MONDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 8:1-13
Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 18:25-50
Genesis 41

Genesis 41
The real Field of Dreams had nothing in common with baseball. Joseph had a dream about bowing wheat sheaves. The palace baker and cupbearer had dreams about wheat bread and grape clusters. Pharaoh had dreams about cows and heads of grain. From this field of dreams, God conveyed his messages of consequences and hope. Joseph provided divine interpretations as well as a plan to save Egypt and surrounding nations. Joseph even saved his famine-weary family; the same brothers who sold him now owed him their lives. And in saving them, his family line continued, leading to the coming of the Lion of Judah. 

TUESDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 8:14-22
Acts 11:19-30
Psalm 19
Genesis 42–43

Psalm 19
The heavens declare . . . The farthest visible galaxy is 13 billion light years away from our humble planet. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second and since there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year, light will travel 5,865,696,000,000 miles in a year. Times 13 billion years, that’s . . . well, you do the math. I cannot comprehend that number or distance and yet, God is there. And those galaxies we cannot see? He is there too. The Milky Way, one of countless galaxies, contains an estimated 150 billion stars and God knows each star, planet, and moon by name. Here’s the best news–he knows your name too!

WEDNESDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 8:23-34
Acts 12
Psalm 20
Genesis 44–45

Genesis 44–45
When Judah, who masterminded selling his brother Joseph years earlier, offered to remain as a slave so that his brother Benjamin could return home, Joseph could contain himself no longer and forgave his brothers. Forgiveness is a necessary choice. Without it, the grudges we carry only pull us deeper into the quicksand of bitterness. Forgiveness isn’t letting the other person off the hook. It is letting go of the pain that hurts us. We gave up our right to be angry and hold grudges when we decided to follow Jesus. We must learn to forgive; not because the other person deserves it but because God has forgiven us.

THURSDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 9:1-13
Acts 13:1-25
Psalm 21
Genesis 46–47

Matthew 9:1-13
Without the clarity of hindsight, would any of us have chosen the tax-gathering Matthew as one of the twelve disciples? I doubt it. Such a traitorous occupation and despicable reputation would clearly do more harm than good. At least that’s how the Pharisees reasoned; they accused Jesus of hanging out and eating with sinners like Matthew, an accusation that Jesus wore like a badge of honor. And aren’t you glad he did? Look what we would have missed without Matthew’s life and Gospel. What’s more, being a sinner myself, I’m ever so grateful that Jesus still welcomes sinners into his presence.

FRIDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 9:14-26
Acts 13:26-52
Psalm 22:1-1
Genesis 48

Psalm 22:1-1
When this Psalm was penned, crucifixion hadn’t even been imagined as a form of execution. David wrote prophetically without contextual understanding, but for us the picture is clear! From the words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” to soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ garments, this is Good Friday in the Psalms. The overwhelming prophetic detail depicts the horrors of what would be the price of our souls. Long before crucifixion existed, God had a plan to redeem us at Calvary. We have eternal hope because we live in the shadow of Jesus’ cross. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

SATURDAY

Reading for Today:
Matthew 9:27-38
Acts 14

Psalm 22:12-31
Genesis 49

Acts 14
Kate Halverson observed, “If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.” Narcissists view themselves as gods. Celebrities are treated like gods. When Paul and Silas were seen as the incarnations of Greek gods Hermes and Zeus, they were distressed because they humbly wanted to point others to the only true God. Humility is an honest appraisal of who we are; it’s not overstating or understating our abilities. False humility is as detrimental as no humility because it demeans the gifts God gave us. C. S. Lewis wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself: but thinking of yourself less.”