Genesis 40 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Headline Story - September 1, 2021

We love to know where we came from. We need to know where we came from. Knowing connects us, links us to something greater than we are. That is why God wants you to know his story.

Framed photos hang in his house, and lively talks await you at his table. A scrapbook sits in his living room, brimming with stories. Stories about Bethlehem beginnings and manger miracles. Enemy warfare in the wilderness and fishermen friends in Galilee. The stumbles of Peter, the stubbornness of Paul.

All are part of the story, but subplots to the central message of the headline story—John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!” God saves his people! God’s story. And we are a part of it!

Genesis 40

As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.

4-7 After they had been in custody for a while, the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “What’s wrong? Why the long faces?”

8 They said, “We dreamed dreams and there’s no one to interpret them.”

Joseph said, “Don’t interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams.”

9-11 First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.”

12-15 Joseph said, “Here’s the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you’ll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I’ve been here, I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this hole.”

16-17 When the head baker saw how well Joseph’s interpretation turned out, he spoke up: “My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head.”

18-19 Joseph said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean.”

20-22 And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph’s interpretations exactly.

23 But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
Today's Scripture
Ephesians 4:20–32
(NIV)

 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put offn your old self,o which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;p 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;q 24 and to put onr the new self,s created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.t

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfullyu to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.v 26 “In your anger do not sin”d:w Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.x 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,y doing something useful with their own hands,z that they may have something to share with those in need.a

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,b but only what is helpful for building others upc according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,d with whom you were sealede for the day of redemption.f 31 Get rid ofg all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.h 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,i forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.j

Insight

Ephesians 4:32 describes some of the evidence of a changed life: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Interestingly, these words were written to a culture very much like the world in which we live today. It was one in which the claims of Christ were disregarded, corruption was widespread throughout its institutions, and people were prone to use others to advance themselves. Yet, in the face of these problems the apostle Paul issued the challenge to believers in Christ for our heart-response to be in contrast to that culture. Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness express the countercultural life of Jesus Himself and remind us that our great goal and need is to be like Him. By: Bill Crowder

Fix Up Time

Be made new in the attitude of your minds.
Ephesians 4:23

It was time to give the inside of our home a fresh, new look. But just as I’d begun prepping a room for painting, our state government announced it would be halting the sale of many home improvement items due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as I heard the announcement, I rushed to the store and purchased the essential materials. You simply can’t remodel without the proper supplies.

Paul had a bit of a remodeling project in mind when he wrote Ephesians 4. But the changes he was talking about went far beyond superficial alterations. Even though trusting Jesus as Savior makes us a new creation, there’s still some ongoing work the Spirit needs to do. And it takes time and work for Him to accomplish “true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

The presence of the Spirit makes needed changes on the inside that can help us reflect Jesus in our words and actions. He helps us replace lying with speaking “truthfully” (v. 25). He guides us to avoid sin in regard to anger (v. 26). And He directs us to speak words that are “helpful for building others up” (v. 29). These Spirit-controlled actions are part of the internal change that’s manifested in things like kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (v. 32). The Spirit works in us to enable us to imitate Jesus Himself and reflect the heart of our heavenly Father (v. 24; 5:1). By:  Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray

In what areas do you need the Holy Spirit to make real, heart-based improvement in you through His leading and strength? How will you get started?

Loving God, thank You for making me a new creation in Christ. Help my actions, through Your guidance, to reflect the change You’ve made in me.

Learn more about the Trinity.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, September 01, 2021

Destined To Be Holy

…it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight.  The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
The Sweetener - #9038

A friend of mine and his son love to take off backpacking along the beautiful river they've got near their house. And they've learned some interesting "tricks of the trade," I guess, to make sure they have clean water to drink without the weight of having to carry water with them all the time. They take iodine pills with them on their hikes. Apparently, they can collect some water from the river, dissolve iodine in it, and the water comes out clean. But then who would want to drink it? Iodine-flavored water? I don't know. It's not exactly the taste sensation that's sweeping the nation, right? But that's where the Kool-Aid comes in! Yeah, they put in some Kool-Aid and It actually makes that bitter water sweet. Or so they tell me!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Sweetener."

When God's people were navigating the wilderness in the Old Testament, well, of course, Kool-Aid hadn't been invented yet. But they did have a bitter water situation and a miracle that changed everything. The story is in Exodus 15, beginning with verse 22. And as you might guess, it's our word for today from the Word of God.

Here's what it says: "For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter...So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?' Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood He threw into the water, and the water became sweet." That's pretty amazing! God miraculously changes what was bitter into something sweet. You know, He's still doing that miracle today - with bitter people, with bitter feelings, with bitter situations.

And that might be exactly what you need to be praying for right now. Actually, "crying out to the Lord for," as it says Moses did. That's not just a casual, trite little prayer. That's a desperate cry to God for something so hard only He can do it. Right now, maybe you're thinking of someone in your personal world who's bitter. There's resentment, and there's sarcasm, and cynicism, there's anger, maybe unforgiveness. The good news is that God is the world's leading Heart Surgeon; He can change a heart in ways that no human could ever dream. But you need to be faithfully, and fervently, praying for God to do whatever it takes to change the heart of that bitter person. Especially if that bitter person is you.

The Bible makes it clear that you "miss the grace of God" when you let a "bitter root" grow in you. And your bitterness will, according to God, "cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). But maybe your bitter pond isn't a person; it's a situation you're in right now. You know, God has the power to sweeten a bitter situation too, not just a bitter person.

But God may have a "piece of wood" that He wants you to throw into the bitter waters. Maybe it's that apology you need to give, a letter you need to write, that email you need to send, or some forgiving you need to do, a healing step that you know you need to take. As you pray about the bitter, ask God if there's a step He wants you to take in bringing about a sweetening miracle.

Don't underestimate the power of Almighty God to sweeten what you thought would always be bitter. If you'll trust and you'll obey; trust God to change things and obey His orders to make it happen. With a God as powerful and as loving as ours, no bitter pond can stay bitter. Not when God does His miracle of making bitter things sweet.
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