Bones Alit Devo

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 17 is: Genesis 48-50 Genesis 50:20 ASV - And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. The ability of God to bring good from evil completely challenges the way we tend to think. Several mind-bending conclusions can be drawn.  1 - People cannot stop God's good plan for anyone. God incorporated the choices of every person into his masterful plan. No one can mess up God's plan. 2 - Good wins. God easily overcomes evil every time. God's purpose for life is not to provide a place to do battle in order to defeat evil. Life is a place where people learn to hate evil and love good. Evil is easily defeated by God, but He wants us to learn to fight evil in ourselves. 3 - God knows best what is good. G...

  For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 16 is: Genesis 46-47 Israel (Jacob) was an interesting man. Several times he appears to have tried to use his wealth to gain favor. Yet, Jacob's wealth never saved his family. When wealth did nothing, Jacob made altars and had visions from God.  It makes me wonder: do I go to God first? We often say that all we can do is pray. If we know that prayer is all there is, then we will pray first and last and everything in between.  God knew Jacob's future.  I find Genesis 46:2 NASB to be particularly interesting: "God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.'" God waited until He had Israel's attention. Then God let Israel know that He would go with Israel and that Joseph would be with Israel when he died ...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 15 is: Genesis 43-45 In Genesis 45:5 NASB, Joseph tells his brothers, "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life."  Joseph was aware of a mystery that his brothers had not yet come to understand. There is nothing more exciting than uncovering a mystery about God in your own life.  Joseph's brothers thought that they took Joseph's life from him. How could they possibly fix what they had done to Joseph's life? Surely now that Joseph was in power, he would get revenge against them right? (Genesis 50:15-17) Rather than keeping Joseph from the life he was meant to live, the actions of Joseph's brothers fit right into God's plan. God transformed Joseph's self-important attitude into the...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 14 is: Genesis 41-42 We find in Genesis 41:8 that no one could interpret the dream of Pharaoh. In Genesis 41:16 Joseph makes it clear that God is the One who interprets dreams.  In Genesis 41:39, Pharaoh tells Joseph that because God has revealed this to Joseph, surely Joseph is the most discerning and wise. We find that Joseph finally understood the meaning of the dreams he had about his brothers bowing down to him. Joseph's story was really about God all along. God had put Joseph in exactly the right place with the gift of dream interpretation that only comes from God. God shows Himself through the life of Joseph.  I am not the hero of my story. So, when I feel left behind in my own life, I need to remind myself. God is here too. God will handle my deepest needs when the time i...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 13 is: Genesis 38-40 When the cupbearer showed up and told Joseph his dream, Joseph must have thought, "Finally, rescue!" Joseph tells the cupbearer to remember Joseph when the cupbearer goes back to cupbearing for Pharaoh. We read in Genesis 40:23 that the cupbearer forgot Joseph. Joseph found himself in the middle of a test.  What do I do in the middle of a test? I naturally like to see good rewarded and bad punished. Some day all the good will be lifted high and all the bad will be stopped forever. Until then, God trains the righteous to trust Him when the evil seem to succeed and the good go through hardship. What does God want me to do when I am tested? Expect to face many difficulties. This life is not easy.  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD de...

I asked God to show me what first love means in my life. I don't remember having a love in any beginning that was particularly passionate. I think my passion has grown over time. Then, my first love contacted me unexpectedly. All the reasons why I am not with him came flooding back. I had told him that he didn't understand love. Of course, he accused me of judging him. But it was the truth. I would much rather respect someone by trusting them with the truth than to hide the truth so that they like me. I was also confronted with questions of why didn't care so much about all the ways he hurt me. The truth is, I loved him almost immediately, and I still do. He does not fully understand the ways that his love for me is barely formed. I forgive him, because I know that the wisdom he would have needed to know how to support me was simply beyond his reach. How can I convince someone that don't know what they don't know? All I can do is let God be the One who lets people k...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 12 is: Genesis 35-37 What kind of danger was Joseph in? Our reading of Joseph's story has only just begun, yet we already find hints of the massive danger which threatened Joseph's life. He wore a fancy coat and didn't work alongside his other brothers. Jacob was barely alarmed when Joseph declared that the family would bow down to him in Genesis 37:11. If Jacob were held responsible for disciplining Joseph, Jacob would have failed miserably. Joseph's pride would only have gotten worse if Joseph had stayed with Jacob. Instead, Joseph was honed by God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB reads, "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" God was making Joseph a suitable temple to dwell in. God taught Joseph to be successful as a sl...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 11 is: Genesis 32-34   In Genesis 32:20, Jacob tells us the reason he had for sending two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, thirty milking camels, and their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. Jacob thinks that Esau still wants to kill him. So, Jacob sends a present before him to appease Esau. Now, there is something strange about a gift that is too big. It makes it seem like you've either done something really bad and this is how you make up for it, or it implies that the receiver of the gift can't take care of themselves. Either way, too big gifts do not compliment the receiver.  But before Jacob can discover how Esau will receive his gift, Jacob wrestles all night with someone resembling a man who Jac...

