“Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28 NKJV).

January 18, 2020

JOSEPH IS A CHRISTOLOGICAL TYPE Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother, Joseph. He was the favored son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who had died giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest. Joseph had made things worse with his brothers by giving their father a bad report of their shepherding. He also had shared his

“A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.” (Matthew 12:20-21 NKJV).

January 17, 2020

THE GENTLE KING WHO WON A BETTER VICTORY The Spirit inspired Matthew to quote the Messianic prophecy from Isaiah 42:3 as being fulfilled in Jesus. For the type of justice and victory that Christ would bring was not as worldly kings would. For Christ’s kingdom did not come with violence and destruction. King Jesus was

“Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel” (Genesis 33:20 NKJV).

January 16, 2020

IS YOUR FAITH, YOUR FAITH? As he entered the Promised Land, Jacob built an altar to God near Shechem, just as his grandfather Abraham had once done (Gen. 12:7). However, Jacob no longer referred to the Lord as the God of Abraham and Isaac. Here for the first time, Jacob referred to the Lord as

“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.” (Genesis 32:10 ESV).

January 15, 2020

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU BEGAN WITH GOD? As Jacob returned to the land of Canaan with his wives, children, servants and flocks, he remembered how he had left there with only the clothes on his back and the staff in his hand. His prayer reflected that it wasn’t only the outward blessings that were

“I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family” (Genesis 31:13 NKJV).

January 14, 2020

REMEMBER THE PILLAR MOMENTS YOU’VE HAD WITH GOD Jacob had arrived in Haran empty-handed, but now he had wives, many children and flocks of sheep, goats and camels. The Lord had made him wealthy. Yet, he was fearful for his life, for his father-in-law and his sons were jealous of Jacob and were beginning to

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38 NKJV).

January 13, 2020

Will you answer the prayer to be a gospel laborer? Jesus told His disciples that multitudes of people were ready to be led into the Kingdom, but there weren’t enough workers to lead them. He instructed them to pray to the Lord that more workers would answer the call. I have prayed this prayer continuously

“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV).

January 12, 2020

HONORING THE LORD WITH OUR MONEY AND POSSESSIONS The Hebrew verb “honor” (kabad) may also be translated “give glory to” or “to give weight to.” This first involves recognizing that the Lord is worthy of our honor because He is both Owner and Giver of all things. Second, it means we give the Lord the

“So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” (Matthew 8:27 NKJV).

January 11, 2020

ARE YOU FOCUSED ON THE STORM OR THE SAVIOR? At first the disciples were afraid of the storm outside the boat, then they feared the One inside the boat. “Who can this be?” They wondered. He demonstrates authority over both the seen and the unseen creation. For both storms and evil spirits obey Him. Who

“And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11 NKJV).

January 10, 2020

WILL YOU SIT DOWN WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB? A Roman centurion came to Jesus at Capernaum asking for healing for his servant. Jesus offered to come and heal the servant. But the centurion replied that he wasn’t worthy to have Jesus under his roof. Instead, he said that he believed that Jesus need only

“Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33 NKJV).

January 9, 2020

THE BIBLE IS PRIMARILY A BOOK ABOUT GOD As Abraham grew in his relationship with God, more and more was revealed to him concerning the nature and character of God. Often these revelations took the form of a new name of God. When most English translations of the Bible encounter the covenantal name of God,