Today's meditation comes from Proverbs 3:1-10
Today's podcast comes from this blog post: Neurotransmitter Imbalance and Depression: Chicken or the Egg?
Today's meditation is on James 1:17. A few notes on the Greek:
Additional verses discussed:
Today's meditation is on Phil 4:19 but jumps around a bit. Here's a few others:
Today's meditation jumps around a bit:
Matt 8:28:32
Mark 5:2-13
Luke 4:33-35
Mark 1:23-26
Mark 1:34
Luke 4:41
Matt 8:4
Today's meditation is on Genesis 11:6.
Today's meditation is on Joshua 21:45. God is faithful!
Today's podcast comes from this blog post: Essential Fatty Acids, Neuroplasticity, and Brain Injury
Today's podcast comes from the betrayal of Jesus, in John 18 and in all of the Gospels.
I am indebted to Rick Renner's terrific book, Paid in Full for some of these insights into the Greek meaning and interpretations!
Today's meditation comes from Joshua 3:10-17
Today's meditation comes from Deuteronomy 12:5-12
This week's podcast comes from this article, Essential Fatty Acids, Neuroplasticity, and Brain Injury
Gen 15:13: God said the Israelites would be servants and afflicted for 400 years; Ex 12:40-41: it was 430 yrs. They were 30 yrs late. Perhaps bc Moses killed the Egyptian and fled?
Ex 2:10: Moses became Pharaoh’s grandson
Ex 2:11-15: he kills an Egyptian and flees (he’s 40 years old here: Acts 7:22-29)
Ex 2:24-25: “God remembered… God saw… God knew”
Ex 3:2-4: the burning bush (bushes often lit up in the desert) — this is 40 years later (Acts 7:30)
Ex 4:10-13: Moses asks God to send someone else
Ex 4:14: Aaron, Moses’ brother, becomes his mouthpiece
Ex 4:24-26: the angel almost kills Moses for it, but blood saves him
Ex 4:31: initially the people believe and worship
Ex 5:7-23: Pharaoh won’t let them go, and makes them work harder; the people blame Moses, and Moses blames God
Ex 6:12 and v30: Moses is still protesting to God that Pharaoh won’t listen to him
Ex 7:3-5: God tells Moses that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart
Ex 7:7: he is 80 now
Ex 7:13, 8:15, 9:12, 9:35, 10:20, 10:27, 11:9-10, 14:4: Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, as God said
Ex 8-10: the first nine plagues:
Ex 8:18-19: the magicians could not make gnats too, though they did turn their staffs to serpents and the Nile to blood and made frogs come up out of the waters. They told Pharaoh the gnats were the “finger of God.”
Ex10:1-2: God says again why he is doing this.
Ex 10:7: Pharaoh’s servants plead with him to let the people go - “do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”
Ex 11: pause from the plagues while Moses prepares the people to flee after the tenth.
11:2-3: they plunder the people
12:1-13: explanation of the Passover feast and the blood on the doorframe: a type of Christ. Resets their calendar to this as the first month.
12:15-20: Passover is followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread: leaven (yeast) is a type of sin (Gal 5:9)
12:29: the tenth plague: death of the firstborn
13:17-18: God doesn’t lead the Israelites to the Promised Land through the land of the Philistines bc he knows they might change their minds if they meet war that soon. That’s why they go to the Red Sea.
Ex 13:19: Moses takes Joseph’s bones with him, as he instructed (Gen 50:25) and was later commended for this as an act of faith (Heb 11:22).
Ex 13:21: Pillar of cloud by day and fire by night
Ex 14: the people grumble, Moses cries out to the Lord, and God is annoyed; the Red Sea parts. Egyptians pursue; God throws them into a panic, and they retreat. Then the waters cover them (v28). The path is about 9 miles.
Today's meditation comes from Genesis 37-47 on the life of Joseph.
Gen 37:2: he was seventeen
37:3: Israel loved him more than his brothers and gave him the coat of many colors
v4: but the brothers hated him
v5-9: He makes it worse by sharing his dreams (double dream: it’s decided)
v18-22: the brothers conspire to kill him, but Reuben to spare his life
v27: They sell him into slavery
v32: they lead Israel to believe he’s dead
Ch 39:2-3: even in slavery, Joseph is blessed.
v12: his master’s wife tries to sleep with him. He flees, and she accuses him of attempted rape (v14-15)
v20: Joseph gets thrown into prison (no idea how long this took — months at least I’d assume)
v21-23: Joseph gets blessed in prison and is in charge there.
Ch40: years later at least, the cupbearer and the baker get thrown into prison and have dreams Joseph interprets for them.
v12-14: Joseph tells the cupbearer he will be restored, and to remember that he’s innocent and in prison
v23 but the cupbearer forgets.
Ch 41: two whole years later, Pharaoh has two dreams.
v9-13: the cupbearer finally remembers Joseph to Pharaoh
v14: Pharaoh calls for Joseph. They bring him out, shave him, and change his clothes.
v25-31: Joseph interprets his dream
v32: the doubling of the dream makes it sure. (He had to remember this about his own dream?)
v34-36: he proposes what to do about it
v40-44: Joseph promoted
v46: he was thirty (so 13 yrs passed)
Ch 42:6-9: Joseph’s brothers bow before him (he must be 37 at least by this time). But he messes with them
v1-5: because he wants to see Benjamin, his full brother
v21-24: the brothers discuss their guilt regarding Joseph, and that is why this is happening - and Joseph gets to hear it.
v27-28: he gives their money back
Ch43: They go back when they run out of food
v16: Joseph sees Benjamin with them, and prepares food
v29-30: He meets Benjamin and goes off privately to weep
v34-35: he seats them according to birth order and gives Benjamin 5x as much. trying to give them a clue? Does he want them to guess?
Ch 44:2: puts his cup in Benjamin’s sack
v4-5: then accuses them of theft (still messing with them?)
Ch 45:1-4: FINALLY Joseph reveals himself
v5: he apparently forgives them; so he was messing with them for some other reason besides spite
Ch46:8-19: ALL the Israelites who originally go into Egypt
Ch 47:5-6: This Pharaoh favors Joseph
v20: Jacob blesses Pharaoh
Today's meditation is on 1 John 4:18. We also jump around to some other verses:
This is different than fear of the Lord:
"from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him" Ps 103:17
Fear of man/evil/circumstances is the one to avoid:
“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Ps 118:6-9
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." Ps 23:4-5
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."John 14:27
"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded." Isaiah 54:4
"I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass." Isaiah 51:12
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Ps 46:1-3
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.’" Romans 8:15
Faith and fear are opposites:
"And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:40
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Tim 1:7
Why have faith?
"You will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you." Lev 26:5-8
"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord." Jer 1:8
"When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. ...For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." Deut 20:1-4
Isaiah 41:10-14:
"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
all who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand
And says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel.
for I myself will help you," declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
Today's meditation is on Jeremiah 32:27.
We discuss context, and blood covenants a bit. Then we jump to Isaiah 26:3-4 and 1 Peter 5:7.