Genesis 37:1-38:30
Matthew 12:22-45
Psalm 16:1-11
Proverbs 3:27-32
Sirach 6:18-31
They couldn’t say a kind word to him
Genesis 37:4
Words matter! Too often though I only think about the words I say to others; it’s just as important to think about the words I say to myself!
they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said
Genesis 37:8
Whether I like it or not, not everyone wants me to have dreams. And not only do they not want me to have dreams, but they will also hate me all the more because I do!
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied
Genesis 37:13
Joseph’s dad was sending him to check on his brothers, the ones who hated him, and his reply? “I’m ready to go.” Lord that I would be so willing!
Here comes the dreamer!
Genesis 37:19
What do people call me or refer to me? Why? Are they jealous? Hurt? Scared? Ignore them! God calls me and has called me to a specific purpose for His Glory!
No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.
Matthew 12:24
There are some people that will always try to find a reason I can do what I do, other than the fact that I do it, or that it’s something God has called and gifted me for. The Pharisees couldn’t let Jesus’ miracle go without attributing it to something evil and sinister!
Anyone who isn’t helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
Matthew 12:30
Yikes! Nad at the same time kind of comforting. It’s too easy to overlook someone because they don’t have the credentials, or they’re working on the fringe of everyone else. That’s not always a bad thing when you consider the opposite of this statement.
A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.
Matthew 12:33
You know else is necessary, needed, but not as evident? Good roots!
For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart.
Matthew 12:34-35
Hmmm, what do my words say about me? How closely do I pay attention to the words of others? I mean the thought, intention, and heart behind them?
And I tell you thing, you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak.
Matthew 12:36
YIKES!!!!!!
The words you say now reflect your fate then, either you will be justified by them or condemned.
Matthew 12:37
Holy smokes this always catches me off guard!
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.
Matthew 12:43-45
Another good reminder to stay on guard! I can’t just “set it and forget it!” My problems may be worse than before!
I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!
Psalm 16:2-3
Who are my “people” the ones in my land whom I admire as my heroes? The ones I take pleasure in?
I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night, my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.
Psalm 16:7-9
So many things about these verses…”even at night my heart instructs me” not Facebook or Netflix and chill, my heart and I want my heart to lead me right so I need to fill it with proper instructions! “I will not be shaken” such a hard one right now because the world is all shook up! “My body rests in safety” again a really hard verse to read right now because it seems like nothing is safe anymore; our world is in chaos in varying degrees.
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 16:11
Lord, please show me the way of life, the right way, Your way! I so badly want the pleasure of living with You forever!
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