January - Day 20

Below are a few of my notes from my reading today - 

Genesis 42-43 - Joseph remembered the dream that God had given him as a child, and now could see it being fulfilled.  It didn't happen the way he would have ever imagined.  It is also interesting that Judah was the brother who had the idea to sale his brother into slavery and tell their dad that he died, but now he is willing to give his own life to protect Benjamin.  I feel like this indicates a heart change for Judah, which may have happened when he was humiliated by the situation with Tamar.  I think when we refuse to humble ourselves, God will allow a humiliating experience to humble us.  Humility is often a condition of our heart that God desires so the he can use us to do great things.  It is also significant to understand that Benjamin was Joseph's only full-blooded brother from their mother Rachel.  

Psalm 19 - This is one of my favorite Psalms.  God's glory is on display all around us everyday, we just need to slow down and notice it.  His commands are for our own good, to protect us from the damaging effects of sin.  This is why they are more valuable than gold and a great reward for those who follow them.  It also points out that we don't know what is lurking in our hearts and we need God to cleanse those things that are sinful or leads to sin.  Psalm 19:14 is a great memory verse: "May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord my rock and my redeemer. "  If this were a daily cry of our hearts, it would affect what we say and what we allow ourselves to think about.

Matthew 8:14-22 - Because Matthew recorded the story of Jesus' life for the Jewish mind, he often points out how Jesus' life fulfilled the prophecies that would have been familiar to the Jews.  Here he connected the healing of Peter's mother-in-law with Isaiah 53:4.  
-Following Jesus isn't about finding personal comfort, which is often why people want to follow Jesus.  It will also mean that you will have to forsake the things that the spiritually dead value, in order to experience the fullness of life found following Jesus.  It is a calling to purpose, not comfort. 

Acts 11:19-30 - Again we see the power of the Holy Spirit at work.  Because the "Power of the Lord" was with them, many believed.  Then when Barnabas came, it said he was full of the Holy Spirit, and many believed.  The Holy Spirit does the work of the heart.  The secret of the early church was their reliance on the Holy Spirit. Also, the faith of the early church was seen in their generosity.  A famine was prophesied - meaning it hadn't even happened yet, but they believed it would happen, so it says each person gave as much as they could.  This is not the typical attitude of our christian culture.  The attitude we often have is what is the least amount of money I can give that will keep God happy.  God change our hearts!