reunion.
Joseph presented his father to the Pharaoh and Jacob blessed him. The greater always blesses the lesser. Jacob and his family was given the best land in Egypt called Goshen and totally provided for in the midst of the famine.
When the people had spent all their money buying grain, they gave their livestock in exchange for grain. Guess who got these animals? Pharaoh had turned his livestock over to them.
God preserved his family on the earth and blessed them.
When Jacob was going to die, he called for Joseph and made him promise to take his bones back with them when they returned to the land of Canaan.
In Matthew, the scribes and Pharisees were adamant about their man-made laws but didn’t follow God’s. Moses’ law says nothing about washing hands so Jesus didn’t teach his disciples to do that. The Pharisees neglected giving to their needy parents in their old age saying that they were giving that money to the synagogue which freed them from taking care of their parents. Jesus called them hypocrites. They wanted the esteem of others who watched how much they gave over love and honor for their parents.
Jesus explained that it wasn’t eating with unclean hands that was going to make them unclean. Being unclean had to do with the heart, not the hands. Jesus was told that this had offended the Pharisees to which Jesus called them blind guides.
Jesus went to Tire and Sidon, the land of the Gentiles. He was confronted by a woman who had a daughter controlled by demons. Jesus explained that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and compared her to a pet dog. She pleaded that even the dogs eat the leftovers from the master’s table. Jesus loved her tenacity and her faith and healed her daughter.
Lord, thank you for the covenant you made with us. Help us to follow you from our hearts and not obligation.

Tues.’s Devo - The Great Reveal

Read: Genesis 44:1-45:8; Matthew 14:13-36; Psalm 18:32-50; Proverbs 4:11-13
Joseph had one more test for his brothers. Would they lay down their lives for Benjamin? Benjamin was favored just like Joseph had been and Joseph wanted to see if they would do the same to Benjamin as they had done to him. This would show Joseph if they had truly repented for what they had done to him.
The brothers passed the test in flying colors. Judah begged Joseph not to take Benjamin, but to take him instead. He spoke of how it would break their father’s heart if they didn’t bring Benjamin back. They were no longer jealous of Israel’s favoritism and only wanted to honor their father’s heart. This is the test we go through in life. Are we going to be jealous when God favors someone else or will we lay down our lives for them because God loves them? Will we be jealous of the Jews when they come back to Jesus and he favors them?
The brothers finally took responsibility for selling Joseph and that they are paying for their sin. Gone was their entitlement. When Joseph saw their repentance, he could finally reveal himself to them. Their sad, hopeless day became the most wonderful. They were promised total provision during the famine, a place to live free of cost and the best of the land. Joseph explained that what they meant for harm, God meant for good - their good and the good of their posterity.
This is the picture of how glorious it will be for the nation of Israel when at their darkest moment they see Jesus, the one they have pierced and are saved in a day (Zechariah 12:10).
In Matthew, Jesus taught by demonstration. He had been teaching all day and healing the sick so when it was becoming late, his disciples wanted Jesus to let the people go home to eat. Jesus seized the moment to teach his disciples about faith. He asked them what they had. They told him all they had which was five loaves of bread and two fish. Probably enough to feed Jesus and the disciples. Jesus wanted them to give everything away. Jesus had them sit everyone down, blessed their food and started breaking the bread and fish and distributing it through the disciples. It multiplied in their hands and fed 5,000 men plus the women and children.
After seeing such a powerful miracle, the disciples were tested. Jesus went to the mountain to pray and they went fishing. They experienced a great storm and in the midst of their battle, they caught Jesus walking on the water. I’m sure this was not the first time he had traveled the water, but the first time the disciples saw him. Peter was the only one who wanted to do it too. He started out fine, but when he realized what he was doing and how impossible it was, he sunk. When Jesus pulled him up and into the boat and the storm immediately stopped. The disciples were amazed but Jesus was disappointed in their lack of faith.
Jesus is asking us to have that kind of faith. We are not of the kingdom of the earth and its natural laws, we are of the kingdom of God which has no limitations. Can we walk on water? I believe so..by faith!
Lord, help us to look up because our kingdom is in heaven not on this earth.

Mon.’s Devo - From Death to Life

Read: Genesis 42:18-43:34; Matthew 13:47-14:12; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 4:7-10
Joseph brought his brothers out of prison after three years just as Jesus was brought out of Sheol after three days. Three days which was a short time in comparison to the time they had caused Joseph to be in prison. Finally, Joseph kept Simeon who was the next oldest as a guarantee they would return. (Rueben, the oldest wasn’t as guilty since he had begged them not to harm Joseph.)
We are to fellowship in the sufferings of Jesus, but we will never go through anything as hard as what he went through. We will never carry the sin of the whole world on us or the bitter hatred of Satan through his people. Their three days in jail was a token of what Joseph had endured those thirteen years.
The other brothers returned to their father and told him what had happened. They also found that their money had been returned to them in their sacks. (It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.) This put the fear of God in their hearts.
When they ran out of grain, they convinced their father to let them take Benjamin with them. He finally agreed and gave them money and gifts to give the manager, Joseph.
When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph questioned them again. He was overwhelmed when he saw Benjamin, but he composed himself and invited them to his house to eat. He made sure their donkeys were taken care of and fed and then sat them with the first born in the seat of honor and Benjamin beside him just like the Hebrews sat at home. This astonished the brothers. Also, Benjamin was given five times as much as his brothers.
In this story, the brothers stand for the Jews who crucified Jesus, Benjamin stands for the Jews who were not at the crucifixion but
will one day receive the grace of Jesus when their eyes are opened. He was fed five times as much because five is the number of grace and grace is the way we are saved.
In Matthew, Jesus explained that God throws out his grace upon the earth and gathers in many. Some are good and some are bad but he will do the separating in the end. That is not out job. He also told a short parable about the owner of the house who brings out of his storage both new things and old. God has so many new things he wants to do on the earth, but he also wants us to keep the old treasures.
Many could not receive the “new” Jesus because they knew Jesus as a boy. This caused them to have unbelief and kept Jesus from being able to operate in miracles and power there.
Herod had heard stories of Jesus and all her was doing and was haunted with the thought that maybe John the Baptist had risen from the dead. Herod had imprisoned John for rebuking him for marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias. While in prison, Herodias had devised a plan to trick her husband into killing John. The plan had worked and John had been beheaded.
John had completed his mission of preparing the way for Jesus to walk on. He got his promotion early.
Lord, help us to do what we were called to do on the earth because nothing else matters.

