To see the previous post from Genesis, go to Can God Use a Sinner Like You, or Like Me?
Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel
Genesis 49:22-24
Joseph
Joseph endured a difficult life. Described as “archers” in this passage, Joseph faced arrows of persecution from his own siblings–they plotted to murder him, then they settled for selling him into slavery. So he was separated from his family, while he served as a slave in Egypt. Then he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife, after which, he was tossed into a dungeon–for years.
Jesus
Jesus was another who was committed to living his life God’s way, no matter what arrows flew in his direction. He loved people, all people, including promiscuous women, prostitutes, and thieves–even when it brought brutal criticism. Although on the surface he looked as ordinary as anyone else, he healed, and helped so many, it was impossible to write it all down. (John 21:25) And though he did all these things, things no one else could do, he never bragged. The religious leadership of his day hated him. Over and over they tried to catch him in a verbal ambush, but Christ answered so cleverly and completely they eventually stopped trying. Several times they tried to kill him, but they couldn’t until his time came. His dream was to make a way for us to go to heaven, but it meant he had to die. He did it anyway.
You might be asking yourself, “How? How did Joseph and Jesus live this way?” The source of power for both Joseph and Jesus is revealed by Jacob in our text. They were both able to live the way they did “because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel…”
Your Choices
You have access to that same source of power you know.
Those decisions you’ve made the last few years that haven’t worked out for you? The ones that made you say, “Yea but…”
“Yea but she seemed like such a nice girl.”
“I know but he was so good to my five year old daughter.”
“Yes but she was so much fun to party with.” Read More
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Jesus in the Old Testament (Part 1): Genesis 50:15-21
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” -Genesis 50:15
In last Saturday’s post, Looking for the Living Among the Dead, we saw how Jesus talked to the two men on the road to Emmaus who thought He was dead. “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27-34)
Here in Genesis we see what I believe is just one example of how Jesus is found in the writings of Moses and all the prophets. Perhaps Christ even shared something similar with the two on the road to Emmaus.
Joseph’s Response to the Sins of His Brothers
Jacob, the father of Joseph and his brothers, has just passed away. The funeral is over, and the family is back at home in Egypt, trying to return to their normal routine. It’s at this time, all the wrongs Joseph’s brothers committed against Joseph, come flooding into their minds: they hated him because he was their father’s favorite, they plotted to kill him, they tossed him into a cistern, they sold him into slavery, then they lied to their father and told him Joseph was dead.
And now Jacob is gone. And they think Joseph has just been waiting for the right time to settle the score. They think he’s angry. They think he’s ready for revenge. So they throw themselves down before Joseph, the powerful Prime Minister, and beg for his forgiveness. Read More
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Posted on April 6, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, Jesus in the Old Testament
Genesis 50, God's nature, God's true nature, Jesus in Old Testament, Joseph and his brothers, Joseph Jesus compared, Joseph Jesus parallels, nature of God
Why RISK Is Right
The following is an excerpt by David Platt. To read the full article click on the link: Why RISK Is Right.
In Matthew 13:44 Jesus tells his disciples, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
I love this picture. Imagine walking in a field and stumbling upon a treasure that is more valuable than anything else you could work for or find in this life. It is more valuable than all you have now or will ever have in the future.
You look around and notice that no one else realizes the treasure is here, so you cover it up quickly and walk away, pretending you haven’t seen anything. You go into town and begin to sell off all your possessions to have enough money to buy that field. The world thinks you’re crazy. Read More
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Posted on April 4, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
David Platt, Evangelism, Great Commission, Why Risk Is Right
Looking for the Living Among the Dead
A Dead Sparrow
The bird hit the big picture window like a bug hits a windshield. It didn’t fair well. The little sparrow fell to the deck floor some six feet below the point of impact, which was marked with feathers stuck to the surface of the glass. It lay on its side at first, then it slowly rolled over and extended its legs up toward the sky. It was almost cartoonish. The only thing missing were a couple of ‘Xs” over each eye. My kids heard the “THUMP” and ran out onto the deck where the bird lay.
“We need to pray for him dad!” They insisted.
Wow. This is awkward. I had taught my kids about the power of God, and the power of prayer, and the importance of faith. It wasn’t that I didn’t have faith. I had faith alright. I had faith I’d be planting that sparrow in the back yard with all our other dead pets. But what could I do? My kids were expecting a miracle.
