Read to prACTice

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* From bond-servant to bonded friends... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 47 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (The Egyptian people exchanged their livestock for food then their lands for food then their bodies for food in the midst of a devastating famine...  )    25  So they said, “You  [Joseph]  have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  With a 20% tax and the selling of livestock, lands, and bodies for food, were the Egyptians forced into slavery? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: Thank You for showing me that the Egyptians did one thing they knew best to express their gratitude for being saved from the deadly famine. And that was to offer to be servants to the favor-giver, the Pharaoh. And made servants they were! Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for bringing me to this p...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Scripture instead of Traditions... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 46 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (On his departure from Canaan for Egypt, God appeared to Jacob in a vision..."   3  He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.   4  I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.” III. Reflection  *  Questions :  Why was Jacob afraid to go down to Egypt? What did the Lord do to help pacify his fright? Did it make sense to have a country (even a greater country) in the territory of another country? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: Please let me be assured that what You told my fathers (such as "not to go to Egypt") may not apply to me today (such as "go to Egypt.") Help me, Lord, to seek Your will in ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* As brothers, don't quarrel... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 45 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (after showing himself as Joseph to his brothers, he requested that they go home to pick up their elder father Jacob, and the rest of the family to come to Egypt to live under his care...) 24  Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them,  “Do not quarrel on the way.” III. Reflection *  Questions : What can't people do when they quarrel among themselves? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for pointing me to the significance of the last word Joseph asked of his brothers before sending them home to pick up their father and the entire family to Egypt for their reunion. The departing instruction was "Do not quarrel." Brothers quarreling among themselves do not look good in the community, especially the community of faith. I thank You for showing me that wh...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* He knew it all along... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 44 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (After Joseph's cup was found in Benjamin's sack, all the brothers returned to Joseph's house to face him. At Joseph's interrogation, "What is this deed that you have done?...)   16  So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s  slaves, both we and the one in whose  possession the cup has been found.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  When Judad said, "God has found out the iniquity of your servants," what iniquity was he talking about? Was it about the "stolen" silver cup? Was it about the selling away of Joseph and lying about his death all these 22 years? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: Thank You for taking me to this point to remind me that rega...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* They had everything except one... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 43 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Jacob's big family ran out of food again, and the famine was severe in the land...) 11  Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.   12  Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.   III. Reflection *  Questions : What did Jacob instruct his sons to bring as gifts to the man in Egypt? Were they not food-related? Were there not a lot of items with a lot of money? So what did he and his family not have? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank you for showing me that Jacob, even...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* One for all and Once for all... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 42 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (just three days ago Joseph demanded that one can be free to go home but the rest of the brothers are to stay back to be imprisoned. But...) 18  Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:   19  if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households,   20  and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  From a decision to require the rest of the brothers to be imprisoned so that one of them to go free to another decision to require only one to be imprisoned so that the rest of the brothers can go free, what made...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Living not from hand to mouth... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 41 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (to prepare the country to deal with a severe famine that was surely coming, Joseph proposed the following to Pharaoh...) 34  Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.   35  Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  How much is a fifth?  What does it mean by "to live from hand to  mouth"? Why was it important that the savings be guarded? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: 20% of income is a lot of savings to set aside even for a nation. But guarding the sa...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Offending the King... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 40 II. One thing the Bible teaches : 1   Then it came about after these things, that the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.   2  And Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.   3  So he put them in confinement . . .  in the prison,  the  same  place where Joseph was imprisoned. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What could the two officials have possibly done that offended the king so much? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that I do not know what the officials did that offended the king so much. But if I were in their shoes, I would playfully sit on the king's throne when he wasn't around taking advantage of my close relationship with him in the palace. That ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* He took to his heels... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 39 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Potiphar's wife persistently sexually invited Joseph but he kept refusing her out of reverence for his God...) 11  But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house,   12  she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.   III. Reflection *  Questions : In what manner did Joseph get away from the woman? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Joseph ran away from the tempted woman in a manner that was decidedly done with no hesitancy. He took to his heels and ran away as fast as Moses ran away from the snake ( Exodus 4:3 ) unashamedly. They both ran caring not if people were laughing at them. O God! Please remind me of th...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Deceiving or Being Diplomatic... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 38 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (After both of his sons died while being Tamar's husbands, one person at a time, Judad did not want his third son, Shelah, to fall into the same deadly pattern...)    11  Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “ Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he  thought, “ I am afraid  that he too may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What kind of a person might Judah have thought of his daughter-in-law? Was it justifiable to label Tamar as a husband-killer woman? Was it deceiving or diplomatic for Judah to say what he said to Tamar? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: Thank You God for showing me that, surely, it did look like Tamar was a husband-killer, but i...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* You knew it full well, even so... