Day Twenty-Two (22)

Reading today: Genesis 46-47, Psalm 21, Matthew 9:1-13, Acts 13:1-25
Genesis 46-47
Is Joseph here setting up the conditions of the Israelite's slavery? They give everything to the Pharoah so that he has absolute control...just because they don't have any food (aside: why don't they eat their livestock rather than selling it to buy grain?)

Psalm 21
I don't know the context of this Psalm. Has david just been restored to the throne? Again, I am struck at David's insistence that God has given him everything his heart desired. We know that David was known as a man after God's own heart. Thus, it only makes sense that if they shared the same will and heart, God would grant David his desires. Are our hearts after God's own heart? Do we desire what God desires? Or are we caught up in selfishness, self-glorification (as subtle as it can be)?

Matthew 9:1-13
Another loaded passage...what's new for the Gospels I suppose.
First, Jesus heals a paralyzed man - how? by saying his sin's are forgiven!! To Jesus, forgiveness and healing are intertwined, within the same activity, covered in the same declaration. The prevalent idea that forgiveness is about our 'eternal state' or is only 'spiritual' couldn't be further from the truth!

Then, Jesus makes a direct statement of his mission: "I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough" (13). We must be continually reminded that nobody is good enough, elsewise we slip into Pharisaical mindsets...

Acts 13:1-25
It's easy to take this passage and think every decision should be made simply when the Holy Spirit speaks a direct work, but later in Acts, we see it's not always that easy!! I'm curious about Paul and Barnabas in Antioch, where the leaders of the synagogue service ask for their encouragement! Are they believing Jew? (15)

I love reading the speeches of these early apostles - what message were they preaching?