January 19 Bible readings -- I had a dream

It’s kind of funny that today, as we remember Martin Luther King’s “I Had a Dream” speech, that this is today’s text from Genesis: Genesis 39:1-41:16

The Bible tells me Sow: Matthew 12:46-13:23

Apple of your eye: Psalm 17:1-15

Being cursed vs. being blessed: Proverbs 3:33-35

There’s a lot to gain from reading today’s passage of Genesis. The Lord was with Joseph and had given him an amazing talent. Yet, that didn’t prevent Joseph from experiencing hard times that he did not deserve. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love the Lord, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” If you know the end of the story you realize that God put Joseph in the right place to save his family from starvation. Yet, being carried of to Egypt as a slave probably didn’t make Joseph feel like the Lord was with him. Then it gets worse – Joseph gets thrown in prison. But if Joseph could see the big picture like the Lord does I’m sure Joseph would agree that even these hard experiences were small prices to pay for his entire family surviving the coming drought.

On a side note, Joseph’s family are the first generation of Israelites. And the Ishmaelites who took Joseph to Egypt as a slave are decedents of Ishmael – the great-great grandfather of the Arabs. It may be that these Ishmaelites were Arabs. The clash in the Middle East that we have today is far from a new thing.

In Matthew, Jesus tells us to sling the seed of the gospel – which means the good news about Jesus. Some people won’t get it. Some people will get it, but put it aside. Some people will get it for a while until troubles in life make them put Jesus aside. Others will get it & stick to Jesus like glue all of their lives – and even sling the seed of the gospel to others. It’s easy to get depressed when it seems like nobody cares to here about Jesus. Yet, we’ve got to keep slinging the seed, knowing that somebody will get it. One thing is sure – if we don’t tell folks about Jesus then the seen will NOT be planted.