Genesis 48:13 “But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and crossing his hands, put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.”

If you grew up with brothers or sisters you already know that life isn’t always fair. I remember sharing a box of my favorite cereal with my brothers when I was a young and hungry teenager. It felt like if you didn’t hoard the box, then you would never see those Fruity Pebbles again because their were two other hungry teenage mouths to be fed. Growing up with 2 brothers and a sister, I remember saying things like “that’s not fair” and “You let Nathan and Tommy do it”. I don’t know how my parents dealt with it, since I can assume that all four of us would say those things to them.

In today’s reading we can see that Jacob blesses Joseph’s younger son over the older one. This was very counter cultural at the time, but seems to be a common theme in Genesis. Throughout the book, Moses shows that God is not concerned about cultural faux pas, but instead sees the heart of a person–at times even before that person is born (Genesis 25:19-25).

So, what can we learn from this? First, no one is worthy of the blessings that come to them. Ephraim didn’t deserve the blessing that Jacob passed to him over Manasseh, instead it was a gift from Jacob. We, too, don’t deserve our blessings. We are given even our very breath from God. We would be wise to understand that our life’s accomplishments and abilities are God given, and use them in a way that demonstrates our understanding of that fact.

Secondly, we can learn from this passage, that nothing is ours to demand. Manasseh, according to culture, had every right to demand his blessing from Jacob. But when Jacob crossed his hands and blessed his younger brother, Ephraim, instead he was forced to accept a new truth, “He too will become a tribe, and he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation”(Genesis 48:19). This means to those of us to behave well in order to receive our prize would be wise to humbly offer our lives to God, not in order to demand something of Him. We aren’t in any place to negotiate with God.

Let’s take time today to humbly come before God, thanking Him for all that we have, understanding that he is the giver of life and blessing and that we are blessed in knowing that fact.

It is hard to think about planting a garden with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. However, today’s Bible reading, gets me excited for the spring. The Parable of the Sower is a very well known story of Jesus, and in it we see that 1) God’s word is to be shared to the whole world, and 2) not everyone will hear it.

This can be a frustration for those of us who wish everyone we knew would come to a saving knowledge of who God is and what His redemption plan is for all who commit themselves to Him. Many tears of sorrow have been shed for friends and family members who refuse to “hear and understand the word, who bear fruit and yield.” But this story isn’t told to discourage, but to encourage those who do understand. This story is to bring those who “listen and listen” and DO understand, or for those who “look and look” and DO see. When Jesus told this story to his disciples it was so that they could see that they were a part of something special that most of the people around them would not understand, or, if they did understand, might not hang on to.

As we reflect on God’s word today, let us thank God for being one that has an understanding of God’s gospel through His son, Jesus. We should delight in the fact that we can envision the harvest, even when seeds are just being planted.We join ranks with those closest to him in sharing this message to the rest of the world, and sowing 30, or 60, or 100 fold!

So, don’t let wintertime discourage you from envisioning the ripe vegetables in your garden, and don’t let the fact that there will be some who do not choose to follow Jesus discourage you from 1) enjoying your relationship with him, and 2) sharing that message to the world around you.

“for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare” (Pr. 3:26)

In our daily reading for today I would like to focus on the strength of Jesus in times of attack. Once again, Jesus is confronted by the spiritual leaders of his day who are committed to his demise. Jesus is confronted for breaking the Sabbath because of eating the heads of wheat while he walked. As the son of God, and God himself, knew what the law was, so he knew he wasn’t breaking it. But instead, he states, “If you had known what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the innocent.”

Have you ever felt falsely accused of behavior that isn’t true. I have. There have been times when others have had an impression of me that was false. Their impressions of who I was were based on something they had heard second-hand. Jesus confronts the false accusations with this–Mercy. He is saying, if you really knew me (which is also God) you would know that I don’t want hollow religious behavior. His desire is for love filled mercy.

Today as we walk on the same earth that Jesus walked may we have merciful impressions of the ones around us instead of religious rules that would push people away from God.  May we show mercy even when others do not.

I have two favorite phrases in today’s reading

“This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter”and “I am willing”.  Both of these phrases expose what our relationship to God must be like. When we see God at work, even in matters that do not make complete sense to us, we must say “we have no choice in the matter” and submit our will to him. In doing so, we will see that God is willing to lead us in a manner that reveals his glory. For the man in Matthew 8, we see that all he did was ask with a humble heart and Jesus willingly met his request of healing. Too often we feel submitting our will to God means unhappiness on our end, but this is never true. How do I know this? The answer lies in the Proverb passage for today “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths.”

Let us prayerfully submit our willingness to his willingness today.