Author: Dave Dishman (Page 232 of 474)

Ever been shocked at good fortune? Like a check in the mail or a promotion out of the blue? Joseph got promoted like no one else.

One morning waking up a slave in a dungeon, and by nightfall ruling as the most powerful person in Egypt (after Pharaoh). Even then Joseph had to borrow a bedroom. As if a forgotten prisoner in a supermax prison is released, jetted to the White House and granted sweeping emergency powers over the land.

A stunning rise to power.

Who stood behind this reversal of fortune? The Lord, of course. The psalmist wrote: The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hands of the Lord; He turns it wherever he wishes (Proverbs 21:1).

In this case the Lord turned Pharaoh’s heart toward Joseph, and in turn blessed Joseph’s family and generations to follow. All the way down to you and me.

Don’t give up. You and I may feel stuck in a pit. But God works beyond our view, to rescue and to provide.

Hang in and keep the faith.

Genesis 41 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Juskteez Vu

I underestimate the worth of clean drinking water. At my tap, water free of disease-causing bacteria waits for my cup. I’ve lived my entire life with no concern for the water I drink.

Not the case for much of the world. Many people drink dirty water every day. Children suffer from diarrhea, endure constant stomach aches and die from bad water. Older people deal with intestinal ailments and shortened lives. This water crisis exists outside my view, and so I miss the scope of suffering.

Today I’m with a group in Guatemala confronting dirty water. We’re working with Filter of Hope, an organization that believes:

No one should have to live without clean drinking water.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to know Christ personally.

Thirsty, Jesus encountered a women at a well. He asked her for a drink of water, then went on to say, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

People everywhere deserve clean water to drink and living water leading to eternal life. In working with Filter of Hope we attempt to provide both.

Please join me in praying for these efforts to bring both fresh water and eternal life to thirsty people around the world.

Sometimes the world feels crazy to me. I think, am I the only one seeing this?

David felt alone as the crush engulfed him. Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

More than just lonely, David felt trapped—on every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted.

You and I can feel trapped, thinking the world holds no place for people of faith, for those who put ultimate stock in the Lord and His ways.

Perhaps David’s comfort should be our own. The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace…You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.

The Lord’s scriptures bring hope and peace, while the Lord’s presence covers those who hold to Him. The faithful may be hard to find at times, but as of today, not all have vanished.

Keep the faith.

Psalm 12 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Anna Schroeder

Jesus battled back and forth with religious teachers, including a group referred to as the scribes. They skillfully used religion for personal gain:

Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widow’s houses and for a pretense make long prayers.

Lurking in the middle of this warning is the phrase devour widow’s houses. Endless prayers and envious glances only formed the veneer. From these men’s hearts bubbled deep reservoirs of vile. Devour speaks of rapacious greed. Stealing widow’s houses points to calloused hearts. Where did those widows go without a home?

Here flourished a religion of personal gain, the top shepherds fleecing the faithful. A weaponized religion of exploitation.

No wonder Jesus attacked these scribes over and over. He understood their heinous, unrepentant hearts.

Pride entices down broad, destructive paths. From a power trip of holding a crowd silent during a long-winded prayer to foreclosing on widows seems a stretch, but for the arrogant the leap is not so long.

Lord, check my pride. Point out where my greed gets the better of me—where I’m tempted to devour rather than to care.

Mark 12 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by fikry anshor