The Study Corner    

Brotherly Love, and God's Plans

(Gen 40:12 – Gen 50:26)

Today will need to be a short post, but the reading was awesome of course.  I've always loved the provision, love, and redemption shown in the story of Joseph.  One thing I find as an important note is the method that God's people come in to being in servitude to Egypt.  It's very cool to see God setting up his own method for showing His greatness and providence later.  

He truly is an awesome God in every way.  No matter where our lives lead us, as long as he is the lamp to light our path, our path will always be the narrow way through Jesus Christ.

Shalom be with you all.

Troubled Home Life.

(Gen 28:20 – Gen 40:11)

The story of Jacob, Laban, Rachel and Leah has always been an interesting one.  Seven years of indentured servitude as a dowry to get your wife only to have her father trick you to get another seven years of servitude to get the wife originally promised.  And guys today think a little courtship and and some nice gifts is tough, sheesh. 

I won't delve too deeply into this story right now as I think it is one of those sections that contains so much to learn that it needs a proper in depth study later, but I would like to note something here. From the outset, Jacob had loved Rachel. Undoubtedly, he found it difficult to love Leah, given the events that had brought them together, and Rachel probably also loathed her sister for the same reason. Yet their treatment of Leah causes the Lord to favor her over Rachel. While Leah is able to have children, Rachel is barren. As Genesis frequently highlights, the Lord is ultimately the One who creates human life. 

We also get into the story of Joseph and his plights and God's provisions for him. God's favor is not something to be taken lightly, so don't squander it.  I wish I had more time for this one today, but I'll try to cover Joseph better tomorrow.  

For now, remember, no matter how messed up, or annoying your family appears.  God has already dealt with some tougher, and probably more messed up,  family situations than most of us will ever see.  Allow Him to guide your path along the path through the storms of everyday family life.  Jesus can calm the storms, and reminds us to always focus on God and no matter what happens in our family lives He will be there making provisions for us in this life or eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:17

17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

Shalom be with you all.

Like Father, Like Son.

(Gen 17 – Gen 28:19)

Wow, I'm going to have to get used to the sheer scope that some of these days of reading will cover.  This one was a biggy for me.  From Abram (Abraham) and Sarah to Lot to Isaac, Esau, and Jacob.  

One of the common themes repeated through this reading that caught my attention was how a lot of these people are considered blessed in the eyes of God, but they still screw up like you and I.  They lie, they even cheat, and even have a tendency to forget to trust God even after speaking with Him directly.  That helps me to realize that God will work His plans through us even if we mess up so long as our heart is truly on living for Him.  We may not always get it right, we may come up short on our faith, and completely lean on our own abilities to get things.  All of these things are not what we should be doing, but God can work through them to try to bring us back in line with His plan.  Even in our weakness he makes us strong.

One of the people I must admit to feeling a little pity on through this reading is Abimelech the king of Gerar.  He get's messed with by both Abraham and Isaac.  God, protects Abimelech from sinning against Him, but still.  Father and Son both come through and try to pass off their wife as sister because of their fear for their own well being.  It would've made me start to wonder about anyone from that family that came through.

Shalom be with you all.

Creation & Promises

(Gen 1 – Gen 16:16)

One of the recurrent themes for me through this reading was creation and promises. From the creation in 7 days and His promises for men and women. Then on to the creation after the flood and His promises to Noah and us. And yet again in Abram and Sari's lives.

God's constant love for us and His plan for us just amazes me constantly. How no matter how stupid or arrogant we as a creation act towards our creator, He somehow continues to love us and work for His plan and seeing His continual goal of working toward our redemption through Christ.

Most people I discussed this study with balked at it with the immediate story of how hard it is to get through all the "begats". I think it's important to note that these books are historical and they are helping to show our link from Adam to Noah and onward to Christ. We can see our lineage through our adoptive inheritance into God's family. This is our adopted lineage and I personally find it an amazing blessing to be allowed to know the promises that I've been adopted into.

I pray that God will touch you and bless you through the reading and immersion in His scripture. They say the best way to learn a new language is by immersion. So let's learn the language of God by immersing ourselves in His language and words.

Shalom be with you all.

Tomorrow we are slated to begin reading through the Bible in 90 days.  There's only a few of us, but I am very excited about what we may learn and discover in His word as we delve in.  Please remember, this is meant to be a challenge, it's not meant to be the easiest thing you'll do every day.  In fact you will probably find life getting tougher as things crop up to try and sway you away from reading through your sections daily.  Good.  That means you are doing something that the enemy doesn't like.  The more familiar you are with scripture, the more familiar you are become with God and His nature.

What you need to do:
 

• Commit to the 90-day challenge (Sept 12 – Dec 11)
• Invite your friends to join in on the challenge
• Download and print a reading plan from http://www.biblein90days.com [Click on resources and download the plan from the entitled "bookmark."]
   

How you spend your time in the word is up to you, but try to make sure you set down some quiet time to keep from getting distracted. Always pray before you start reading.  One thing I find helpful is to pick out one verse or selection of verses that speak to me out of the reading, and write a few notes on them each day.  It also helps me find sections I want to come back to at a later date to review more.  If you have other tips, ideas or suggestions feel free to leave a comment, or send me a message and I'll add them going forward.

Each day I will try to post a brief reflection on the reading for the day.  Feel free to chime in with your notes or thoughts at any point.  You can follow them on the blog (studycorner.org), on twitter , or on facebook.  We also have a phone line for prayer requests, and questions about the study at (405) 395-2839 (You may even remain anonymous if you like).

Most importantly try to enjoy the time with God and His word with you.  We are truly blessed to be able to experience something like this, and we should always be thankful of what we have from God; the saving grace of Jesus, and the constant comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

May your time in His Scripture be blessed, and may your understanding of God and His love for you and His plan for you grow daily!

Shalom to each and every one of you.  ~ Jason