Daily Devotional Podcasts

 42_Judgement of our sin is a blessing Gen 49:1-7 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. 4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it. 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. 6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. 7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. On October 6, 1980, a crime shook the conscience of Kerala, India. It was the infamous Karikkanvilla massacre in Thiruvalla, where Reni George, a young man born into a Christian family, committed an unthinkable act. Desperate for money to fund his addiction and drug trade, he brutally murdered his uncle and aunt, a retired couple who had lovingly cared for him. Arrested and sentenced to death, Reni’s life seemed destined for a tragic and irreversible end. However, something extraordinary happened. When his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to his young age, the public responded with outrage, calling it an injustice. Yet, in the darkness of his prison cell, Reni encountered the light of God’s truth. He repented, confessed his sins, and surrendered to Jesus as his Savior. Today, Reni runs a rehabilitation center near Bangalore for children and families of prisoners, dedicating his life to giving others the second chance he received. His transformation reminds us that when we humbly accept God's judgment and turn to Him in repentance, He can redeem our lives for His glory. This powerful story echoes the theme of today’s devotion. Jacob, nearing the end of his life, gathers his sons to speak words of blessing—or, as they might seem to us, word of judgment. Jacob, at 148 years old, was a man shaped by trials and divine encounters. Once a deceiver, he had become Israel, a prince of God. As he addressed his sons, his words were not merely a father’s farewell but the inspired truths of God Himself. “Listen to your father Israel,” he urged. His blessings were rooted in truth, devoid of flattery or sentimentality. Even his beloved son Benjamin was described as a “ravenous wolf.” Jacob’s words reveal that God’s blessings are not always comfortable; they are grounded in truth, designed to bring life, growth, and transformation. Take, for example, his words to Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. To Reuben, the firstborn, Jacob declared, “You are unstable as water; you shall not excel.” Simeon and Levi were condemned

41_Faith is seeing the hand of God Gen 48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Heb 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 1Chr 5:2 Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph. Faith is not a leap into the dark. It is stepping forward confidently into God’s way, hand in hand with the God who sees all and knows all. As we navigate life's uncertainties, the words from the poem “The Gate of the Year” are so meaningful: "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown," and the reply: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way." This faith is the heartbeat of Scripture. It is the essence of lives transformed by God's promises, seen clearly in Jacob's final days. His life, marked by human struggle and divine grace, testifies to the enduring faithfulness of God and the power of His promises. Jacob’s journey of faith reaches its pinnacle in Genesis 48, where he blesses Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. At the outset, Jacob is introduced as an old man nearing death, yet his faith burns brighter than ever. Seventeen years earlier, he had stood before Pharaoh describing his life as “few and unpleasant” (Genesis 47:9). Yet, in these final moments, we meet a man satisfied with God and assured of his promises. Jacob’s last words testify his trust in the promises of God, a faith that remained steadfast through years of hardship and uncertainty. As death approaches, Jacob summons Joseph to ensure that his body would be buried in the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and their descendants. This was not just sentimentality; it was a declaration of faith. Jacob knew that God's covenant was not tied to Egypt’s riches but to the Promised Land, the inheritance of his people. He died in faith, just as Abraham and Isaac before him, confident in God's unchanging promises. Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to Jacob. Their names reflect Joseph’s journey. Manasseh, meaning “forgetting,” symbolizes God’s grace in helping Joseph move past the pain of betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment. Ephraim, meaning “fruitfulness,” celebrates the abundance God provided in Joseph’s life, making him a preserver of life to Egypt, his family, and the surrounding nations during famine. These names testify to God’s power to turn all things to good for those who love him. Jacob’s encounter with these grandsons is remarkable. Though they were born in Egypt and had little connection with Jacob’s family, he adopts them as his own, saying, “They are mine, like Reuben and Simeon.” In doing so, Jacob bestows upon them the rights of

40_Nothing but the grace of God Gen 47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. Ps 119:54 ¶ Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. When Colonel Samuel Logan Brengle of the Salvation Army was once introduced as "the great Colonel Brengle," he wrote in his journal: "If I appear great in their eyes, the Lord is most gracious in helping me to see how absolutely nothing I am without Him. He does use me. But I am conscious that He uses me, and that it’s not of me that the work is done. The axe cannot boast of the trees it has cut down. It could do nothing without the woodsman. He made it, he sharpened it, he used it, and the moment he throws it aside it becomes only old used iron. Oh, that I may never lose sight of this." These words remind us of the central truth of the Christian life: we are nothing apart from the grace of God. This truth is beautifully illustrated in the life of Jacob, particularly in Genesis 47:7-9, where Jacob meets Pharaoh. Jacob and his family had entered Egypt, seeking refuge from a devastating famine. Despite his earlier wealth, Jacob arrives as a refugee, a man diminished by years of hardship and loss. In stark contrast, Pharaoh sits as the ruler of the most powerful kingdom of that era, surrounded by wealth and abundance. Yet, when these two men meet, Jacob does something extraordinary—he blesses Pharaoh. How could this frail, battered man have the spiritual authority to bless the most powerful monarch in the world? The answer lies in the grace of God. Jacob’s life, as he himself admits, was “short and evil” compared to his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. His days had been marked by struggle, sorrow, and the consequences of his own poor decisions. From his early days, Jacob’s life was riddled with conflict and deceit. He tricked his brother Esau out of his birthright and deceived his father to steal the blessing. These actions earned him his brother’s wrath, forcing him to flee to his uncle Laban’s home, where he would spend years in toil and manipulation. Even in Laban’s household, Jacob’s life was far from peaceful. He loved Rachel but was tricked into marrying Leah as well. There was rivalry among his wives and deep strife within his family. Much later, his sons, born into this environment, sold their brother Joseph into slavery and lied about it for nearly two decades. On top of all this, Jacob endured the loss of his beloved wife Rachel and