Sun.’s Devo - The Cost

Read: Genesis 41: 17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46: Psalm 18:1-15:Proverbs 4:1-6
The Pharaoh told Joseph his dream of the seven skinny cows eating the seven fat cows and still being skinny and then the dream about the full grain being consumed by the thin ears of grain. God gave Joseph the interpretation immediately. The seven cows stood for seven harvests and the skinny cows seven more harvests. There would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.
Joseph went right into what Pharaoh should do to prepare for this so his land would not perish. The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph’s wisdom that he put him in charge of all his household and gave him his ring and a robe. Joseph would be second in command and no one in his kingdom would be more greater than him. Pharaoh also gave him a new name.
Isn’t this what God did to Jesus when he was exalted to heaven? God gave Jesus a name above all other names and gave him his authority and glory. No other name is more powerful than the name of Jesus.
Joseph went to work storing all the abundance to prepare for the famine. When the famine hit, it was so severe it affected his family in Canaan. They heard that Egypt had grain and set out to buy some to save their family. Benjamin stayed home.
When Joseph saw his brothers bowing before him, he remembered the dreams he had had as a teen-ager. God is faithful!
Joseph put his brothers through a series of trials to test their hearts to see if they were truly repentant.
In Matthew, Jesus gave them many parables of kingdom revelation that had been hidden since creation. They couldn’t unlock it but we can. Jesus explained the first one but I want to comment on the treasure and the pearl. Israel is known as the treasure and the Gentile is the pearl. God gave his best to buy us. He gave his only son and his blood on the cross to purchase our salvation.
Lord, thank you for the suffering you endured to lay down your life to purchase us. We are truly grateful!

Sat.’s Devo - Eyes to See

Read: Genesis 39:1-41:16; Matthew 12:46-13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 3:33-35
Joseph had a destiny chosen by God and he grew with every temptation and trial. Potipher’s wife stood for the lusts of the flesh, and Joseph refused to be brought down by that sin. It cost him his position and his reputation. Even in prison, he refused to let an unfair sentence change who he was. He prospered even there. He was put in charge and in position for his next assignment which was interpreting the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer. Apparently someone had discovered a plot to poison the king and they were the people responsible to give the king his drink and his food. If the king was being poisoned one of them had to be in on it. They were put in prison until the investigation was made. They stood for more than that: one stood for the righteous and one stood for the guilty awaiting eternal judgment. One will be acquitted to eternal life and one will be sentenced to eternal death. The cup bearer was innocent so he was saved, but the baker was guilty. The baker’s dream was that the birds of heaven came and ate his flesh. We see this same picture in Revelation 19:17-18 where the birds are called by God to eat the flesh of those who were enemies of the truth.
Another hint is that it was on Pharoah’s birthday that the judgment was given. On the birthday of the earth, Tishri one, also known as the Day of Atonement the books will be opened and God will judge the whole earth. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be exempt from judgment. We are covered with the blood of the Lamb and our sins are removed.
Joseph had asked the cupbearer to mention his name to the king because he was in prison on a false charge. The cup bearer never remembered until it was the right time. Pharaoh had a dream that greatly troubled him and no one could interpret it. That is when the cupbearer remembered Joseph. They summoned Joseph from prison and Joseph did a very wise thing. He shaved and changed his clothes. He presented himself as an Egyptian so Pharaoh could receive what he had to say.
Joseph was a type of Jesus and his prison time represented Jesus rising from the grave. When Jesus died, he went first to Sheol and preached captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8). When he rose from the grave and presented himself to his disciples, they didn’t recognize him. He had shaved off all sin and was robed in God’s glory. Jesus was no longer just for the Jew, but God’s son sent to save the whole earth.
Joseph appeared before the king but made it clear that it would not be his interpretation but God’s he would give.
In Matthew Jesus gives them the parable that all the parables hang. If they could understand this one, they could understand all of them. It is the parable of the seed and the sower. The seed is the Word of God and the soil is the heart. Whether the seed bears fruit has to do with the condition of the heart. He gave four different kinds of heart: the one who doesn’t understand and it is stolen by the devil, the one who hears but has no roots so it can’t stand in trials, the one who hears but is chocked by the deceitfulness of riches and worries of this life, and the last is the one who hears and bears fruit because he understands it. Our understanding has to do with how we hear and believe in our hearts. It goes beyond what we see with our eyes which is faith.
Lord, may we have eyes to see and a heart to understand your Word.

Fri.’s Devo - Israel’s History

Read: Genesis 37:1-38:30; Matthew 12:22-45; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 3:27-32
Today we read the history of Israel which begins with the story of Joseph. Joseph was the youngest of the brothers with Benjamin still a baby. He was the annoying younger brother who told on his brothers and was spoiled by his father since he was the son of his fathers true love. He was given a colorful coat by Jacob to show his favor. I’m sure Joseph reminded Jacob of Racheal which just added to his affection for Joseph.
Joseph was also a dreamer. Dreams were honored as important and when he dreamed his brother’s sheaves bowed down to his, they all knew what it meant. When he dreamed that the sun moon and stars bowed down to him, his father knew what it meant also. Israel stood for the sun, his mother stood for the moon and the stars stood for the sons who each was represented by a constellation. All this lead to his brothers hating him so much they wanted to kill him.
They got their chance when they saw Joseph from a way off, coming to find them. By the time Joseph made it to where they were they had concocted a plan to strip him of his clothes, put him in a pit and sell him to merchants. It was Reuben who saved his life. I wonder if Rueben didn’t feel so guilty for sleeping with his father’s concubine that he didn’t want to add murder to his sins.
They made it look like Joseph had been slain and lied to their father. Joseph was a type of Jesus who was killed by his own brothers, but death couldn’t stop what God had in mind for Jesus or Joseph. Joseph was taken to Egypt and his coat went home to his father to be grieved over. Jesus was taken to heaven.
Next we have the story of Judah in the midst of Joseph’s. Judah had three sons and the first two were so evil, God killed them! Think about that! None of them bore any fruit so Tamar, the wife of both of them had to do some trickery to get her inheritance that was rightfully hers. Having sons was everything back then - they were the true inheritance. She got hers through Judah who had not given her what he promised, his last son. Judah had given Tamar his seal, the cord it was on and his staff. The seal had to do with his name, the cord - his posterity or lifeline, and his staff - his power.
These were the things that kept Tamar from being stoned to death when accused of prostitution and these are the things that secured her posterity.
Our seal is Jesus’ name and the Holy Spirit who seals our salvation. Our cord is our eternal salvation. Our staff is the power of God in our lives - the power of life and not death.
She had twins. The second born stuck his hand out to receive the scarlet thread showing us, once again, that it is the second birth that brings salvation.
In Matthew, when Jesus healed the deaf and dumb man, the Pharisees were called on to make a statement. This was the last of the Messianic miracles that they believed only the Messiah could do. They had written in their Mishma that only the Messiah would be able to heal a man born blind, heal a Jewish leper and heal a deaf and dumb man. Jesus had already done the first two so this was the last on their list. They had to give a statement so their statement was that Jesus did this by the power of Satan. This sealed their fate. Jesus told the parable about binding the strong man before making off with his possessions and ransacking his house. He was the strong man and they had just bound him. He would no longer preach openly and it would require faith to be healed from that point on. His possessions were the Jews and his house was the House of Israel that the religious leaders were ransacking.
They wanted a sign and he had given them every sign in the book. He told them that the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah. Like Jonah, he would be dead for three days then rise from death. They would be responsible for their unbelief at the judgment.
Lord, help us to have faith. Thank you for your blood that speaks a better name.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Way of the Kingdom

