The AMI QT Devotionals from February 19-25 are provided by Pastor David Kwon of Journey Community Church (Raleigh). David, a graduate of Drexel University and Columbia International University (M.Div.) is married to Helen (“Pie”) and they have three beautiful daughters (Cara, Phoebe, and Ruth).
Devotional Thoughts for Today
The God Who Never Forgets
Genesis 47:1-6
So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
A few years ago, I had forgotten to pick up my daughter after school. I remember that I had gotten extremely busy that day with work and meetings and I eventually forgot what time it was. Her school eventually called me and when I picked her up, she was quick to forgive me for being late, but the reality is that no one likes to be forgotten.
As we have been looking at the life of Joseph, one theme that is emphasized is that God never forgets about His people and He is faithful to keep His promises. Even when we look back to Genesis 39 when Joseph was in prison – in what looked like hopelessness and despair, it says that, “the Lord was with him.” (v.23). The Lord had never forgotten about Joseph especially when circumstances looked dark.
In today’s passage, Joseph successfully persuades Pharaoh to allow his family to settle in the land of Goshen. Because of Joseph, virtually boundless favor was extended to Jacob’s family. Unbelievably, in addition to keeping his initial promise of the best of the land, Pharaoh even offered the brothers employment as superintendents of the royal cattle. God’s hand and favor was continually on Joseph.
Do you feel like God has forgotten about you at times? Do you feel like he is distant? When we look at the life of Joseph, it reminds us that He is working in every detail of our lives. He is always faithful to his promises and because of that truth; we are called to respond in obedience.
Prayer: Lord, thank You always for keeping Your promises. By the power of the Holy Spirit, help me today to be joyous, hopeful and loving, knowing that I serve a tender loving God. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Joshua 4
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Questions to Consider
- According to Peter, what is the reason for our hope?
- How should we look at our trials and what is the purpose of them?
- How can we be comforted by this passage?
Notes
- Peter reminds the believers in this letter to look at Christ’s great mercy and the inheritance that is imperishable and will never be taken away from us. That is the reason why we have hope.
- We go through trials because it shows us the genuineness of our faith (v. 7). We can rejoice with joy because we have been saved by his great love (v. 8-9).
- We can be assured of a living hope that will never be taken away from us as believers.
Evening Reflection
Take some time reflecting on the passages you read today. What challenged you? Take time to think about how you will apply it in your life.
Death is something that few like to think about or talk about, but we all know that death is inevitable and unavoidable. We would rather talk about living a good life, but sooner or later, we have to face our mortality. Though it may seem morbid and depressing, maybe we would be much better off, if— instead of thinking about having a good time and avoiding death—we thought about what it means to die well.
One of the most laborious and painstaking things in life is—moving. This past summer my family moved from our old apartment into our new house, and while we were thankful for God’s provision of a new home, the process was not fun at all. If you’ve moved recently, you know that it’s so much work: you pack up all of your belongings and put them in boxes, much less load up a truck, recruit help, unload, clean your old place and your new place, and the list goes on. Because there’s just so much work involved, as people get older, there is a growing desire to be settled. I’d imagine that for most of us, by the time we reach retirement age, the last thing we’d want to do is to move.
My parents came to the United States as refugees who fled from Vietnam. They, along with my sister who was a toddler at the time, immigrated with no money or possessions, and no knowledge of the culture or English. You would think that they had little chance of surviving or that they were doomed to live a life of poverty, but what they experienced was far from that. They were sponsored by a local church that gave so freely and generously to my family. This church helped my parents find housing, taught them English and how to drive, and helped find jobs and even childcare. My parents were incredibly blessed and so thankful for the lavish generosity and favor shown them by strangers.
I have distinct memories of my parents telling me starting at a very young age that it was my responsibility to be successful—that is, to grow up, do well in school, and get a good, well-paying job. The purpose was so that I could provide for my parents financially and take care of them. They would move into the house I owned that would presumably be big enough for them and my future wife and children. This is the expectation of a firstborn son, like me, in a traditional Chinese family.
The AMI QT Devotionals from February 12-18 are provided by Pastor Shan Gian, who serves as the Fenway site pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. Shan, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Jenny; and they are the proud parents of Tyler.
“Is the glass half empty or half full?” If someone answers that it’s half full, you can presume that he approaches life with optimism, but if someone says the glass is half empty, then he must be a pessimist, perceiving situations with a negative point of view. There’s no right or wrong answer, of course, but what this question shows us is that how a situation is perceived depends on one’s point of view.
The following is possibly a true story found on the Internet: “We convinced my youngest sister that she was adopted; it was fairly easy because she was a platinum blonde and the rest of us are all brunettes… She got us back by being happy that she wasn’t actually related to us.”
Perhaps one of the most amazing realities of being a Christian is the ability to speak directly to God. At any point, any place, we have access to the Father – to speak with Him, to hear Him speak to us, to enjoy His presence. How amazing this is!
a Christian in college and I remember at my very first college retreat, during the response time to one of the messages, we spent a considerable amount of time in individual prayer. I was still a new believer, just learning how to pray, so my prayers were often very formal, even forced, since I felt like my prayers needed to be polished, like a well-written piece of literature! However, at this retreat, I was struck by many people around me who fell on their knees in prayer and were screaming in repentance before the Lord. What struck me was the freedom they showed in their prayers despite (or because of) this sense of unworthiness before God. They simply bowed before Him, desperate for His grace. This left a profound impact on me: realizing that I did not need to be so formal in my prayer, realizing that God was so much greater than me, I similarly fell before God and experienced a powerful sense of grace as I unashamedly expressed my desperation for God.
Joseph is being tricky. He is purposely trying to get Benjamin in trouble so that he can see his brothers protect Benjamin. In a sense, he wants to see if his brothers will treat Benjamin in a similar way to how they had treated Joseph before he ended up in Egypt. Still, Joseph returned their money and gave them more food than they paid for, though he secretly put his silver cup in Benjamin’s pack. All this made his brothers nervous and made them wonder what Joseph was really up to.