Exodus 2:25 “God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” This passage narrates the beginning of the wonderful story of God’s people being saved from Egyptian slavery. After Joseph had passed, the Egyptians were threatened by how the Jewish people were prospering and decided to make them slaves, but God heard their cry and sent them Moses, by whom they would be led to freedom. This specific verse 2:25, caught my attention, after the people of Israel groaned and cried for help, it says that God saw, and knew.   Read More

Genesis 48: Joseph presents his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to Jacob and he adopts them as his own. Jacob gives a right hand blessing to Ephraim, not Manasseh, the oldest. Genesis 49: Jacob shares prophecy for each of his sons (and their respective tribes), this is his last significant act as patriarch. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are all stripped of the birthright. Judah is blessed with the leadersh...  Read More

Jacob, also known as Israel, sets out for Egypt with all his family and possessions, 70 people in total. God had to reassure Jacob “ I am God the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. For there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hands shall close your eyes” Jacob sends Judah ahead to get directions to Goshen. When they arrive, Joseph meets his father, Jacob, and they have an emotional reunion. Jacob fell on Joseph's neck and wept on his neck for a good while. Joseph presents his family to Pharaoh, who allows them to settle in the fertile land of Goshen. Pharaoh also meets Jacob, who blesses him. The famine continues, and Joseph manages the food supply in Egypt. The Egyptians sell their livestock, land, and eventually themselves to Pharaoh in exchange for food. Joseph establishes a system where the people give one-fifth of their produce to Pharaoh. Jacob lives in Egypt for seventeen years. Before he dies, he makes Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not in Egypt.  Read More

We learn of the second journey that Joseph’s brothers took to Egypt and back home again, this time with Benjamin. We learn that Joseph continued to test his brothers, even after they returned to Egypt with Benjamin. We recognize that Judah offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin, life for a life. We also see that it was God who sent Joseph into Egypt for his people.  Read More

There are many lessons in these two chapters. Waiting on God's timing, Confidence in God's plan, Living a life that pleases God, Pointing people to God, The weight of sin, Forgiveness, and more. I would like to focus on two. First, living a life that pleases God.   Read More

Genesis 39 narrates a well-known story in the Bible about Joseph. As we remember, Joseph was a son of Jacob whose life was changed when his brothers sold him, he became a slave and was put into jail, but later became one of the most important men in Egypt. Throughout this journey, we see a faithful Joseph to God and we can read repeatedly in scripture: “The LORD was with Joseph” (vs. 2, 21). This a promise we can rest on as believers.  Read More

Growing up, many times I heard the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors.  That’s the part I remember – A Coat of many colors.  That was about it. His father, Israel (aka Jacob) loved him so much, he had a coat of many colors made for him.  Normally, the heir to a family’s clan would be the oldest.  Israel chose Joseph, instead of the oldest.  His brothers hated him for it;  vs 4 “But when h...  Read More

Genesis 32: Jacob prepares to meet Esau and keeps his faith even in his fear. He acknowledges his reality and praises God for his provision. Later, he wrestles with God and has a moment of transformation when God renames him Israel. Genesis 33: Jacob finally meets Esau after sending many before him. He ends up deceiving him even after a good reunion because of his fear. This is “old Jacob” not “new Israel”. Jacob blatantly disobeys God by going to Shechem. We learn that sacrifice without obedience will leave you tremendously lacking. Genesis 34: Jacob’s disobedience to God left his family exposed to ungodly influences in Shechem. Dinah was defiled and his sons followed in his “old Jacob” footsteps. They planned to deceive the Shechemites and harshly disgraced God’s covenant of circumcision.  Read More

Jacob was blessed by a good and kind God even though there was all kind of sin going on.ManipulationTrickingJealousy between the wivesStrife in the familyUsing bad judgment with the wives maidservantsGod was good to Rachel by opening her womb and giving her a son. He was good to Labon even though he worshiped other gods. Labon was blessed through Jacob. Jacob with all his faults was blessed as wel...  Read More

In chapter 27 of Genesis, it has become apparent Isaac wants to bless Esau before he dies.  When Rebekah learned that Isaac was preparing to bless Esau, she quickly devised a plan to trick him into blessing Jacob instead.  Although God had already told her that Jacob would become the family leader, Rebekah took matters into her own hands.  She resorted to doing something wrong to try to bring abou...  Read More

In today's chapters, we can read about Abraham’s life coming to an end. We can identify the impact of how trusting and obeying God marked his life, the promises that were fulfilled, resulting in blessings to him and his offspring, especially Isaac. We get to know how Isaac started his family, the dynamics between them; several situations they live, and the way they faced them.  Read More

Have you heard Kyle say “God doesn’t want to know if you can, He wants to know if you will”? Genesis 22 comes to my mind when I think of that chapter. God challenged Abraham and Isaac to obedience and they passed the test. God knew it would be so very hard for Abraham to sacrifice his son, as God himself did. God allowed Abraham to say “yes”, but then allowed him the grace of the ram to take Isaac’s place. He wanted to know if Abraham would.  Read More