Read: Genesis 35:1-36:43; Matthew 12:1-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 3:21-26
God told Jacob to go back to the place where he had seen angels ascending and descending into heaven when he fled from Esau. He told Jacob to build a standing altar because this place marked his salvation, the place God was revealed to him and he believed. God reminded him that his name had changed to Israel and he needed to start going by his new name. Bethel means “house of God.” When we come into the household of God, everything changes. We get a new name and are called by God’s name.
Everything changed for Israel too. The first thing he did was sanctify his house and get rid of the idols of his past. When he did this, fear of him fell on his enemies. Getting rid of our past makes us powerful against our enemy, Satan.
Israel obeyed God and built the altar and two women who were very close to Israel died. One was his nurse who helped raise him, Deborah, and the other was his beloved wife, Rachel. Deborah means “her words” and Rachel means “a baby lamb”. The oak stood for the cross, Rachel for Jesus and Deborah the words of his past. Unless a wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will not bear fruit. Out of death came the birth of Benjamin which means “son of the right hand.” He was a picture of Jesus resurrected. He was the only son of Israel’s born in the promised land. He quickly became Israel’s favorite son who would replace Joseph when he would leave them later.
Israel’s eldest son, Reuben, had sex with Israel’s concubine, Bilhah which was a huge dishonor to his father and his brothers. This would cost him his birthright. He lost his birthright just as Esau lost his because the first-born in the Bible is a picture of our first birth. We are fruitless unless we die and are born again a second time. The second birth in Christ gets us the birthright. It is a picture that you must be born again.
We have a list of Esau’s children who became Edomites. Esau was a son of Israel even though he was not the promised son: “born-again”. Esau and Jacob mended their relationship but sadly their children carried the ill-will and were never friends.
In Matthew it was the Sabbath. Jesus had a confrontation with the religious leaders over the law. His disciples were hungry so as the walked through a field they took some grain, rubbed it together and ate the kernels. This, in the Pharisees eyes constituted reaping and threshing. They were straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Jesus explained that the Sabbath was to bless man and not to confine him. To explain further, he went into the temple and healed a man who had a withered hand showing that the Sabbath was a day to do good. He reminded them of what Isaiah said of the Messiah. He would come and bring justice and hope. What the Pharisees taught was a heavy burden that no one could lift. Jesus came to lighten the load and show them that walking with God was easy and fun. The Pharisees knew nothing about fun.
Lord, teach us the way of your kingdom. Help us to understand justice and love.

Wed.’s Devo - Jacob and Esau’s Reunion

Read: Genesis 32:13-34:31; Matthew 11:7-30: Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 3:19-20
After Jacob reminded God of all he had promised him, he came up with an idea. He picked 55 cattle as a present to Esau. He divided his people into two camps and put his most loved in the second camp in case Esau killed the first. The first was to be a present to soothe Esau’s anger.
That night Jacob wrestled with a man who represented God on earth. When the man/God could not win he knocked Jacob’s hip out of socket. Jacob refused to let him go until he blessed him. God changed his name to Israel because he had wrestled with both God and man and lived. Israel means “he shall be a prince of God” which was a huge step up from “supplanter” which was what Jacob means. When Jacob asked him his name he questioned why and left Jacob with a blessing. Jacob knew he had seen the face of God and named the place Penuel which means “face of God.”
Jacob and Esau did have their encounter and it was better than Jacob could have dreamed. Esau had no animosity but was happy to see Jacob. Jacob bowed before him and insisted he take the cattle as his gift. Esau finally agreed and they parted brothers.
Jacob went to Succot which is another name for booths or tabernacles. He set up booths for his animals as a picture of the feast that God would set up years later to represent his heavenly tabernacle. I think that Jacob and Esua’s reunion is a picture of what reunion with our loved ones will be like. All prior disagreements will no longer have any weight or remembrance there.
The story of Dinah is tragic. Dinah went out to make friends with the townspeople but was raped by the ruler’s son, Shechem. Even though he defiled her by force, he fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. He went to her father, Jacob to ask for her hand. Jacob had heard that she was raped and her brothers Simeon and Levi came up with a plan. They told the men of the town that they would intermarry if they were circumcized. This was a small price to pay for the advantage their town would have in making a covenant with Jacob and sharing his wealth and daughters. They agree and on the third day, when the men were especially hurting, Levi and Simeon came in and slaughtered all the men, took Dinah back and looted the town. When Jacob found out he was so upset and feared that they had caused him to be an enemy to the other towns. Levi and Simeon didn’t care because they had defended their sister of a horrible crime.
In Matthew, Jesus defends John’s ministry. John was uncompromising, and a great prophet - the last of the Old Testament prophets. He was the one to issue Jesus’ ministry in. Jesus rebuked the people for wanting everything their way. They had criticized him and John for the opposite reasons and would be judged by their pettiness. They had been given much, so in eternity much would be required of them.
Lord, help us to be grateful for the revelation we have available to walk in. Forgive us of our silly complaints. Help us to recognize the day we live in and walk wisely.