So we prayed. Read More
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Posted on March 30, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Jesus in the Old Testament
Christ, Easter, Faith, help my unbelief, Jesus Christ, Resurrection, risen Christ
Love Like Jesus–Encourage and Commend: Matthew 11:11
How Jesus Loved People
Jesus loved people by commending them publicly. Here in Matthew 11 we see Jesus commend John the Baptist publicly. Jesus commended the faith of the formerly blind Bartimaeus when he said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10:54) Jesus commended the woman who anointed his feet with perfume when he said, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Jesus commended Peter when Peter called him the Messiah, he said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah…” (Matthew 16:17) And on, and on it goes.
Jesus commended people–often.
How to Love Like Jesus
Lighten up.
Encourage, commend, and even–dare I say it–compliment people. Do it today, just for today, focus on commending and encouraging.
Jesus did.
You can too.
[Image via Paul L Dineen, Creative Commons]
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Posted on March 16, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too, Marriage
commend, compliment, encourage, Love like Jesus, Matthew 11
The Redemptive Power of Connection: Genesis 50:7, 9, 11
What’s All The Fuss?
I was involved in a huge funeral once. Two friends died in the prime of life, in an ATV accident. They were firefighters and we had this huge procession through town with fire department vehicles. The streets were lined with well wishers. There were even helicopters flying overhead above the procession. One helicopter flew a giant American flag underneath. Another filmed the whole event in high def. Had my two friends been insurance salesmen none of that would have happened. It was their relationship with the fire department that resulted in such an ambitious funeral.
Jacob’s funeral was a much bigger deal than my friends’. Every single one of Pharaoh’s officials were there. Every dignitary from the nation of Egypt was there. All of Joseph’s family was there. Chariots and horsemen were even there. The funeral lasted a whole week. This thing was huge. When the people of Canaan saw it, it was easy to recognize someone very important had passed away. But why? Why was Jacob honored in such spectacular fashion? Read More
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Posted on March 2, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young, Marriage
Connection to Jesus Christ, Genesis 50, Jacob's funeral, Jesus and Joseph, Redemptive Power of Connection, Salvation
Love Like Jesus–Hope for those of us who can’t raise people from the dead: Matthew 8:5-13
[Image via betsyweber – Creative Commons] [To see the previous Love Like Jesus post, go to Trading Recognition for God’s Glory]
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” –Matthew 8:5-8, 13
How Jesus Loved People
Jesus loved people by doing for them, what they couldn’t do for themselves.
Love Like Jesus
So you want to live and love like Jesus did. So you can please God, and you can be someone who attracts people to Jesus, and hopefully glorify God’s name. But when you study the life of Christ, you think to yourself, “Ha, what chance do I have? Jesus, without coming anywhere near the centurion’s servant, healed him of his paralysis. Even a great doctor couldn’t do that, and I’m not a doctor–I’ve never even played one on TV. Jesus made the blind see and the deaf hear. Jesus cast out demons. Jesus even raised people from the dead! What chance do I have to live and love like Jesus?”
Hope For Those Of Us Who Can’t Raise People From The Dead Read More
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Posted on February 23, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
centurion's servant, help like Jesus, help like Jesus helped, hope for those of us who can't raise people from the dead, Love like Jesus, Matthew 25, raise from the dead, unto one of the least
The Consequences of Calling Your Own Shots–Genesis 49:29
Jacob was about to die. He found himself in the same position every single one of us will find ourselves. Jacob was about to be gathered to his people.
And of course, so will you. The question is: Where are your people gathered?
I Have A Confession
I have a confession to make. I have this tendency–I tend to change my worldview to accommodate my own selfishness. Reflecting back I realize I had a desire for personal glory in a variety of arenas. At various times those areas in which I sought my own honor included work, running, hang gliding, and basketball–to name a few. At my core, Read More
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Posted on February 16, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Eternity, gathered to his people, Genesis 4:9, God and selfishness, Heaven, Jacob's death
Love Like Jesus–Trading Recognition for God’s Glory: Matthew 8:3-4
Image via: dichohecho — Creative Commons
How Jesus Loved People:
Jesus healed the man with leprosy, then he told him in no uncertain terms, “See that you don’t tell anyone.”
How To Love Like Jesus:
Wow, is this the opposite of me or what! My human tendency is to want credit for what I do. One afternoon during a family gathering, Kathy was sharing with the female contingent of the Bennett clan, how I had done something nice for her on a recent Saturday morning:
“He brought me coffee in bed,” she said.
