Matthew 8:14-22 Acts 11:19-30 Psalms 19 Genesis 42-43

Matthew 8:14-22
Mat 8:14 By this time they were in front of Peter's house. On entering, Jesus found Peter's mother-in-law sick in bed, burning up with fever.
Mat 8:15 He touched her hand and the fever was gone. No sooner was she up on her feet than she was fixing dinner for him.
Mat 8:16 That evening a lot of demon-afflicted people were brought to him. He relieved the inwardly tormented. He cured the bodily ill.
Mat 8:17 He fulfilled Isaiah's well-known sermon: He took our illnesses, He carried our diseases.
Mat 8:18 When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake.
Mat 8:19 As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. "I'll go with you, wherever," he said.
Mat 8:20 Jesus was curt: "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know."
Mat 8:21 Another follower said, "Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father's funeral to take care of."
Mat 8:22 Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life."

Acts 11:19-30
Act 11:19 Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews.
Act 11:20 Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus.
Act 11:21 God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it--quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
Act 11:22 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things.
Act 11:23 As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives.
Act 11:24 He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
Act 11:25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.
Act 11:26 He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
Act 11:27 It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem.
Act 11:28 One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.)
Act 11:29 So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out.
Act 11:30 They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.

Psalms 19
Psa 19:1 A David psalm. God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Psa 19:2 Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.
Psa 19:3 Their words aren't heard, their voices aren't recorded,
Psa 19:4 But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere. God makes a huge dome for the sun--a superdome!
Psa 19:5 The morning sun's a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed, The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape.
Psa 19:6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.
Psa 19:7 The revelation of GOD is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of GOD are clear and point out the right road.
Psa 19:8 The life-maps of GOD are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of GOD are plain and easy on the eyes.
Psa 19:9 GOD's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of GOD are accurate down to the nth degree.
Psa 19:10 God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.
Psa 19:11 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.
Psa 19:12 Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool?
Psa 19:13 Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
Psa 19:14 These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