Tues.’s Devo - Covenants

Read: Genesis 31:17-32:12; Matthew 10:26-11:6; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 3:16-18
Jacob who had tricked his brother out of his birthright and his blessed had spent years with a father-in-law that was even more conniving than him. God used his 20 years with Laban to teach and mold Jacob into how to use his gifts for good not harm. Rachel, however could leave her father, but not his idols. She stoled them and lied to her father and her husband. This cost her her life. God couldn’t let these idols into his promised land.
Laban found out that Jacob and his family had left with their sheep and pursued them seven days. When he caught up with them, only a dream saved Jacob’s life. Laban accused Jacob of stealing his gods and Jacob pronounced a death sentence on Rachel unknowingly.
Jacob and Laban had the talk they had needed to have for 20 years and made peace. Jacob took a stone and stood it up like he did when the angels had visited him. He and Laban piled rocks around the standing stone. This was their word of covenant and they sat and ate a meal together to seal the covenant.
In verse 42 Jacob said that that night God had seen all that had transpired between him and Laban and had passed judgment in Jacob’s favor. Laban called the pile of stones “pile of witness” in Aramaic where Jacob called it “pile of witness” in Hebrew. Jacob was a type of God’s people where Laban was a type of the wicked who don’t fear God. The rocks stood for God’s watch over their covenant. Laban could never hurt anything of Jacob’s and vice versa. The rocks were a dividing line or witness.
These rocks stand as our covenant with the Lord that the enemy cannot pass into our lives. They stand for the Word of God and the blood of Jesus. God is the just judge who judges in our favor and will protect us from being stolen from or harmed. It is our job to erect this standing stone. In other words, it is our job to stand on the Word of God and command our covenant rights.
After Jacob left Laban he passed a camp of angels!
Jacob’s greatest fear about going home was meeting Esau so he sent messengers ahead of him to greet him and get his reaction. The messengers came back with word that Esau was coming with 400 men. This was not what Jacob was hoping for. He cried out to God and reminded God what he had promised about his family becoming as numerous as dust.
When the enemy comes at us like a flood, we have the Word of God to stand on. That is why it is so important to write down the things that God has said to us so we can look at them at our lowest times and remind ourselves and God what he said.
What Jesus said in Matthew couldn’t be more applicable to Jacob. Our lives are totally in the Lord’s hands. He will set people against us…even in our own families but we have to choose him. Our family can be the test to prove to God who we love the most. Jesus was definitely tested in his family. No one understood why the eldest son wouldn’t become a carpenter and take over his father’s business to take care of his family. Little did they know he was doing his father’s business.
John was thrown in prison for defending Jesus and was confused that the one who came to set the prisoners free, the Messiah, wasn’t coming to his rescue. When he sent word to Jesus to as if he was the Messiah or not, Jesus saw through his question to his frustration. He told them to tell John all the things he was doing and then he added that blessed is anyone who is not offended in me. He was reminding John and us that when he doesn’t do things like we think he should that maybe we should step back and see the things he has done.
Lord, help us to remember all the things that you have done for us and be grateful and strong.

Mon.’s Devo - The Blessings on Jacob

Read: Genesis 30:1-31:16; Matthew 10:1-25; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 3:13-15
As Leah was bearing children, Rachel was becoming more and more frustrated and upset that she was not bearing. She blamed it on Jacob who told her he wasn’t the one denying her children but God was. So Rachel gave Jacob her maid, Bilhah also he could have a son through her. She had Dan and then Naptali. Not to be outdone, Leah gave Jacob her maid, Zilpah and she had Gad and Asher.
One day, Rueben brought some mandrakes home to his mother, Leah. Mandrakes were known to make a woman fertile. Rachel tried to buy them from Leah which she did for a night with Isaac. (I wonder if Jacob felt like the pawn in their baby competition.) Leah gained Issachar that night, then Zebulun and Dinah. Finally, God heard the cry of Rachel’s heart and she conceived Joseph.
Jacob felt it was time to break off from Laban and go back home so he made a deal with Laban to fairly divide the animals. The problem was that God kept blessing Jacob with the best and strongest animals and Laban with the weaker ones. Laban tried to cheat Jacob till finally Jacob had had enough and decided to run away. He consulted his wives and they agreed that their father had turned on them and they were no longer honored by him. They packed all their belongings and set off to go back to Canaan.
In Matthew, Jesus called his 12 disciples and gave them authority to do the things he did: drive out unclean spirits, heal all diseases and preach that the kingdom of heaven was near. He gave them specific instructions about what they could and could not take. The people were to supply their needs and they were not to receive any money for what they did. Jesus warned them that they would be loved by some and persecuted by the religious system. The Holy Spirit would give them the words to say to their accusers when the time came. They would get a taste of his life and theirs when he was to leave.
Lord, help us to take the authority Jesus gave us and boldly proclaim the kingdom of power.

Sun.’s Devo - By Faith

Read: Genesis 28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12
Isaac called in Jacob and blessed him with Abraham’s blessing and told him not to take a wife from the Hittites like Esau did, but to go back to Rebekah’s family and take a wife from her people.
When Esau realized that his parents didn’t approve of his Kennanite wives, he took a wife from Isahmael’s daughters.
On the way to Haran, Isaac stopped for the night and laid his head upon a rock. He dreamed of the stairway to heaven. He saw God who told him that the land he was lying on would be his one day and that his descendants would be like grains of dust on the earth. God would be with him and bring him back to this place. When Jacob awoke he was greatly moved and took the stone he had slept on and stood it up as a pillar. He named the place Beth-el which means “house of God”. He vowed to give God a tenth of all he possessed.
When he arrived in Haran he came to a well where all the shepherds were waiting until they all gathered their sheep there, then they would take the stone away and water the sheep. Jacob asked the shepherds if they knew his uncle, Laban and they told him that his daughter was walking up that very moment. One look at Rachel and Jacob was smitten. He took the stone off the well and watered her sheep himself. He kissed her and followed her home.
Jacob worked for Laban for a time before Laban offered him wages. Jacob offered to work for Laban 7 years for his daughter Rachel. Laban happily agreed and when the time came, Leah still hadn’t been taken so Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah first. Jacob had to finish out his week with Leah, promise to work another 7 years for Laban and get Rachel the second week.
Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so God opened Leah’s womb but closed Rachel’s. Leah had four sons: Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. They were named to describe Leah’s emotions at the time but they also describe the history of the world and mankind.
In Matthew, Jesus had just explained the new wine in new wine skins when an official came in and bowed before him begging Jesus to come and raise his daughter from he dead. A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up behind Jesus hoping to touch the hem of his garment and be healed. She did and was instantly healed. Jesus turned and asked who had touched him. Usually, the touch of an unclean person would make the one touched unclean so she was afraid when she admitted what she had done. Jesus made the point to call her out and proclaim over her that it was not the touching of his robe that made her whole but her faith. He wanted everyone to know that she was no longer unclean.
Jesus continued to the official’s house and raised a non-Jewish girl from death. Then he healed two blind men and cast the demon out of a dumb man and he was able to speak. Jesus came to bring life from death, open our eyes and give us a voice…these are all pictures of new wine being poured into new wine skins.
Lord, may we bring life to the dying, open the eyes of the blind and give voice to the ones who have been silenced.

