January

January 31Scripture Readings:  Psalm 24, Exodus 7-8, Matthew 21:33-22:14 Reflection Verses:  Matthew 21:45-46 Reflection:  Beloved, in the text today, the chief priests and elders wanted to seize Jesus on the spot because they understood that Jesus’ parables had been spoken against them. They did not seize Him, however, because they feared the people, who thought…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 23, Exodus 5-6, Matthew 21:1-32Reflection Verse:  Exodus 6:9 Reflection: God let HIS people know through Moses that HE was rescuing them from their bondage to the Egyptians and bringing them to a new land that He was giving them. Yet, in their cruel bondage and their mental and emotional state the people did not…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 22:22-31, Exodus 3-4, Matthew 20:17-34Reflection Verse:  Exodus 4:24-26 Reflection:  Notice in the reflection verses, that God, Who had called Moses to deliver the people of God from bondage, was now seeking to kill him. Understand, now, that Moses had not been obedient in the secret places of his life, so Moses was in danger…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 22:11-21, Exodus 1-2, Matthew 19:16-20:16Reflection Verse:  Exodus 2:10 Reflection: Pharaoh’s daughter rescued a Hebrew baby boy from the water, made provision for him to be nursed and weaned, then raised him as her son in Pharaoh’s court. She named him Moses because she had taken him out of the water. Compassion really shows forth in times…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 22:1-10, Genesis 49-50, Matthew 19:1-15Reflection Verses:  Genesis 49:29-32 Reflection:  Beloved, Jacob instructed his sons to bury him in the same cave in the field of Machpelah with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and his wife, Leah. Jacob wanted all three generations to be buried in the same place. Beloved, Jacob made provisions for his burial. Jacob…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 21, Genesis 47-48, Matthew 18:15-35Reflection Verses:  Genesis 47:7-10 Reflection:  Lord God, Jacob blessed Pharaoh when he was introduced to him by Joseph and he blessed Pharaoh when he left. When Pharaoh wanted to know how old he was, Jacob told Pharaoh that he was 130 years old, but that was short compared to his…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 19, Genesis 43:15-44, Matthew 16:13-17:13 Reflection Verses:  Genesis 44:33-34 Reflection: The text today records that Judah put his life on the line for his father and his brothers in order to save Benjamin and his father. Judah demonstrated love at its ultimate to lay down his life for another. When it was time to…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 18:41-50, Genesis 42-43:14, Matthew 15:29-16:12 Reflection Verse:  Genesis 42:38 Reflection:  in the text today, Jacob was in extreme grief. He had lost one son, and another was being held for ransom. Then, Jacob faced the possible loss of his youngest son. The thought of it was overwhelming to Jacob.  Beloved, reality kicks us when we…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 18:31-40, Genesis 41, Matthew 15:1-28Reflection Verses:  Genesis 41:39-41 Reflection:  The court official remembered Joseph and Joseph was brought out of prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. God was working HIS plan in Joseph’s life. Because of God’s favor on him, Joseph’s was eventually elevated to be in charge of the entire nation. Beloved, don’t…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 18:21-30, Genesis 39-40, Matthew 14:13-36Reflection Verses:  Genesis 40:14-15 Reflection:  Beloved, Joseph wanted to be free from prison, even though God had blessed him there. So, Joseph took the opportunity to tell his story to the court official that may be of help to him. Notice, now, Joseph did not blame anyone for his being in…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 18:11-20, Genesis 37-38, Matthew 13:44-14:12Reflection Verse:  Genesis 38:26 Prayer:  Beloved, when Judah got caught in his own trap of adultery, he acknowledged his error of not giving his son, Shelah, to Tamar as promised. Judah also acknowledged that he had sinned, then he repented from it and forgave his daughter-in-law. Beloved, we should never point…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 18:1-10, Genesis 35-36, Matthew 13:24-43Reflection Verse:  Genesis 35:7 Reflection:  Beloved, Jacob had now come full circle and returned to Bethel – the place where God had spoken to him when he left Canaan some 20 years earlier. Jacob hid away all the idols in preparation and built an altar to worship the God…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 16, Genesis 31:22-32:21, Matthew 12:22-50Reflection Verses:  Genesis 32:1-2Reflection: In the text, Jacob was successful in separating himself and his family from Laban and was still on his way to the Promised Land. His next issue was dealing with his brother, Esau. The angels were a good sign to him that he was on the right…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 15, Genesis 30-31:21, Matthew 12:1-21Reflection Verse:  Genesis 30:43Reflection:  Beloved, despite Laban’s attempts to disadvantage Jacob, God prospered Jacob. Jacob used the best practices of his trade to build his flocks so he could best provide for his family; he also had God’s assurances and providence with him. Thus, he prospered.  Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 14, Genesis 28:10-29, Matthew 11Reflection Verses:  Genesis 28:16-17 Reflection:  Beloved, after God renewed His covenant with Jacob, Jacob woke up from his dream and proclaimed that the place where spent the night was God’s place. Jacob was excited, ecstatic and afraid. So, Beloved, how do we talk about our experiences with God?   Prayer: Dear…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 13, Genesis 27-28:9, Matthew 10:26-42Reflection Verses:  Genesis 28:1-2 Reflection: Beloved, according to the text, Jacob now had the inheritance and lineage from Abraham to be God’s chosen people.  As such, he was not to marry from the women of Canaan as his brother had. Jacob was given specific instructions to go back to…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 12, Genesis 25-26, Matthew 10:1-25Reflection Verse:  Genesis 26:12 Reflection:  Beloved, notice from the text today that Isaac sowed in the land of the Philistines during the time of a famine and yet he reaped a great harvest because God blessed him. Now, understand that God had told Isaac to go to this land during…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 11, Genesis 24, Matthew 9:18-38Reflection Verses:  Genesis 24:50-51 Reflection:  Beloved, I read today that Abraham’s servant was successful in his assignment to find a wife for Isaac. He sought God’s guidance and then thanked God for it. God then led him to the right family and to a wife for Isaac, which was also confirmed…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 10, Genesis 22-23, Matthew 8:28-9:17Reflection Verse:  Genesis 22:1 Reflection:  Beloved, you must understand that just because we have successfully completed various trials and tests in our faith does not mean we are exempt from additional ones. We never get to “arrive” in our faith. We are always being challenged by God to give more of…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 9:11-20, Genesis 20-21, Matthew 8:1-27Reflection Verses:  Genesis 20:6-7 Reflection:  Beloved, very often God speak to people in dreams about issues going on in their lives. In fact, God sometimes uses dreams to help non-believers come to Christ. In the text today, God used a dream to affirm, instruct, warn and admonish the gentile king, Abimelech,…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 9:1-10, Genesis 18:16-19, Matthew 7:7-29Reflection Verses:  Genesis 19:16-17 Reflection:  Beloved, you will notice that Lot had no strength left after the ordeal of the night in the city. Yet, he was reluctant to move even when he knew the circumstances. So he and his family had to be forcibly removed from the city to escape…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 8, Genesis 16-18:15, Matthew 6:19-7:6Reflection Verses:  Genesis 18:1-3 Reflection:  Beloved, I want you to be aware today as you read the Scripture, that this was not the first time that God visited Abraham. However, this time Abraham wanted more than just a short visit. Abraham desired a longer, more casual visit with God and God…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 7, Genesis 13-15, Matthew 6:1-18Reflection Verse:  Genesis 15:7-8 Prayer:  Holy God, help us to be mindful of our journey with You – where we have come from and where we are now.  Help us Lord, for we need encouragement to fully understand and apply Your promises to our lives. Thank You, Lord, for…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 6, Genesis 11-12, Matthew 5:21-48 Reflection Verse:  Genesis 11:6 Reflection:  Beloved, the people in the text had by-passed God’s purpose for their lives. They did what they wanted to do using the materials they created. God wanted them to inhabit the whole earth, instead they settled down in one area and started building their…

January 4Scripture Readings:  Psalm 4, Genesis 7-8, Matthew 4Reflection Verses:  Genesis 8:20Reflection:  Beloved, Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark was to worship God. He built an altar and made offerings to God from that which God had designated to be clean. This family worshipped and praised God, the way God intended – and they enjoyed…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 3, Genesis 5-6, Matthew 3Reflection Verses:  Genesis 6:5-8Reflection:  Beloved, The Word of God records that the people who lived on the earth were so evil that there was no way for them to repent. God was unable to reach them because every thought or intent they had was toward evil. Still, how wonderful…

Scripture Readings:  Psalm 2, Genesis 3-4, Matthew 2Reflection Verse: Genesis 3:1 Reflection:  Beloved, there will always be people who will seek to question your faith. They don’t believe, so they can’t understand why you do what you do. They ask questions like, “Has God said?” – as if God didn’t say anything of any value, and then they…

January 1Scripture Readings:  Psalm 1, Genesis 1-2, Matthew 1Reflection Verse:  Genesis 1:1-2 Prayer:  Father God, so many lives today are empty, void, full of darkness or full of chaos. Move by Your Holy Spirit over the deep waters of the lives of people including me.  Fill us with the light of Your love and fill the…