Summaries for Genesis chapters 19 to 21: Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Lot's wife turns into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters conceive children by him. Genesis 20: Abraham claims Sarah is his sister. King Abimelech takes her, but God warns him. Abimelech returns Sarah and gives gifts to Abraham. Genesis 21: Isaac is born. Hagar and Ishmael are sent away but God provides for them. Abraham makes a treaty with Abimelech. These chapters may bring up more questions than answers. Remember people make horrible mistakes thinking they are right in their words or actions. God shows us His Patience, Love and Mercy.  Read More

Genesis 16: This chapter tells the story of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarai, Abram's wife, is unable to bear children and gives her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, to Abram to conceive a child. Hagar becomes pregnant, leading to conflict. Sarai mistreats Hagar, causing her to flee. An angel of the Lord finds Hagar and tells her to return and submit to Sarai, promising that her descendants will be numerous. Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. Genesis 17: God establishes His covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham, meaning "father of many nations." God also changes Sarai's name to Sarah and promises that she will bear a son, Isaac. The covenant includes the requirement of circumcision for all male descendants as a sign of the covenant. Genesis 18: Three visitors, who are angels, come to Abraham and Sarah. They announce that Sarah will have a son within a year. Sarah laughs in disbelief because of her old age. The visitors then reveal that they are on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah to investigate the outcry against the cities. Abraham pleads with God to spare the cities if righteous people can be found there, and God agrees to spare them if ten righteous people are found, after what looked like a bargaining conversation. In these chapters you there are many principles, applications, and action steps we can glean from. Pray, meditate on God and where you are at this stage in your life.  Read More

New International VersionThe LORD’s Covenant With Abram After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:                                                                       “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,[a]  your very great reward.[b]” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of D...  Read More

Job 40: God continues His response to Job, challenging him to answer His questions. God describes the behemoth, a powerful creature, to illustrate His own power and the limitations of human understanding. Job 41: God describes another mighty creature, the leviathan, emphasizing its strength and the futility of human attempts to control it. This further underscores God's unmatched power and wisdom. Job 42: Job humbly acknowledges God's greatness and repents for his earlier words. God restores Job's fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before. Job's friends are rebuked for their incorrect assumptions about God's justice, and Job intercedes for them. The book concludes with Job living a long and prosperous life.  Read More

Who is this? I will question you! Where were you?” Who…? Have You….Surely you know….Have you commanded….Have you determined?.... Have you seen?.....Do you comprehend…Where —-GOD  Read More

DAWSON “Daws” TROTMAN, founder of the Navigators, drowned while saving a swimmer. Eyewitnesses tell the story of disbelief and great sadness on Schroon Lake that day. Lila, Dawson’s widow was there and someone shouted, “Oh, Lila, he’s gone. She replied calmly…. Our God is in the heavens, and he does as He wishes. Psalm 115:3 That response may seem strange to us. Elihu suggests that our actions, wh...  Read More

Job, chapters 32-34 introduces Elihu, a younger friend of Job who has been listening patiently to the dialogue between Job and his three friends. In chapter 32 in NIV bible I noticed 26 times Elihu used the words, “I, me, my” and used “You, they, them “ 13 times. As I went to chapters 33 and 34 it was 40 times for the words “ I, me, my” and 18 times for “you, Job, your” and only 2 times for the use of the word “us” All this seems like Elihu has a lot of zeal, knowledge, and wisdom but maybe lacking in humility. He says some things that are correct , but he too joins in a condemning voice to Job. We need to be careful how we use our words, our tone, our facial expressions, and body language. We may be saying the right words but from a wrong attitude.  Read More

Job 29Job is remembering when his life was good and glorious. In verse 2 and 3  "he says oh that I was in the months gone by as in the days when God watched over me when his lamp shown over my head and by his light I walked through darkness.".Job had the respect of the people, the young men, the children, the old man, and the leaders. He says even the princess stopped talking and put their heads o...  Read More

In Job 24-28, Job continues to question why the world is not fair. Have you ever found yourself with those same thoughts tumbling through your head? Do you question why God does not seemingly intervene to protect the innocent or punish apparent evil? This passage also gives us insight into God’s wisdom as Job invites us to see the peace that is available when you trust God’s ways instead of relying on human reasoning.   Read More

Job, what a powerful book of the Old Testament. There is so much “meat” for believers in this book, and diving into these teachings allows us a better understanding of ourselves and our Father in Heaven. There are Bible scholars who believe  (with scriptural reference) that Job is the first Bible book written, with potential reference to Job and one of his friends in  Genesis 36:33. That stated, n...  Read More

Real: Life Principles: What truths or principles are found?Job is feeling like his days on earth are done.  He feels defeated. He feels that his glory days are over.  But, he still put his hope and faith in God.  Even after everything he has gone through, he knows God will do justice.Bildad continues blaming Job that his troubles were caused by his sins.  Bildad accuses Job of not even knowing God...  Read More

Real: Life Principles: What truths or principles are found?Job mentioned that life is short and full of trouble. We know that John 16:33 states, "In this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world. This is why we need Jesus.Job mentioned who can produce something pure from what is impure.  We sin because we are born sinners. This is why we need Jesus. Job mentioned a tree...  Read More