Sat.’s Devo - New Wine Skins

Read: Genesis 26:17-27:46; Matthew 9:1-17; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 3:9-10
God had blessed Isaac and his troop so much that the Philistines were jealous and told them to leave. They tried to curse him by stopping up all the wells that Abraham had dug. Every time Isaac’s servants struck water, the Philistines would claim it as theirs. After the third well was dug and was uncontested and he could feed his flocks.
Isaac took his people and left and went to Beersheba where God spoke to Isaac and confirmed the covenant he had made with Abraham to make them into a mighty nation. Isaac built an altar and dug a well. Abimelech and his friends came and found Isaac and wanted to make a covenant of peace with him. They couldn’t discount the blessing they had seen upon Isaac and they wanted him on their side. Isaac made a treaty with them.
Isaac grew old and knew he was about to die so he called for Esau to give him his blessing. He sent him out to kill meat and prepare it for their ceremonial meal before the blessing. Rebekah heard the conversation and sent for Jacob and told him her plan to switch him so he would get the blessing.
It worked and now Jacob had the blessing and the birthright. Esau returned to find out he had lost out again and was distraught. He made Isaac eek out a blessing which was hardly what he wanted to hear. Esau planned to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac died. Rebekah sent Jacob back to her family to live with Laban, her brother.
In Matthew, Jesus always had the appropriate response that would teach a much deeper lesson. Paralysis was thought to be the result of sin and maybe in this instance it was true. Surely it was the sin of the fall that brought all sickness into the world. Jesus addressed the sin and forgave it and then the man was able to walk. We will never walk the Christian walk without first having our sins forgiven.
Jesus gave the law keepers who condemned him for eating with sinners some homework. They were to meditate on what God meant when he said, “I want compassion rather than animal sacrifices.” He reminded them that he didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners. They thought they were already righteous so they wouldn’t be called.
Jesus gave them the example of new wine in freshly prepared wineskins. They prepared old wineskins from cracks by rubbing oil on them and softening the skins. The Pharisees were the old cracked wineskins who had not prepared their hearts to receive the new wine of the Messiah. But, the true followers had allowed their hearts to remain soft and could put the new gospel into their hearts.
Lord, help us to remain freshly prepared wineskins to receive anything you have to show us.

Fri.’s Devo - Isaac’s Rise

Read: Genesis 24:52-26:16; Matthew 8:18-34; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 3:7-8
Rebekah agreed to go with the servant to be Isaac’s wife. Isaac loved Rebekah and she was a comfort to him after losing his mother, Sarah.
Abraham also got a new wife, Keturah, which means “incense”. She bore Abraham six sons who he sent out with gifts to forge their own lives. Counting Ishmael, Abraham had eight sons. When he died, he left everything to Isaac. Isaac and Ishmael buried their father in the cave at Machpelah where Sarah was buried.
Ishmael had 12 sons who became tribal rulers. They settled around Egypt.
Isaac married Rebekah who was barren for years until Isaac prayed to God for her. She became pregnant with twins who fought one another in her womb. When she asked about it, God told her that there were two nations in her womb who would be hostile towards one another. He added that the older would serve the younger. Esau came out first with Jacob holding on to his heel. I bet they were a handful to raise! Esau was covered with hair like a man and was completely formed.
Esau grew up a hunter who had Isaac’s favor because he made stew from his meat that Isaac loved. Jacob was an inside man who liked to stay in the tents with the women who was Rebekah’s favorite.
One day, Esau came in famished from hunting and Jacob was cooking stew. Esau wanted some and Jacob seized the opportunity to sell him some soup for his birthright. Esau thought so little of his birthright that he agreed.
Jacob is the supplanter which is defined by his name but the truth is that Jacob understood the importance and value of the birthright and the blessing where Esau saw no value in his responsibility. He just wanted to hunt and fill his flesh. God was pleased with Jacob’s desire even though his means were wrong and He was displeased with Esau’s heart.
There was a second famine in the land so Isaac took his family to Gerar and lived among the Philistines. God warned him not to go to Egypt. He repeated the same thing his father did and told everyone that Rebekah was his sister. His lie was found out and he was brought in to the king, Abimelech and rebuked for lying. Abimelech gave orders not to harm him or Rebekah.
Once Isaac came clean about Rebekah being his wife, he planted seed that yielded 100 fold. That means that every seed bore 100 plants! That is amazing! God quickly caused him to prosper in the midst of a famine. This caused the king to be afraid of him and told him to move.
In Matthew, Jesus give orders to his disciples to cross to the Gentile side of the lake. Two different people approach him desiring to be followers of him. The first is a teacher of the Torah. He proclaims that he will follow him wherever he goes. Jesus’ reply is that everyone has a place of rest except him. I think he was trying to let him know that to follow him would cost him everything. The next man was a disciple who wanted to stay around his safe house until his father died and then bury him. This could take years. He is a picture of the person who wants to follow Jesus…one day, after he has done everything he wants to do first.
Jesus left in a boat and met a furious storm. It was his enemy, Satan, trying to keep him from reaching the man on the other side who was under his control. Jesus rebuked him and the sea went calm. It was a precursor of what was going to happen on the other side.
Lord, help us to see beyond the surface. Thank you, that you can prosperous in the midst of famine.

Thurs.’s Devo - Faith

Read: Genesis 23:1-24:51; Matthew 8:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 3:1-6
Sarah died at the age of 127 years. She is the only woman whose age was recorded in the Bible. Hebrews 11:11 says that Sarah received the strength to have a baby by faith. She also died in faith. Faith equals righteousness.
Abraham bought the cave and field in Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver. Machpelah means “he brought low the set apart.” Machpelah became known as Hebron which became a city of refuge. Cities of refuge were on top of the earth what they were under the earth for the dead. They were places of rest for the “set apart” under the earth.
Abraham knew he was about to die but he wanted to make sure Isaac had the right wife before he left. He sent his servant to his own land to get a wife from among his people. His servant found Rebekah at a well of living water and she fulfilled every requirement he had made. God had led the servant to a woman who was Abraham’s niece who was kind, beautiful and willing to follow God into the unknown.
There are so many stories that involve a well because the well is the vessel that holds the living water. The woman at the well in the New Testament was a picture of the Gentile nation being betrothed to Jesus. She had had 5 husbands meaning that she had been under the covenant of 5 kingdoms with other gods and at the time was not even under a kingdom. She chose to become a citizen and married to the kingdom of God.
In Matthew, Jesus healed a man with leprosy who was a Jew. This was one of the Messianic miracles that the priests had said that only the Messiah would be able to do. The law has a ritual that those cleansed of leprosy were to go through and they had never been able to do this because no one had been healed of leprosy who was a Jew. Jesus told him to go and show himself to the priest to be a sign to them that the Messiah had come. Sadly, they didn’t believe. But, next we see a Roman, a Gentile with the faith of child. He tells Jesus to send his word and it would be done. He understood the way authority worked in the world and surely it would work the same in the unseen world. He was right and Jesus was amazed at this faith.
Lord, may we have the faith of this centurion.

