Author: judyinthesky91

Daily Word

Genesis 43

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Read Genesis 43 – Family reunions are strange.  But this one must be the strangest.  It is like murder mystery theater as the son’s of Jacob try to figure out what to do. 

The food has run out and they must return to Egypt.  Jacob is still reluctant to release Benjamin.  Simeon is still being held in Egypt.  Jacob packed them up with gifts of balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin and more, as well as double the money.  He said a short prayer and concluded with, “But if I must lose my children, so be it.” :14, Isn’t that warm and fuzzy?  (I’m sorry, sometimes I think sarcasm is my love language.)

When they arrive in front of Joseph, he summons his people to prepare a midday feast.  Verse :18 tells us the brothers were terrified.  They spoke to the house manager, and explained the mystery of the money.  The manager’s response in :23 is just beautiful. 

The brothers presented the gifts when Joseph arrived.  Joseph examines Benjamin, pronounces a blessing over him, then excuses himself to a private room as he is so overcome by emotion, :30. 

The meal is served in a rather strange fashion.  Joseph has his own table, the brothers have their own table, and the Egyptians have their own table because they despise Hebrews and will not eat with them. 

Joseph arranged the brothers according to their age – which surprised them – and he served Benjamin five times as much.  They feasted and drank freely, and that is the cliffhanger our chapter ends on. 

Beloved, we are looking behind the scenes at God’s providence.  As you go about your day, will you be on the look-out for his providence over your circumstances, and express gratitude at every glimpse? 

Daily Word

Genesis 42

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Read Genesis 42 – When dreams come true –

It all came to pass just as the dream indicated.  Joseph was prudent to do what he suggested and now has abundant grain to keep the whole world fed during the famine.  People everywhere were starving, including Jacob and his family.  Imagine Joseph, or Zaphenhath-paneah as he was known in Egypt, receiving people far and wide, bringing him all their possessions for grain, all day, every day.  Then one day in the routine of it all, 10 brothers approach, his very own brothers. 

Picture Joseph, remember the first thing Pharaoh did was have him change his clothes (41:14).  Joseph must have looked very Egyptian in attire and mannerisms, even having an interpreter while he spoke in the local dialect.  :23  He recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.  Joseph accused them of being spies.  He imprisoned them for three days.  Then he comes up with this crazy requirement that they are to bring the youngest brother back.  I think he was buying time while he processed his emotions. 

I think it must have been fun to mess with his brothers in this way too.  That’s what I think, but the bible only gives us the details, so that is only my own conclusion.  What do you think as you take in this unusual turn of events? 

Meanwhile, what is exposed in Jacob is most tragic.  His grief still lingers for Joseph, and we see it here in his protection of Benjamin in :38.  If only he could have Joseph’s faith that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them (wisdom from Romans 8:28).  Yet, Beloved, he will soon enough!

Daily Word

Genesis 41

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Read Genesis 41 – One call can change everything.  One moment can stop time and your life will forever be measured as before and after. 

It is roughly the 13th year after Joseph’s life went from before, living as the happy younger brother in his fathers house… to after, after being thrown in a well, after slavery, after false accusations, after imprisonment.  And today we find Joseph getting another call. 

Pharaoh has a dream he just can’t let go of.  He shares it with all of the magicians and wise men of Egypt, and none can interpret the dream.  Now, remember the cup-bearer, he would have been close by as Pharaoh was sharing his dream with his advisors.  Starting in :9 he speaks up, telling Pharaoh about this young Hebrew man he met in prison.  Verse :14 tells us, “Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought up from the prison.  After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.” 

Beloved, you have had a call, your life is before Salvation and after.  And you will get another, when you are all cleaned up, clothed in Jesus, standing before God in heaven. 

But, back to Joseph.  When Pharaoh tells Joseph why he summoned him, Joseph responds just as he did before, “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied, “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” :16 I CAN’T, BUT GOD CAN. Hold onto that, Beloved. 

The dream is clarified and Joseph advises placing an intelligent, wise man in charge of the entire land of Egypt, and to collect and store 1/5th of all the crops in the abundant years.  Pharaoh consults his advisors, :38, and they all agree that Joseph is the man for the job.  On the spot, Joseph is elevated from prisoner to the highest ranking official in all of Egypt, just under Pharaoh himself. 

Beloved, live ready.  One never knows when the call will come that changes everything.