Genesis 42-43
Gen 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you sit around here and look at one another?
Gen 42:2 I've heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death."
Gen 42:3 Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to get food.
Gen 42:4 Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him.
Gen 42:5 So Israel's sons joined everyone else that was going to Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.
Gen 42:6 Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers arrived, they treated him with honor, bowing to him.
Gen 42:7 Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as strangers and spoke roughly to them. He said, "Where do you come from?" "From Canaan," they said. "We've come to buy food."
Gen 42:8 Joseph knew who they were, but they didn't know who he was.
Gen 42:9 Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, "You're spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."
Gen 42:10 "No, master," they said. "We've only come to buy food.
Gen 42:11 We're all the sons of the same man; we're honest men; we'd never think of spying."
Gen 42:12 He said, "No. You're spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."
Gen 42:13 They said, "There were twelve of us brothers--sons of the same father in the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more."
Gen 42:14 But Joseph said, "It's just as I said, you're spies.
Gen 42:15 This is how I'll test you. As Pharaoh lives, you're not going to leave this place until your younger brother comes here.
Gen 42:16 Send one of you to get your brother while the rest of you stay here in jail. We'll see if you're telling the truth or not. As Pharaoh lives, I say you're spies."
Gen 42:17 Then he threw them into jail for three days.
Gen 42:18 On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. "Do this and you'll live. I'm a God-fearing man.
Gen 42:19 If you're as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families.
Gen 42:20 But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech--and not one of you will die." They agreed.
Gen 42:21 Then they started talking among themselves. "Now we're paying for what we did to our brother--we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn't listen to him and now we're the ones in trouble."
Gen 42:22 Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."
Gen 42:23 Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word.
Gen 42:24 Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
Gen 42:25 Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road. That was all done for them.
Gen 42:26 They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.
Gen 42:27 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money
Gen 42:28 He called out to his brothers, "My money has been returned; it's right here in my bag!" They were puzzled--and frightened. "What's God doing to us?"
Gen 42:29 When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened, saying,
Gen 42:30 "The man who runs the country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies.
Gen 42:31 We told him, 'We are honest men and in no way spies.
Gen 42:32 There were twelve of us brothers, sons of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.'
Gen 42:33 "But the master of the country said, 'Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go.
Gen 42:34 Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you're honest men and not spies. And then I'll give your brother back to you and you'll be free to come and go in this country.'"
Gen 42:35 As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.
Gen 42:36 Their father said to them, "You're taking everything I've got! Joseph's gone, Simeon's gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I'll be left with nothing."
Gen 42:37 Reuben spoke up: "I'll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Benjamin; I'll bring him back."
Gen 42:38 But Jacob refused. "My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road, you'll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave."
Gen 43:1 The famine got worse.
Gen 43:2 When they had eaten all the food they had brought back from Egypt, their father said, "Go back and get some more food."
Gen 43:3 But Judah said, "The man warned us most emphatically, 'You won't so much as see my face if you don't have your brother with you.'
Gen 43:4 If you're ready to release our brother to go with us, we'll go down and get you food.
Gen 43:5 But if you're not ready, we aren't going. What would be the use? The man told us, 'You won't so much as see my face if you don't have your brother with you.'"
Gen 43:6 Israel said, "Why are you making my life so difficult! Why did you ever tell the man you had another brother?"
Gen 43:7 They said, "The man pressed us hard, asking pointed questions about our family: 'Is your father alive? Do you have another brother?' So we answered his questions. How did we know that he'd say, 'Bring your brother here'?"
Gen 43:8 Judah pushed his father Israel. "Let the boy go; I'll take charge of him. Let us go and be on our way--if we don't get going, we're all going to starve to death--we and you and our children too!
Gen 43:9 I'll take full responsibility for his safety; it's my life on the line for his. If I don't bring him back safe and sound, I'm the guilty one; I'll take all the blame.
Gen 43:10 If we had gone ahead in the first place instead of procrastinating like this, we could have been there and back twice over."
Gen 43:11 Their father Israel gave in. "If it has to be, it has to be. But do this: stuff your packs with the finest products from the land you can find and take them to the man as gifts--some balm and honey, some spices and perfumes, some pistachios and almonds.
Gen 43:12 And take plenty of money--pay back double what was returned to your sacks; that might have been a mistake.
Gen 43:13 Take your brother and get going. Go back to the man.
Gen 43:14 And may The Strong God give you grace in that man's eyes so that he'll send back your other brother along with Benjamin. For me, nothing's left; I've lost everything."
Gen 43:15 The men took the gifts, double the money, and Benjamin. They lost no time in getting to Egypt and meeting Joseph.
Gen 43:16 When Joseph saw that they had Benjamin with them, he told his house steward, "Take these men into the house and make them at home. Butcher an animal and prepare a meal; these men are going to eat with me at noon."
Gen 43:17 The steward did what Joseph had said and took them inside.
Gen 43:18 But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph's home, thinking, "It's the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he's got us where he wants us--he's going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys."
Gen 43:19 So they went up to Joseph's house steward and talked to him in the doorway.
Gen 43:20 They said, "Listen, master. We came down here one other time to buy food.
Gen 43:21 On our way home, the first night out we opened our bags and found our money at the mouth of the bag--the exact amount we'd paid. We've brought it all back
Gen 43:22 and have plenty more to buy more food with. We have no idea who put the money in our bags."
Gen 43:23 The steward said, "Everything's in order. Don't worry. Your God and the God of your father must have given you a bonus. I was paid in full." And with that, he presented Simeon to them.
Gen 43:24 He then took them inside Joseph's house and made them comfortable--gave them water to wash their feet and saw to the feeding of their donkeys.
Gen 43:25 The brothers spread out their gifts as they waited for Joseph to show up at noon--they had been told that they were to have dinner with him.
Gen 43:26 When Joseph got home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought and bowed respectfully before him.
Gen 43:27 Joseph welcomed them and said, "And your old father whom you mentioned to me, how is he? Is he still alive?"
Gen 43:28 They said, "Yes--your servant our father is quite well, very much alive." And they again bowed respectfully before him.
Gen 43:29 Then Joseph picked out his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son. He asked, "And is this your youngest brother that you told me about?" Then he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."
Gen 43:30 Deeply moved on seeing his brother and about to burst into tears, Joseph hurried out into another room and had a good cry.
Gen 43:31 Then he washed his face, got a grip on himself, and said, "Let's eat."
Gen 43:32 Joseph was served at his private table, the brothers off by themselves and the Egyptians off by themselves (Egyptians won't eat at the same table with Hebrews; it's repulsive to them).
Gen 43:33 The brothers were seated facing Joseph, arranged in order of their age, from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at one another wide-eyed, wondering what would happen next.
Gen 43:34 When the brothers' plates were served from Joseph's table, Benjamin's plate came piled high, far more so than his brothers. And so the brothers feasted with Joseph, drinking freely.