Joseph gives his brothers back the money they paid for the grain, and he gives them additional food for their journey home, but he still keeps one brother in prison. It is obvious that he doesn’t trust them to keep their promise to bring Benjamin, their youngest brother, to him.
Read More trust, Joseph
This is one of the so-called “royal psalms,” celebrating God’s appointment of David as king, and giving him victory. It anticipates the reign of Jesus Christ and life “forever and ever” (v4).
David is bursting with joy. This was not the time for a private “thank you,” but a public proclamation, a press conference, declaring God’s strength and power.
Read More trust, praise, joyJacob had, years before, been told by God that his descendants would live in the land of Canaan, but in this chapter we see him packing up and moving his entire family to Egypt. Along the way, Jacob gets a message from God: “Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation
Read More trust, Joseph, detour
Matthew has a fascinating way of putting events together so as to engage his readers in the story. The transforming experiences of three of the disciples on the mountain gives way to the inability of the nine others to practice what Jesus had instructed in chapter 10. But the mountain and all it means is in the background.
This interesting encounter with the demonic and physical illness of a young boy illustrates Jesus tender approach, especially of children.
Read More trust, faith, mustard seedGod had shown his loving heart for Israel by delivering them from slavery out of Egypt. Now God was going to show himself as their Warrior King.
It is as if God put them in this jam to prove that Israel could trust him no matter the circumstance. Just picture the scene. A huge throng of people pressed up against a half mile of water.
Read More trust, presence, warrior, victoryIn verse 46, Jesus cries out that he has been abandoned by God. He is giving voice to more than his feelings. He is expressing an actual fact. A child made feel abandoned by his or her parents in a mall when the parent is actually close at hand. The abandonment that Jesus expresses is real because he bears the sins of the world and is forsaken by the Father. He is forsaken so that we never have to be forsaken (Heb 13:5).
Read More trust, God’s presence, abandonmentThe need for the feasts God appointed in the Old Testament is gone. Jesus has taken their place. Paul tells us, Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:16 & 17 NIV) Nevertheless the spirit in which God gave his people festivals, like the Sabbath, should not be ignored.
Read More trust, Sabbath, rest“God’s timing is not our timing.” We have probably all heard that sentence, sometimes used to comfort; often it may just be frustrating.
Here we see it played out in a life and death drama. Jesus is on his way to Jairus’ house to tend to his dying daughter. The bleeding woman who is healed by her faith and her touch of Jesus’ clothing interrupts Jesus on the way there.
Read More life, trust, miracle, timingGod is there for us and we can trust him. Even when our circumstances seem to take an unwelcomed turn, God is still at work. He has a way of moving us forward and keep his promises.
Psalm 105 is a beautiful snapshot of God’s faithfulness in the past history of Israel. The Psalmist invites us to continue to lean on him and to tell the story of his faithfulness to everyone. “Praise the Lord and pray in his name! Tell everyone what he has done.”
Read More trust, God’s faithfulness, rememberingThree things make us happy in our communities, according to Richard Florida(1). First is living in a physically beautiful place. Next is the ease of meeting others, followed by social diversity with equality of opportunity. The land that Moses describes certainly has the first attribute. It was a land that could make you happy and economically successful.
Success, this passage seems to say, is a gratitude test.
Read More trust, provision, gratitude