Genesis 49 - Outline

v1-2

the sons were told to gather together to listen to their father

v3-27

Jacob told each of his sons what was going to happen to them in the future, and blessed them:

v3-4

Reuben: mighty, but unstable

v5-7

Simeon and Levi: scattered for their anger and cruelty

v8-12

the Lord would come through Judah

v13

Zebulun

v14-15

Issachar was going to become a servant

v16-17

Dan: a judge and a snake

v18

waiting for the Lord

v19-20

Gad

v21

Naphtali

v22-26

special blessings for Joseph

v27

Benjamin: like a wolf

v28-33

Jacob's instructions about where he should be buried

we don't have to sin

Romans 6

v22

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

For those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ, now that we've received Him, we don't have to sin. He has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness, so that we have everything we need to live a godly life. He doesn't ever let us be tempted beyond what we're able to handle, but He always makes a way of escape so we can endure it. How gloriously freeing this is!

We're not under the power of sin any more. We can choose to lean on the Lord for help to do what's right, and then we will be able to do what's right. This is only an opportunity we have because we have Him. People who don't know Him can't experience this freedom. But often, we, as His people don't realize this opportunity we have.

He gives us power by His Holy Spirit, living and working in us, so that we can be bold, and stand strongly. We don't have to study beforehand what we will answer accusers. We can receive wisdom and the words to speak from the Lord, supernaturally, right at that moment. As long as He is on our side, we don't have anything to worry about.

What joy there is, that we don't have to get mad, or tell a lie, or be contentious, if we choose not to. All of the riches of the Lord's help are available to us, so the only way we'll sin is if we allow it. Let's realize that when we're tempted, or when we're going into a tempting situation, and let's take advantage of leaning on the Lord for strength, and let's not allow the sin.

Proverbs 31 - Key

v8,9

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

One way to open our mouths, and to plead the cause of people who are appointed to destruction, is to pray for people to be saved. In a way, they're poor and needy. And, like people who can't talk, maybe they couldn't or wouldn't pray the same way for themselves.

Application

In the next few days, when prayer requests come up for people who need saved, I'll focus on praying for them.

Proverbs 31 - Outline

v1-2

words from the mother of king Lemuel, which means, for God, or by God

v3

warnings about ways like of women and whiskey

v4-7

alcohol is for dying people people, not for kings

v8-9

speak up for the needy, and for people who are appointed to die

v10-31

the virtuous woman:

v10

the value of a virtuous woman

v11-12

a virtuous woman will take care of her husband

v13,19,21,22,24

a virtuous woman works hard to make clothes for herself, for her household, and to sell abroad

v14-16

a virtuous woman is industrious and diligent, provides food, and does planting

v17,25

the strength of a virtuous woman

v18,27

a virtuous woman isn't lazy

v20

a virtuous woman reaches out to the poor and needy

v23,25,28,30

a virtuous woman retains honor (like Proverbs 11:16)

v26

a virtuous woman has wise and kind speech

v29

a virtuous woman surpasses all others

v30

the value of beauty is nothing compared to the fear of the Lord

v31

reward the virtuous woman like she deserves

Genesis 17 - Key

v23

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Abraham did all of what the Lord said, thoroughly, and he did it ...in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. We should follow that example, to obey the Lord immediately, when there's something we know He wants us to do.

Application

I'll apply this by not putting off my school assignments until the last minute.

Genesis 48 - Key

v17

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

There's a lot of favoritism that we show to people without really thinking about it. We end up having favorite people, that we're often nice to, and other people that we're in the habit of not being very nice to. This passage made me think about how we shouldn't show favoritism like that.

Application

Zechariah 7:9

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

The Lord's been showing me how I should be kind to siblings, recently. I'll work on showing compassion to my siblings by being nice to the ones I don't usually be nice to, instead of showing favoritism.

Genesis 17 - Outline

v1-2

a call to perfection

v3-7

God changed Abraham's name and promised he would be a father of many nations

v8,9

the Lord promised to give Abraham the land of Canaan

v10-14

the Lord gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision

v15-22

God changed Sarah's name, and promised to give Isaac, and promised to make a great nation out of Ishmael too.

v23-27

Abraham performed all the circumcisions the very same day the Lord told him

Genesis 48 - Outline

v1-2

Joseph and Jacob made sure to get ready for the blessing while they could

v3-4

Jacob told Joseph about the Lord's appearing

v5-6

Joseph's family would be part the Lord's promise

v7

Jacob told Joseph about Rachel's death

v8-11

the Lord got the credit for giving Joseph children and letting Jacob see them

v12-20

Jacob blessed the younger son more than the older

v21-22

Jacob had captured goods from the Amorites in battle

joy and peace by believing

Romans 5

v1

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

If we want help and peace, we should have faith.

v2

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Let's make sure that we're trusting and believing in the Lord right now, then we can be justified again, and have peace, and rejoice.