Wed.’s Devo - Obedience is Better than Sacrifice

Read: Genesis 20:1-22:24; Matthew 7:15-29; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 2:16-22
Abraham was living in the land of Abimelech the king of Gerar. Abimelech saw Sarah’s beauty and called her in to ask about her. She had been told by Abraham to tell everyone she was his sister so he took her to marry him. God closed all the wombs of Abrimelech’s family and gave Abimelech a dream telling him that he had taken a married man’s wife. Abimelech woke up mad at Abraham for deceiving him. They ended up making a covenant to protect one another and he gave Sarah back to Abraham. All these trials were to teach Abraham to trust in God. Sometimes he passed in flying colors and sometimes he didn’t. But he learned.
Isaac was born the exact time God promised he would be born. Abraham was 100. He threw a feast for him the day he was weaned and Hagar mocked him jealously. Sarah noticed and complained to Abraham. God told Abraham to let Sarah do whatever she wanted to do about it because Isaac was the child of promise. God would watch over Ishmael and he would be the leader of mighty nations because he had the seed of Abraham in him. Sarah kicked Hagar and her son out but God prepared water in the desert and a promise to sustain them. Hagar found a woman from Egypt for him to marry.
Abraham bought his first piece of real estate in the promised land when he bought Beersheba from Abimelech. He planted a grove of trees and called upon God there.
Later, God tested Abraham in his greatest test. He told him to sacrifice Isaac. He obeyed the very next day. When Isaac questioned where the lamb was, Abraham told him that God would provide a lamb. He did. Abraham bound Isaac with cords and laid him on the altar. Just as he was about to bring his knife down, God stopped him. He provided a ram instead.
Isaac let his father bind him and lay him on the altar just like Jesus was led as a lamb to the altar of his death and didn’t speak a word. Isaac willingly submitted to his father just as Jesus willingly submitted to his. God blessed Abraham and renewed his covenant to make him a great nation with so many descendants they would not be able to be counted.
Later, Abraham learned that his brother Nahor had had 12 sons and a daughter, Rebekah.
In Matthew, Jesus warned his disciples of false prophets. You would know them by their fruits. He warned them that even if they did great miraculous signs and wonders, if their lives didn’t bear fruits of righteousness then they were false prophets. We are to hear his words and obey.
Lord, help us to not question your commands, but obey. Your ways are higher than ours.

Tues.’s Devo - Judgement on Sodom

Read: Genesis 18:20-38; Matthew 6:25-7:14; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 2:6-15
God appeared to Abraham again on his way to bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. He allowed Abraham to testify on their behalf but there were not enough to win the case. In Jewish law, there has to be 10 people to constitute a government.
The sin of Sodom was so great, the people had no respect or spiritual awareness of the fact that they were confronted with angels. Instead, they wanted to take them and rape them. When Lot tried to reason with the crowd, they almost broke down his door. The angels reached out and pulled Lot into the house and struck the men with blindness so they couldn’t find the door. This is all a prophetic picture of how Jesus found the Jews when he came to earth. They were so bent on killing Jesus that he had them struck with spiritual blindness until the end.
The angels told Lot and his wife that they had a small window in which to escape that night. They got their daughters and fled. Even though their daughters were engaged to men, the men refused to believe so they stayed. Lots wife turned beak to see the destruction and was turned into a pillar of salt. The city had gone up in fire. They had been told to flee to the mountains which is exactly what the Jews will have to do in the end. Lot was too much of a baby to go to the mountain so he begged God to allow him to move to a small city. They allowed him to do that even though it was not God’s best. They only stayed a short time before they decided to go to the mountains. There their daughters decided to get their father drunk enough to have sex with them to carry on his line. They both conceived a son which brought us the nation of Ammon and Moab.
In Matthew, Jesus continues teaching the people. He talks about God’s provision and judging one another. He taught us to ask what we need, seek what we have lost and knock for doors to be opened. He summed up the Law and Prophets with the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you want them to do to you.”
Lord, thank you for your wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Covenant

Read: Genesis 16:18-19; Matthew 6:1-24; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 2:1-5
It is hard to read the Bible with western eyes and understand the mentality of the people. It was very common to have concubines during that day to bring about children even though it was not right in the sight of God.
The story of Sarai and Hagar reads like a soap opera. Sarai thought she was running out of time and needed to help God. We can all relate to that! She took Hagar and gave her to Abraham to make a baby.
Hagar was the innocent party, but once she got pregnant thought less of Sarai and Sarai felt her hostility. When Sarai couldn’t take it any more, she blamed Abraham for having the silly notion of having a baby at their age. To keep the peace, Abraham told her to do whatever she wanted to do with Hagar. She made it so uncomfortable for Hagar that she finally left penniless and pregnant.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar by a spring in the desert. He told her to go back and submit to Sarai and that God would increase her descendants so that they would be too large to count. He told her that the name of the child was Ishmael and he would be a wild man who even his brothers would hate. What a prophecy!
She returned to Sarai and had her baby. Abram was 86. Thirteen years later God appeared to him again to confirm his first covenant with Abram. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham because he enlarged his word. He would not just be a father of a nation but many nations. Kings would come from his people, the whole land of Canaan would be his possession and he would be their God. Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Every make who is eight days old was to be circumcised, including those born in his household and those he bought with money.
God recommitted his covenant that Sarai would have a son and he would be the son of the promise, not Ishmael, though Ishmael would become great and have many descendants also.
Abraham obeyed and circumcised his whole family.
In Matthew, Jesus continues his sermon on the mountain. They got a lesson on what true humility is and on how to pray. He summed it up with this: “You cannot serve two masters.”
Lord, help us to turn our ears to wisdom and apply our heart to understanding. Help us to understand the fear of the Lord and find your knowledge.