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 37 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Joseph's brothers were out pasturing, Jacob wanted Joseph to go to visit both them and the flock for him...)   13  And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing  the flock  in  Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “ I will go.” . . .  So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.  18  When  [the brothers]  saw  [Joseph]  from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Did the elderly Jacob know that his other sons were wicked? Did the elderly Jacob know that he was sending Joseph into his own peril in this mission?  IV. Application : Dear Lord God: For the elder Jacob may not ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Possessed by possessions... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 36   II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (two brothers, Esau and Jacob, parted ways, living intentionally away from each other...) 7  For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock.   III. Reflection *  Questions : Is there an example where possessions and wealth pull people together sustainably? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for taking me to this point to show me the repelling characteristic of possessions and wealth. They have a strong tendency to repel people away from each other. Such is the case at home, in the community of faith, and at any organization. O God! Please help us guard against this relationship destroyer by not talking about our haves, investments, benefit checks, and possessions. O...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* When we die, we do not die! I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 35 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (the birthing of the last-born to Rachel and Jacob ran into trouble... ) 18  And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.   III. Reflection *  Questions : Is death the end of existence? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for clearly showing me that when Rachel died, as Your word explained, her soul was departing. Period! Death isn't the end of existence. The soul lives on. At death, the soul of the one who accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ departs the body to immediately be with Him in paradise ( Luke 23:39-43 ). O Lord Jesus! In You, there is priceless hope and endless peace. Please have mercy and bless the message of the feet of those who bring Your Good News to the souls living without You...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Worship God unknowingly, misleadingly... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 34 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Jacob's sons wanted revenge against Prince Shechem for his assault on their sister, Dinah. They negotiated a plot using the circumcision practice...) 24  . . . listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male [of the Hivite] was circumcised . . .  25  Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons—Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers—each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, and killed every male. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What is Abraham's Covenant? Is it for Abraham's descendants or for everyone? Was it possible that the Hivites did not know anything about this Covenant? What was the evidence that Jacob's sons knew about this circumcision procedure very well? IV. Application : Dear Lord God: ple...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Have food and covering--Thank You, God. I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 33 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (As he met his brother Esau after more than 20 years, out of concern for revenge, Jacob offered him an abundance of gifts. Esau did not want to accept but Jacob insisted...)   11  Please accept my  gift which has been brought to you,  because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have  plenty.” So he urged him, and he accepted  it . III. Reflection *  Questions :  Why did Jacob say that Esau should accept the gift? IV. Application : Thank You, Lord, for taking me to this point to show me the meaning of happiness. That is when a person knows that one has enough material things. She or he does not wait for enoughness.  Both brothers--Esau and Jacob--clearly declared that they had enough already! O Lord! Today, please train me to ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Remembering the down-and-out days... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 32 II. One thing the Bible teaches : 10  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.   III. Reflection *  Questions : What good models did Jacob display in the above Scripture passage? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me the three models that Jacob displayed at this juncture of his life. He professed his true unworthiness of Your steadfast love. He did not forget his early down-and-out days when he left his homeland with only one staff. He admitted to the abundance that he was having now on his way back to the homeland--he was more than content. I thank You, Lord, for taking me to this point to give me the desire to be like Jacob...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Where is their God? I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 31 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Rachel, among Jacob's caravan fleeing from Laban, stole her father's family's gods and hid them in her belongings. Laban pursued and caught up with Jacob's fleeing caravan. Laban questioned Jacob...) 30  And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you  steal my gods?” III. Reflection *  Questions : How big were Laban's gods? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me that Laban's gods were not big for two reasons. One, they were not big in size because they could be hidden and could not be found. Two, they were not big in power because they could be taken and handled without any problem. I thank You, Lord, for taking me to this point to remind me that You are Almighty God. Heaven is Your throne and the earth is Your footstool (...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Like in a fishbowl... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 30 II. One thing the Bible teaches : (Jacob came to ask his boss for permission to return to his homeland with his family. Laban asked him how much he should pay him for his years of service. Jacob answered him saying...) 29  “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me..."   III. Reflection *  Questions : In what way can one tell that Jacob was a man of high confidence? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me how confident Jacob was. He opened his book of work performance for his boss to inspect--nothing to hide, not only from this point on but also from years past. His service has been like in a fishbowl as he knew people--and, especially, the boss--would watch and judge. I thank You for taking me to this point to remind me that people are looking at my work and my l...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Stay in your lane... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 29 II. One thing the Bible teaches : 7  He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.”   8  But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” III. Reflection *  Questions : What was Jacob's background? What qualified him to advise the veteran shepherd? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for taking me back to Your Word to know that Jacob, growing up, was a quiet man dwelling in tents ( Gen 25:27 ), unlike his brother Esau, who was very active out in the field. Yet, here, he advised the veteran shepherds in this passage what to do and when to do their shepherding jobs. And he was promptly corrected! Very appropriately so! I thank ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here  here . ******************* Come, Lord Jesus! and Stay... I. Click here to READ first   Genesis 28 II. One thing the Bible teaches :  (Jacob, on his way escaping from his brother's wrath, prayed to God, saying...) 20 ...  “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,   21  so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the  Lord  shall be my God...   III. Reflection *  Questions : What did Jacob pray for? IV. Application : Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me that Jacob prayed for his travel safety, for food to eat, and for clothing to wear. But You blessed him more than what he asked for because, first, before all these requests, he asked for Your being with him. I thank You for taking me to this point to teach me what to pray. Pray for Your presence in my life. Your presence causes fear to di...