Proverbs 30 - Key

v5

Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Praying to the Lord for help is one way to express trust in Him.

Application

I'll continue to pray and cast my cares on the Lord, and He's going to be a shield for me as I trust in Him.

Proverbs 30 - Outline

v1

introduction

v2-4

the wisdom of humility

v5-6

the purity of the God's Word

v7-9

desire not too little, and not too much

v10,11

curses

v11,17

it seems to be pride that causes people to be disrespectful to their parents, and that will lead to destruction

v11-14

generations: it seems like wasn't everybody from a certain family line that would have these problems, but it was all kinds of people, regardless of family line, during a certain period of time.

v12-14

pride keeps filthy people from being washed, and destroys needy people

v15-31

numbers of things

v15-16

discontented people are like several not-very-nice things

v18-19

3 or 4 things too wonderful to understand

v20 (& 12)

people in darkness think they're OK because they cover up their problems

v21-23

3 or 4 terrible things the earth can't stand

v24-28

4 things that are wise even though they're small

v29-31

3 or 4 things that smoothly and gracefully move

v32-33

with saying things you shouldn't, and wrath, it's better to just "cut your losses" and try to take it back while you can

Genesis 16 - Key

v13

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

This is an encouragement that we should seek the Lord in our trouble, and He'll see us.

Application

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

When there are specific troubles in my life, I'll pray, and talk to the Lord about them, and just ask Him for what my requests are about them. Sometimes I don't even know what to pray, so then I'll just ask Him to help with the situations, that He would deal with them and work them out. Like He saw Hagar and took care of her, I can be encouraged to know that the Lord sees me.

Genesis 47 - Key

v3

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What [is] your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants [are] shepherds, both we, [and] also our fathers.

Pharaoh asked just what Joseph had said he would, and the brothers wisely answered with the words Joseph had put into their mouths.

Application

When people in authority question us about things like our occupation, we should honestly and wisely answer just what the Lord gives us to say, and the Lord will cause it to work out.

Genesis 16 - Outline

v1-3

Sarai had an idea

v4-6

as usual, having multiple wives didn't seem to work out very well

v7-9

the Lord found Hagar

v10-12

the Lord promised Ishmael

v13-14

Thou God seest me

v15-16

Ishmael was born, like the Lord had promised

Genesis 47 - Outline

v1-6

Joseph's plan worked: His family got the best land because they kept livestock, and because they answered wisely

v7-10

Jacob met Pharaoh and told about his life

v11-12

Joseph provided for his family like he had promised

v13-17

the cash for cattle program, when money failed

v18-20

federal takeover of real estate, for economic bailout

v21-26

urbanization and income tax, because the government owned the people

v22,26b

tax-exempt religious workers

v27

Israel grew greatly in Egypt

v28-31

Jacob asked Joseph to swear not to bury him in Egypt

blessedness of righteousness by faith

Romans 4

v7

[Saying], Blessed [are] they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

We don't become right or good because we've kept God's laws. Everybody has broken the laws of God by sinning in some way. The blessedness comes in, when, even though we've done wrong before, we can be forgiven by faith in Christ.

Let's be examining ourselves, and making sure to repent from any sins we have. The Lord will forgive us-- Not because we've done things good enough, but because of His mercy.

have faith, you're forgiven, & it's not by works

Romans 3

v28

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

I have 3 thoughts from Romans 3:

1. First, that I really need to focus on having faith, and believing in the Lord:

   v22

   Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

2. Secondly, once again, that our justification is not by the things that we ourselves do:

   v24

   Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

3. And finally, that I have been justified, and I need to remember that my past sins are forgiven and gone:

   v25

   Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Praise the Lord.

don't despise His goodness

Romans 2

v4

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

When the Lord has been convicting us about how we need to repent, we shouldn't try his patience. We should consider how good He's been to us, and we should be diligent to serve Him better.

v16

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

There's a day coming when the Lord is going to judge us, even for all the secret sins that we have. We should be examining ourselves for sin, if the Lord convicts us, we need to repent.

Genesis 15 - Key

v1

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.

This is an encouraging promise.

Application

v6

And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

It's important to trust in the Lord in our situations. I'll work on being diligent to do what I know the Lord wants me to do, because the Lord is my reward, and I believe in Him.