  For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. The reading for January 10 is: Genesis 30-31 We might think that Jacob cheated Laban, but Jacob tells Laban that he wants to go to his own country in Genesis 30:26. Laban responds  by telling Jacob that Laban practiced a divination ritual and decided that the Lord has been blessing Laban through Jacob. Laban expects Jacob to stay and keep blessing Laban. So, Jacob tricked Laban, but only after Laban refused Jacob's request to let him go. Meanwhile, we find that not only were Laban's sons less than pleased with the whole arrangement, but Leah and Rachel are also ready to go. Jacob credits God with keeping Jacob from being harmed by Laban in Genesis 31:7. Jacob says that the angel of God told Jacob in a dream how to cause the striped, speckled, and mottled goats to mate. So, Jacob, Leah and Rachel all a...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 27-29 God planned around Laban's trickery. Jacob needed a lot of difficulty in his life to shape him. In Malachi 1:2 we are told that the Lord loved Jacob. We might ask: if God loved Jacob, then why did the Lord allow Jacob to have such a a difficult life? Even the part of the story where Jacob doesn't have anything to offer in exchange for a bride is a bit strange to me. In Genesis 27:2, Isaac says he doesn't know when he will die. I tend to think that Isaac died soon after this encounter, but Isaac doesn't pass away until long after Jacob had all his children and Esau and Jacob have reunited. In Genesis 35:29, Isaac breathed his last as an old man. Esau and Jacob buried him. It is not clear why Isaac had a bride price to offer Laban, but Jacob did not.  So, Jacob...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 25-26 God takes family seriously. God chose exactly who He wanted to be in His family. I can spend time analyzing who did what and why God loved Jacob and hated Esau, but who am I to analyze God? I look at all kinds of different factors to decide who I like and don't like, but what is God interested in?  God is making His glory known through my life! It's almost unimaginable to not want to be a part of His family. I like that I can be a part of the glory God does in your life too.

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 22-24 The idea that God would test Abraham by telling him to give up his son Isaac seems strange. My sense of what is right is challenged. What happened with Abraham and Isaac follows a pattern which is found in life. Sometimes I must give up what I most want in life in order to receive it back from God. What is God accomplishing in me by asking me to let go?  I tend to think that I know things. I tend to think that I know myself and that I know what is right and good. But, God knows me better. God knows more about what is right and good than I know. I am so glad that God won't let me go on long thinking that my way is best. God gives me blessings,  and He keeps blessing those blessings. He doesn't give and then  leave me to take care of myself . God takes care of t...

  For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 19-21  Lot lived close to danger.  Genesis 14:11-12 11  The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. Abraham rescued Lot from serious peril when Lot was taken by the four kings. Then God warned Abraham about the destruction which was coming on Sodom and Gomorrah. God showed His mercy by saving Lot from the fire and brimstone which rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18:17-19 ASV - 17  And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do;  18  seeing that Abraham had surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19  For I have known him...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 16-18 In the story of Abraham and Sarah, Sarai does what other women did in her day when she could not conceive. The patterns of behavior that people use to get what they think they want are very different than what God wants to give people. God doesn't just give us the blessings of His promises right away. God lets the evil in our hearts be shown to us. God lets us hate what our evil produces in our lives. God's purpose in letting us act in our flesh, in our sinful nature, is to show us our need for Him.  God teaches us how to live not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. It took Abram and Sarai a long time to understand what God had promised and why. In Genesis 17:18, Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!" This was not how God would fulfill H...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 12-15 Genesis 12:1-4 ASV - 1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. At this point in Genesis, Jehovah (we call Him God) starts to focus on one family. God says He will bless all the families of the earth through Abram's family.  One question that I need to ask myself is: What ...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 8-11 What if you lived a good life but missed God?  Can you believe in both God and science? “ My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” - Stephen Hawking, as quoted in Stephen Hawking's Universe (1985) by John Boslough, Ch. 7 : The Final Question, p. 77 Science is a method of inquiry. Science is the way, not the truth. Those who correctly understand science know that it is foolish to say, "the science is clear". There is no "the science". Science is how you go about experimenting, not what you find as a result of the scientific process.  For some people, science is the only way to arrive at truth. They will only believe on the basis of proof that is found from using science on collected...

For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the Bible Project-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading. Today's reading is: Genesis 4-7 What do you give God who has everything? What did Cain get wrong about worship? In Genesis 4:5, God had no regard for Cain's offering.  I don't know what was wrong with Cain's offering. I do know that Cain's attitude about God was quite a bit different than this attitude I read about in Godric by Frederick Buechner: "God was the cause, for he and I were like a couple newly wed.  I ever spoke my love to him.  I bared my heart for him to cleanse.  I sought to please him any way I could, and since there were no riches I could give to him whose coffers hold the sun and moon, I'd give instead by taking from myself.  Elric taught me this.  The fire that I didn't build for heat, the wool for warmth I went without, the food I didn't eat—all these were ...

POVERTY? For 2021, I am reading through the Bible with the BibleProject-Biblical Storyline Reading Plan on the YouVersion App. This devotional will follow along with the daily reading.  Today's reading is:  Genesis 1-3 Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor (29 November 1766): I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. There is no country in the world where so many provisions are established for them; so many hospitals to receive them when they are sick or lame, founded and maintained by voluntary charities; so...