Daily Word

Genesis 40

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Read Genesis 40 – Joseph and dreams – If you recall, all of Joseph’s troubles began when he shared his dreams with his brothers (Genesis 37).  One would think he would doubt the dream interpretation, considering the way that one is playing out.  Indeed, from a dream about the sun moon and eleven stars bowing down to him to the reality of abandonment, slavery, and imprisonment one would think Joseph would doubt a lot of things.  But there is zero evidence of that anywhere in his life. 

Our chapter begins with Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker joining Joseph in prison.  Scripture says, “When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.” :6 Beloved, do you see his heart?  Joseph reflects a heart of compassion and tenderness, not bitter self-absorption. 

He asks why they look so worried, and they say it is because they both had dreams that no one could interpret.  Without hesitation, Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?  Please tell them to me.” :8  Joseph does not say that he can interpret, but that it belongs to God… that is the kind of relationship he has with the Father… It gives us a peek at just HOW Joseph could endure a life of trials without despair because he walked so closely with the LORD. 

Beloved, when ugly emotions rear their head in your heart, turn to Jesus.  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all our anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:6-7 

Joseph gives the interpretations and they play out in three days exactly as he described.  All he asked for in return was that he be remembered (:14) but our chapter closes with, “Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.” :23  Yet another betrayal, still, all we see is a steadfast life.  God is preparing Joseph for great things and his faith does not waiver. 

Beloved, trust the Lord with all your heart.  When things get hard, remember Joseph, and may his blessed hope be yours too.

Daily Word

Genesis 39

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Read Genesis 39 – Back to Joseph. 

He is now a house slave to an Egyptian official named Potiphar.  “The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man… His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” :2-3  Joseph is put in charge of all that his master had and his master prospered because of God’s favor over Joseph. 

In verse :6 we learn something else about Joseph, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”  Suddenly, Mrs. Potiphar is interested in Joseph.  She makes some advances, which he refuses, until the day comes where she won’t take no for an answer.  Joseph fled, leaving a frustrated and angry Mrs. Potiphar still holding his coat.  She spins the story and says Joseph attacked her.  When Master Potiphar came home and heard her tale, he was angry and sent Joseph to the prison where the kings prisoners were kept.  I would be so discouraged, but there is no hint of that in Joseph. 

Even in prison, the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. :21 

Beloved, consider what Colossians 3:23 says:  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though working for the Lord, not for human masters,”.  And think about Romans 8:31, “What shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Joseph’s circumstances should be cause for despair, but he walks so closely with the LORD, there’s simply no room for it.  Next time you get down, hang on to Joseph’s faith and trust your Heavenly Father with the outcome.

Daily Word

Genesis 38

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Read Genesis 38 – The bible is real and true. People are messy yet the LORD accomplishes His purpose through us.

Meet Tamar, she is one of only 4 women mentioned in the lineage of Jesus, in the New Testament (Matthew 1:3).  She is given in marriage to Judah’s son,  Er, but he was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the LORD killed him.  :6-7.  Wicked Er was not going to corrupt the lineage of Jesus.  

It was tradition, if a man died before providing a son to his wife, that the brother would then fill his shoes.   The son would not be his though;  the baby would be considered the son of the dead brother. Judah sends in his second son, Onan.  He was also wicked in the eyes of the LORD,  and the LORD killed him.  :10. 

Judah has one son left, Shelah.  He is a bit young to be marrying and fathering his dead brother’s children, plus Tamar’s track record is of some concern. So Judah sends Tamar home to her fathers house.   He says he will send Shelah when he is old enough, but doesn’t. 

Tamar does something that seems crazy, taking off her widows garb, dressing like a shrine prostitute and getting Judah to be with her. She secures the act with his personal items.

… Hang in there,  my feminist friends, this is the anchient world. As things play out, I think you’ll see Tamar is quite the brave and bold fighter within the realm of her time and options.

Enjoy the read.  Beloved, be blessed by this chapter.   The Lord worked through Judah and Tamar despite some overwhelming obstacles and poor choices. He will come alongside you too, working all things for your good and His glory. 💖

Daily Word

Genesis 37

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Read Genesis 37 – Beloved, you are seen; you are precious and useful to God; the biggest challenges of your life are molding and shaping you for divine purposes.  You are loved.  May you learn and relearn all this and more from Joseph. 