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Covenants

Read: Genesis 13:5-15:21; Matthew 5:27-48; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 1:29-33
Abram and Lot each had their own cattle and servants. When they grew too large to stay in the same place, they decided to split. Abram gave Lot first choice so he chose the greenest grass with the most water toward the east. When he had gone, God told Abram to look north, south, east and west. All the land would be his one day…even Lot’s land.
Lot lived in the city of Sodom where living was easier than living off the land, but sin was greater and more assessible. Abram chose to stay a nomad farmer. Kedorlaomer was king of Elam and most of the kingdoms were under him. Sodom was one of the cities that paid tribute to him in exchange for his protection. Sodom, along with four other cities decided they wanted to rebel. Kedorlaomer gathered three other allies and they all met in the valley of Siddim. Sodom and Gomorrah were ravaged and lost everything. Lot was carried off with all his possessions. Abram was told what had happened to Lot so he took 318 of his trained men and defeated the army of Kedorlaomer which had to be a miracle. They rescued Lot and the other people along with everything they had stolen. After this miraculous defeat, God sent his own High Priest, Melchizedek to meet Abram. Abram gave him a tenth of all his spoils.
The king of Sodom wanted to reward Abram with the goods of Sodom, but Abram refused. He didn’t want the king of Sodom ever saying that he had made Abram great. God reminded Abram that He was his reward. Abram reminded him that there was nothing he could give him that would mean anything without an heir. God took him to the stars and told him that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Abram believed him and his faith was the same as righteousness to God. God made a blood covenant with him and told him the future of his people. They would be strangers in a foreign nation and made slaves there for 400 years. Then, they would come out with much possessions. His descendants would return in the forth generation. God promised him the land once more.
In Matthew we have the most misunderstood passage about divorce. You have to read it in the King James to really understand what it is saying. Jesus said that whoever put away his wife must give her a writ of divorcement. If he put her away without it, he was committing adultery when he remarried and he would cause her to commit adultery if she wanted to remarry because they were not legally divorced. God hates the putting away (Malachi 2:16 “For the Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates putting away.”) KJV
Committing adultery would be the only automatic reason that might not require a writ of divorcement. When God divorced Israel and Judah, he wrote them a writ of divorcement making it a legal act. Jeremiah 3:8.
Jesus blew their minds when he told them to love their enemies and pray for the ones who persecuted them. He practiced what he preached.
Lord, help us to live by your Word.

Sat.’s Devo - The Blessing of Abraham

Read: Genesis 11:1-13:4; Matthew 5:1-26; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 1:24-28
This is my 45th year through the Bible and I am amazed at all the new things I see every year. Abram’s father Terah was on his way to Canaan when he stopped short in Haran. It must have been God’s plan that Abram be the one who went all the way to Canaan. (Many times we as parents pave the way for our children to continue the calling on our family line.) Terah died young compared to his predecessors. When he died, God called Abram to leave Haran and go to the land he would show him. He promised to make Abram a great nation and bless him. His name would be great and he would be a blessing to others. Those that blessed him would be blessed and those who cursed him would be cursed. All the people on the earth would be blessed because of his descendants.
Abram took his fatherless nephew, Lot with him and he and Sarai raised Lot as their own.
They arrived in Canaan and accumulated much wealth and followers along the way. By a tree in Moreh God appeared to Abram and told him that he would give this land to his offspring so Abram built an altar to the Lord. From there he went toward Bethel. If you take the meaning of the places it reads: at the end of time there will be a teacher who will bring the former rain of the Holy Spirit. He will be the first to rise from the dead and lead others to the house of God.
There was a famine in the land which means the people were not living for God. Abram and Sarai went to Egypt to make it through the famine. Even in famine, Abram prospered and came out wealthier than before the famine and learned to trust God deeper.
In Matthew, Jesus taught the sermon we call “The Sermon on the Mount”. He taught them that they were blessed no matter what their circumstance was. They were to flavor and light the world with the God who lived in them. Their righteousness was to exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They laid such detailed laws on the people that they couldn’t do. Their deeds were only on the outside to make themselves look good when in their hearts most of them were great sinners. There were some of the leaders who were holy and seeking the Lord’s kingdom with all their heart. These became followers of Jesus.
Lord, help us to walk in confidence that no matter what our circumstance is, you are our blessing.

Fri.’s Devo - After the Flood

Read: Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23
When the waters flooded the earth they came from the springs of the deep and the floodgates of heaven. So they were like jets on the floor and the ceiling. The waters began on the 17th day of the 2nd month and had gone by the 17th day of the 7th month when the ark rested on Mt. Ararat which means “the curse reversed”. The curse was the rain which now rain is a blessing that stands for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God promised to never curse the earth again because of man even though every inclination of his heart was evil from childhood. After the flood, things changed. Even what they ate changed. Before, man was told to eat herbs and plants but now he was told he could eat meat. For the first time, God put the fear of man in the heart of animals so that they would protect themselves from being killed. They were not to eat meat of an animal that was still alive. Neither were animals to eat living creatures; they were to make sure they were dead first.
God said, “just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” This is a picture of the millennial reign where everything will be ours to eat. They were told to be fruitful and increase in number and multiply on the earth. God placed the rainbow, the glory that shines around his throne, as a picture of his covenant he made with us never to destroy the earth with water again. God was bringing a piece of heaven to earth. It is comical that the homosexual community uses a rainbow as their logo. God will not share his glory with darkness.
Noah had three sons and from them the world repopulated. Shem was the oldest and the Syrian, Hebrew, Arab and Assyrian nations came from him. Ham’s name means “black”. He was cursed by his father for dishonoring his father and uncovering his nakedness. His descendants build Babylon and lived in Arabia and Ethiopia. Japheth was responsible for the Celts , the Medes, and the Ionians or Greeks.
Once John the Baptist was imprisoned, Jesus began preaching John’s message of repentance. Jesus chose his first two disciples which were brothers: Simon Peter and Andrew. They were fishermen but Jesus called them to catch something more important than fish. They would now catch men. The next people he chose were also brothers and fishermen: James and John. The four of them left everything to follow Jesus.
Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching and healing every disease and sickness and his name became known.
Our Psalm is man crying out to God and our Proverb is God calling out to man.
Lord, may we respond to your call as you are always responding to ours.

Thurs.’s Devo- The Forty’s

Read: Genesis 5:1-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalms 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19
God calls all the men and women created: “Adam”, which means “human beings, or mankind”. God gives us Adam’s genealogy that doesn’t even mention Cain or Abel as if they didn’t exist. He counts Adam’s generation from Seth. Man didn’t walk with God until Enoch. Once Enoch had his first born son, Methuselah, he began to walk with God. Enoch lived 365 years and was raptured. Methuselah’s name means “when he dies, it will be sent.” The day Methuselah died, Noah entered the ark and the flood began. Methuselah was the father of Lamech who lived 777 years.
God sent angels down to earth to teach man of righteousness but they were given the ability to sin and that they did. They fell for the women of the world and married them having offspring that were warriors and had authority. Some think these became demons. Instead to teaching man righteousness, they taught them evil. The Book of Enoch says that they taught them how to make weapons of mass destruction, hallucinagenics from the chemicals in the earth and all sorts of bad things. Their seed multiplyied on the earth and threatened to altar mankind so God in his sovereignty and love had to destroy the earth. He found one man who had not polluted his body with this DNA of demons. The Bible says of Noah that he was “perfect in his generations” so God chose him to be the savior of the world. What a picture of Jesus.
Noah’s story has so many references to the Children of Israel through the wilderness and the end of the ages. Enoch is a picture of the true church being raptured before judgment comes and Noah is a picture of the new believers who will go through the Great Tribulation with Jesus. They will be put in the ark or tabernacle of God and saved from the elements of the world. The flood took 40 days for all mankind to die just as it took 40 years for all the rebellious Israelites to die in the wilderness. This is a picture of the Tribulation of the end of days. God always preserves his people in a place of safety like the ark.
The waters of the ark and the waters of the Red Sea were a type of baptism to cleanse the people of sin. John the Baptist came with the call to repent and be baptized because he knew if they chose to kill their flesh in the waters of baptism they would escape the fire of the next judgment.
God used Jesus’ baptism to announce his coming to the world. He was cleansed from the filth of the world so he could be led into the wilderness to be tempted and stand. Remember, Jesus was half human, half God, just like we are if we are born again. The devil tempted Jesus by attacking his identity saying, “IF you are the son of God.” He tempts us the same way. He will use the very things God has called us to to intimidate us. He will question us with whether God sent us or not. We have to use the Word of God and our confidence in God against him.
Lord you are a shield around us. You share your glory with us and lift up our heads. Let your blessings be on your people today.