Genesis 46 - Key

v3,4

And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

The Lord told Jacob to not fear, that He'd go with him, and that He'd bring him back out. It's encouraging promise that we don't have to fear, because the Lord is with us, and He will deliver us.

Application

I'll work on trusting the Lord, and believing that the He will work things out for good, instead of worrying and being afraid of what will happen.

Genesis 15 - Outline

v1-6

the Lord promised Abram a multitude of descendants

v7-8

the Lord promised Abram he'd inherit the land

v9-11

Abram prepared a sacrifice according to what the Lord told him

v12-16

the Lord told Abram what was going to happen in the future, and showed him supernatural signs

v18-21

the Lord made a covenant to give Abram the land

Genesis 46 - Outline

v1-4

the Lord gave a very encouraging promise

v5-7

Jacob and his family started to travel to Egypt

v8-15

Jacob's descendants by Leah

v16-18

Jacob's descendants by Zilpah

v19-22

Jacob's descendants by Rachel, including Joseph and his two sons in Egypt

v23-25

Jacob's descendants by Bilhah

v26-27

the numbers of Jacob's descendants

v28-30

Jacob had a very joyfully emotional reunion with Joseph

v31-34

Joseph had his brothers explain to Pharaoh that their occupation was livestock, and then, because of that, they ended up living in the land of Goshen

the power of God unto salvation

Romans 1

v16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

This is just a reminder, once again, that the gospel is powerful and does lead to salvation, and we should preach it like we realize that.

with all confidence

Acts 28

Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, and then:

v5

And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

When the Lord's on our side, we don't have to worry about anything. Nothing can really harm us.

v31

Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

We should boldly do what the Lord wants us to do, without worrying about anything.

Proverbs 29 - Key

v1

He, that being often reproved hardeneth [his] neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Sometimes it's easy to get used to criticism for something, because people talk to us about it all the time. Then we start ignoring it, because we think we aren't really doing anything wrong.

If people reprimand us for a certain thing very often, we better make awfully sure we aren't actually at fault in that thing. We shouldn't just casually brushing it off all the time. If we were warned so many times, and the warnings end up being right, we're going to be in big trouble.

1 Corinthians 10:12

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Application

v22

An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

If I'm an angry person, I'll be guilty of stirring up strife and doing all kinds of bad things. It's tempting to think that it harmless to get angry for a good reason, or when other people seem to be doing a lot worse things wrong.

In some situations it's very difficult (and sometimes seems impossible), to keep from getting angry-- like when people we really care about are doing dumb and bad stuff, or mistreating us; Or when we feel desperate and trapped in an overwhelming situation.

We need to keep our cool anyway. Because, if other people have problems, that's their problem; but, if we respond the wrong way, then that becomes our problem. The Lord does make it possible for us to maintain a level head in all those situations.

1 Corinthians 10:13

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

I don't really think I have very much of a problem with this right now... But my application from Proverbs 29:22 is to make sure I'm not being an angry person, in order to make sure I'm not stirring up strife.

The Lord versus Your Own Understanding

Acts 27

v11

Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

v21

But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

We should listen and do what the Lord wants, even when it's contrary to what makes sense to us.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

the ministry of reconciliation

Acts 26

v18

To open their eyes, [and]
to turn [them] from darkness to light, and
[from] the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among them which are sanctified
by faith that is in me.

This is awesome. This is what our mission is, and this is what the gospel does. There's great power in the message, to make a great and positive difference in people's lives. Like that verse says, it's by faith in Him. Here is that message, of what He has done for us:

v22b, 23

...witnessing..., saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

That Christ should suffer, [and] that he should be the first that should rise from the dead,
and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

Let's be faithfully witnessing and preaching the gospel to people like this.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Paul's appeal

Acts 25

v11

For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

Paul boldly asserted his right to appeal to a higher authority for justice, when it appeared like doing so would further the Lord's purpose. And, when Paul was dragged in front of high authorities with accusations against him, he took those opportunities to preach the gospel to them. We should look for the Lord's purposes in our situations.

when false witnesses arise

Acts 24

v6

Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.

It's interesting how each of the speeches accusing Paul contained a distinct lie. On the other hand, this speech was packed with all kinds of lies-- but the one that caught my attention was that Tertulius said of Paul, whom we took, would have judged according to our law.

In the previous chapter, Acts 23:3, Ananias had commanded the people to hit Paul on the mouth; and Paul asked Ananias, sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? But here Tertulius said they would have judged Paul according to their law.

Sometimes, when people aren't really following the right ways of the Lord,
it seems like they can't even live up to their own laws.

What's encouraging to me, is that when people were lying about Paul, the Lord gave him the answer to speak, and the Lord worked out the situation for His own purposes