We begin when Joseph is 17 and like most of us at that age, he wants to fit in.  He is the 11th son to his father, Jacob, and first born to his mother, Rachel. He is his father’s favorite, and his brothers hated him for that.  :1-4

He has a dream one night, and tells his brothers about it.  In the dream, they bow down to him.  You can imagine how well this goes over. 

One day, Joseph is coming out to where the brothers are working and they conspire to kill him. Then changed their mind to throw him down an empty well because they did not want his blood on their hands.  Then they rethink that plan and sell him into slavery to a passing caravan.  :18-28  They bring back false evidence to make their father believe he has been eaten by wild animals… in other words, his situation is humanly hopeless.  No one is going to come looking for him.  But notice how God’s hand of protection was over him.  The Lord did not allow his brothers to kill him.  The Lord did not allow him to be harmed by the slave traders and the Lord planted Joseph in the service to Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh.  There’s much more to his story, but for today, Beloved, whatever you’ve faced in life, especially the hard parts, will you pray to see it through God’s lense?🌈🧥💤💖☝️🙏😍

Motorcycle Adventures

Oh Honey

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     Covid came for Christmas, making my time with NancyJean an impossibility.  Even after the worst of it had subsided, it would be weeks before the brain fog lifted enough to safely ride.  After a month, we took little rides, 10 miles up the coast for espresso, 12 miles down the coast to visit our favorite motorcycle shop.  

     Yesterday we planned to go to Malibu, but when we pulled onto PCH at 8 am, the cars were already lined up to get in the parking lot.  We have this crazy weather in Southern California, and without fail we will have a heatwave in January or February… a few days of summer to remind us why we put up with the insane taxes and traffic.  Plus, Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.  Our LA Rams would be playing at the brand new Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, and Monday was Valentine’s day.  But let’s face it, no one wants to celebrate Valentine’s day on a Monday.  So Saturday was the only romantic beach day option for most of California. We went to our espresso bar, LUV in Sunset Beach, to contemplate.  

     “Hi, can we get…” my husband started to order.

     “I know what you want,” the barista answered.  It feels good to be known.  LUV serves double espresso shots with a bubbly water chaser.  It makes my mouth feel clean and awake while the caffeine does the same to the rest of me.  We watch hoards of cars head for the beach.  If things were this crowded in Orange County, it would be tenfold in Malibu. 

     We changed our destination three times before heading south, then when we passed our tract, my husband jumped in the left turn lane.  “What are you doing?” I asked from two lanes over, “I thought we were going to Cooks Corner?”  

     “I’m just not feeling it today,” he said.  “Can you get over here?”

     “No,” I answered, and I didn’t really want to.  I was enjoying the cruise.  I told him I would turn around up ahead and meet him at home.  We don’t ride solo too often.  Our headsets keep the conversation lively as we zig zag through traffic and nature.  I passed a turn lane, then another, NancyJean just wasn’t ready to take me home yet.  I rode down to Superior.  A right turn would take me into the heart of Newport’s beachy bungalow community.  A left turn goes up the hill, on a curvy incline that’s fun to ride.  I go left. 

     I passed the KTM dealer where I bought my first motorcycle ever.  I was such a new rider I didn’t even ride it home.  It was a sassy, bright orange little thing named Poppy.  I turned left on 16th Street, through an eclectic mixture of businesses and older Costa Mesa homes.  Trader Joes was on 17th, and I did not want to contend with their Saturday shoppers.  Next was Placentia, then Victoria where ahhh,  the downhill view of my city and sea, then home.

     Sunday morning came early and we sailed through Corona del Mar with ease just after 7am.  By 9am it would be packed, but at 7 we just had to avoid the right lane, where under-caffeinated people were lined up to get their fix.  Laguna wasn’t too bad, Dana Point, again, avoiding the right lane, San Clemente was just waking up.  We stopped at our favorite donut shop, Surfin Donuts.  

     “I recognize you,” the man behind us said.  We got to chatting.  He rides too, but he did his big ride the day before and was in his truck.  That is to say I may have recognized him by his bike, but without it I needed the reminder.  His name is Todd from Dana Point.  The motorcycle community is so friendly.