Wed.’s Devo - Repent, For the Kingdom is Near

Read: Genesis 3:1-4:26; Matthew 2:13-3:6; Palms 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9
We learned that every seed manifested the fruit of that seed. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil manifested that fruit. To know good and evil was to know all the details about them. We are drawn to want to know all the gory details which is the fruit of that tree. Ephesians 5:12 says that it is a shame even to speak of the things evil people do in secret. The devil tempts us to want to eat of this tree all the time. The tree of life gives only life. Think of how our day would go if we only ate of that tree all day; our discernment would be very accurate. Everyone who had a part in deceiving Eve or eating of the fruit was cursed. 1 Timothy 2:14 says that Adam was not deceived, but the woman, Eve was. Adam willfully ate of the apple causing the whole earth to be cursed. It was through Adam, sin entered the world and through the second Adam, Jesus, sin was defeated.
Through the curse given to Eve, we learn that Satan has offspring just like God does and we also learn who wins.
God killed animals and covered Adam and Eve’s nakedness with the skins teaching them how to atone for sin. Cain decided he could please God his way. He offered a sacrifice of his works that was not his first fruit or alive or of blood. Abel offered a sacrifice of his first fruit, it was alive and had blood. His offering was accepted by the Lord. Cain couldn’t take the rejection and rejected God instead of repenting of his wrong. He killed his brother out of jealousy and hatred and became the seed of evil. Abel was a type of Christ who offered the perfect sacrifice that pleased God and whose blood had power to speak even from the grave.
Adam later had a son to replace Abel named Seth which means “dedicated”.
In Matthew, an angel led Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt to save his life, then to bring him back when it was safe and then where to live. I wonder if Joseph realized he was fulfilling prophecy. Jesus grew up in Nazareth while his cousin, John was beginning his ministry to prepare the world for Jesus. John’s message could be summed up in one statement, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” That is the same statement the spirit is saying for his second coming.
Lord, may we repent and realize how near your kingdom is to us.

Tues.’s Devo - The Plan

I can’t believe another year has come and gone. Every year, I ask God for a word for the year. Last year’s word was “clarity”. I think God did give us clarity in so many areas. He will continue to give us more and more clarity this year but I have felt like 2019 is going to be a year of “magnificent manifestations”. God’s plan has always been to fellowship with us and have a relationship with man so it doesn’t surprise me that manifestations would be something God would want to do. He is trying to communicate with us and show us his power. He wants us to be a people that he can trust with his power and his glory. The way to be that person is to keep the cross very close. It is only through humility and death that we can truly be exalted and live. God wants us to come where he is and is inviting us to his home to visit with him. He comes to ours all the time. The door is open in heaven and we have an open invitation to come and dine.
Read: Genesis 1:1-2:25; Matthew 1:1-2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6
Yesterday we read in Revelation that in the end there would be no need for a sun and moon because the light of God would be the light. In Genesis, that was the first thing that God did. He shone his glory over the earth and light flooded the earth. Every day, God taught a different principle.
On the first day he separated light from darkness and gave them names. Light is called day and darkness is called night. On the second day he separated the waters. Some waters went above the expanse and some to the earth. The expanse in between heaven and earth was called Heaven which is the second heaven. In the Strongs it means “the sky, the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve.” There are three heavens: the first is our sky, the second is the place where angels and demons clash and the third is where the throne of God is. One the third day, God gathered the waters under the sky to one place. Waters stand for spirits. He called the waters on the earth “seas”. We call spirits on the earth the sea of humanity. The dry ground was called “Earth” which means common ground. Then God brought life in the form of a seed. Here is the Word of God coming to earth. Whatever seed was planted, it bore a plant that conformed to that seed. How true in our life. Whatever seed we are planting into our lives, we are bearing the fruit of it.
On the forth day, God called for lights in the heavens to separate the day from the night. These lights were to mark seasons, days and years. They were called the sun, the moon and the stars. The sun would stand for God, the moon would be the church and the stars would be the constellations that would stand for the individual people.
On the fifth day, God created living creature to fly above the earth and creatures to swim under the earth in the sea. These look like angelic and demonic leaders or princes.
On the sixth day, God created creatures to walk the earth both animals and man. These would be the objects of sacrifice for both kingdoms. Man was to rule the earth and he was blessed. He was to eat the seed-bearing plants so that he could be fruitful.
God rested the seventh day and blessed it. It was to be a holy day.
There is no way I can give justice to Genesis One so I’m going to highlight some and leave the rest. Notice that God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and he wanted man to realize it, so he told Adam to name the animals. In doing that, Adam noticed that he didn’t have a helpmeet. That is when God put him to sleep and formed Eve out of his chest. He took one of his ribs. Our ribs coincide with the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. We have 24 ribs. I’m betting that God took the rib marked Judah and formed the Bride. God chose a tribe out of the twelve to birth the Messiah that all the world would be blessed and be able to come to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.
We see this in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew. He was born of Judah. Then we have the written account of Jesus birth - a miracle conception showing that Jesus had a heavenly father and an earthly mother…just as we do. When we become saved, our we get a new father and are born again into a new family. Joseph had to be shown the ways of this new kingdom through dreams which he submitted to. Mary and Joseph were hand-picked by God because he knew they would obey just as we were hand-picked by God to live in these last days.
God reveals what he is doing in the sky and the Magi knew this. They were waiting for birth of the king of the Jews and when they saw his star appear, they knew it was different from all the other stars. When they came to Jerusalem and told King Herod, he and all of Jerusalem was disturbed because they knew the prophesy. This information got many babies killed, but God preserved Jesus. Satan did everything he knew to keep Jesus from living and it is his plan to kill, steal and destroy us also but God’s plan is to give us life and it is more powerful.
Lord, thank you for another year to read your awesome story of redemption.