I, sitting nearby with the male contingent of the Bennett clan, happened to overhear. “Boy,” I thought to myself, Read More
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Posted on February 9, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
glorify God, glory hound, God's glory, Humility, Matthew 8, recognition
Slavery, Love, and the Garden of Eden–Genesis 2:8-9
The Garden
A little trivia to start: The Bible tells us that the land in which God’s garden is located is called Eden, however we are never actually given the name of the garden itself, only the name of the land in which it is located. But one thing’s for sure, the word Eden means delightful, and we do know from the Bible that without a doubt, whatever the name of the garden, God’s garden was a delightful place to live.
Notice that in the middle of His garden God puts both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “Why?” You may be asking. “Why include the forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the middle of the delightful garden? Why ruin a perfect place with a forbidden tree?” The answer is that God desired a meaningful relationship with Adam and Eve, and a meaningful relationship requires a choice.
Marriage and Slavery
Hadijatou Mani is a 24 year old woman from the Sahel region of Nigeria, on the Southern fringe of the Sahara. Hadijatou’s story is the story of someone who wasn’t given a choice. When she was just 12 years old she was sold to a man named Souleymane Naroua. When she was just 13 she was raped by her master and forced to bear his children. Read More
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Posted on February 2, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, Marriage
choice, Genesis 2, Hadijatou Mani, love, nigeria, slavery
Joseph, Jesus, and the Key to Your Choices: Genesis 49:22-26
Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel
Genesis 49:22-24
Joseph
Joseph endured a difficult life. Described as “archers” in this passage, Joseph faced arrows of persecution from his own siblings–they plotted to murder him, then they settled for selling him into slavery. So he was separated from his family, while he served as a slave in Egypt. Then he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife, after which, he was tossed into a dungeon–for years.
Jesus
Jesus was another who was committed to living his life God’s way, no matter what arrows flew in his direction. He loved people, all people, including promiscuous women, prostitutes, and thieves–even when it brought brutal criticism. Although on the surface he looked as ordinary as anyone else, he healed, and helped so many, it was impossible to write it all down. (John 21:25) And though he did all these things, things no one else could do, he never bragged. The religious leadership of his day hated him. Over and over they tried to catch him in a verbal ambush, but Christ answered so cleverly and completely they eventually stopped trying. Several times they tried to kill him, but they couldn’t until his time came. His dream was to make a way for us to go to heaven, but it meant he had to die. He did it anyway.
You might be asking yourself, “How? How did Joseph and Jesus live this way?” The source of power for both Joseph and Jesus is revealed by Jacob in our text. They were both able to live the way they did “because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel…”
Your Choices
You have access to that same source of power you know.
Those decisions you’ve made the last few years that haven’t worked out for you? The ones that made you say, “Yea but…”
“Yea but she seemed like such a nice girl.”
“I know but he was so good to my five year old daughter.”
“Yes but she was so much fun to party with.” Read More
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Posted on January 12, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis 4:9, Good choices, Jesus, joseph, make good choices, make good decisions, why do I make bad decisions
Eating Crow, Prayer, and God’s Holy Spirit
At the end of that prayer time there in the prayer room, a small group of men asked God to pour out His Holy Spirit upon our congregation in abundant measure. They asked Him, if that offer were to be made again, would He move people to respond with such enthusiasm and in such great numbers we would have logistical problems handling so many. They asked that people would respond in such numbers they would be lined up, with not enough room for them to fit in the prayer room or wherever they were called to assemble. Read More
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Posted on January 4, 2013 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
Acts, anointing, Applegate Christian Fellowship, Applegate Fellowship, fresh outpouring, Holy Spirit, Luke 11, pray for Holy Spirit
Love Like Jesus–How to Respond to the Emotionally Needy: Matthew 5:3-5
How Jesus Loved People
If you were sitting in the crowd during Jesus’ sermon, and it happened to be a time in your life when you were poor in spirit, or mourning, or feeling particularly meek, these words of Jesus would have resonated powerfully. He offered words of comfort and encouragement to those who were (and are) emotionally needy.
Love Like Jesus
You know that person in your life? That guy or girl that makes you think, “Oh, here she comes again,” or, “Here he comes again. It’s that needy guy. Man, he has the personality of a tree stump,” you say to yourself. Read More
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Posted on December 29, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
clingy, emotionally needy, Matthew 5, meek, mourning, needy, poor in spirit, Sermon on the mount
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