     We fueled up and jumped on the autobahn… the stretch of I-5 that goes through the military base of Camp Pendleton.  There are no on/off ramps for miles and cars go FAST!  We get off on hwy 76, and head inland.  Our mission is loosely centered around getting honey from one of the roadside stands just past Pala Casino.  We pass the honey and head towards Lake Henshaw.  The cars dissipate, it’s just my hubby and me.  He likes to take the curves faster than I do and I tell him I will meet him at the overlook.

     NJ carries me gently, leaning into the road, the farmland gives way to the lake and birds of prey soar alongside us.   A few motorcycles are racing down, then something crazy, a guy on a skateboard with a video camera!  Then a few more motorcycles, and another skateboarder goes by…. and people think riding a motorcycle is dangerous!  I want to call their mothers.

    While my thoughts are blending together, I am also thinking about Joseph.  I write a daily blog to walk alongside people reading the bible.  It’s easy to get lost, especially in the Old Testament.  Anyway, we are moving into the chapter on Joseph and he’s so remarkable.  Terrible things happen to him, and he just rides it out, betrayal, false accusations, imprisonment, but he never gets lost in self-pity or despair.  I have been trapped by those emotions a time or two, and I have a few family members who get stuck there as well… one of which was NJ’s namesake, my mom, and I long for her on this ride.

    Riding gives me the ability to share life with her on a cosmic level.  She loved to make people smile.  NJ makes me smile, the road, the soaring birds, the crazy skateboarders with their friends, the air is so fresh it tastes good… the synching of the physical requirements of riding with the ebb and flow of life all around me is perfect.  And, like Joseph, all sorrows, all regrets simply do not exist.  I know my mom knows this freedom now too, and I smile, knowing her peace and joy are as full and complete as mine in this moment.

Daily Word

Genesis 36

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Read Genesis 36 – Tomorrow we will read about Joseph and his dream… It’s an excellent chapter that will instill you with hope, faith and perseverance.  But today we are reading about the descendants of Esau. 

I consider this a tough chapter because it is mostly a genealogy of hard to pronounce names.  God told Rebekah she carried two rival nations (Genesis 25:23) and that will continue to play out as the descendants of Esau give Israel trouble.  Esau is the father of the Edomites, and the Amalekites (through Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz – :16).  Our chapter mentions that Esau separated from Jacob because both brothers had been so abundantly blessed that the land could not support them.  He moved to Seir, the place he invited Jacob to when the brothers reconciled in chapter 33.  Beloved, though you may also find this hard to read, know that nothing is in God’s Word casually or without meaning.  In God’s timing and purpose every word will make perfect sense.

Daily Word

Genesis 35

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Read Genesis 35 – Back to Bethel. 

The Lord first called Jacob back to Bethel in Genesis 31:13, but on the way, Jacob set up camp near Shechem with disastrous results.  Casual obedience is a sure pathway to chaos.  We saw this played out in the last chapter with Dinah, Simeon, Levi, and the rest of Jacob’s sons.  Beloved, what is God calling you to?  If you are not sure, go to the last place he led you to and do what he told you then… Ephesians 5 in the New Testament has very clear instructions. 

Jacob tells his family to prepare for the journey by getting rid of all pagan idols, purifying themselves and putting on clean clothing. 

Beloved, do these things as well for a fresh start.  Is there anything in your house/life you would not want to share with Jesus? 

Jacob’s household gave him all the foul things and he buried them under a great tree near Shechem.  Scripture says:  “As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.” :5  Now that Jacob was living in obedience, the LORD guarded his path.  And with his obedience, God reminded Jacob that his new name was Israel (it was first given to him when he wrestled with God in 32:28), and that all the blessings of his forefathers were now his.  Jacob marked the place where God had spoken to him. 

The timeline is unclear, but Jacob leaves Bethel for Ephrath (which is Bethlehem).  Rachel gives birth to her second son along the way, and with her last breath, names him Ben-oni… son of my sorrow.  Jacob calls him Benjamin… son of my right hand. 

Jacob’s first born son, Reuben, shows his father utmost disrespect by sleeping with his concubine, Bilhah.  These are the disqualifiers in Jacobs children: Reuben had sex with Bilhah, Simeon and Levi let the massacre at Shechem… the future is now up to Judah, and from him will come our messiah, Jesus Christ. 

Our chapter ends with the death of Isaac. Esau and Jacob buried him, coming together in unity one last time.

Beloved, may your take-away be, “A man resisting God will see the same effect in his family.  A man who gets right with God will see the effect in his family also.” (from David Guzik commentary on Genesis 35).