Thematic Selections from the Bible

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph says to his cowering brothers, "Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today." That passage has always reminded me to keep God's perspective and plan in mind when things aren't going so well. Read the full passage below:

Gen 50:15-22

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

As a Lutheran, Ephesians 2:8-9 has always been a powerful word of assurance:

Eph 2:8-9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Even as I cling to that grace, I've also come to understand the importance of the verse that follows:

Eph 2:10

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Philippians 1:21 hit me at an important moment, more as a call to faithfulness than as an assertion of confidence. I kind of think it was the same for Paul as he was perhaps facing death, and it has since reminded me that the first person to whom I need to be preaching is myself.

Php 1:21

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if there is a verse that has become my signature, I'd like to think it's Mark 6:34. It starts out, "As [Jesus] went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." Now any verse that has one of my favorite Greek words - splanchnizomai (to have compassion) - in it is a good verse, but how does Jesus demonstrate his compassion? The verse concludes with, "And he began to teach them many things." I trust that the teaching ministry to which I am presently called is a way for me to demonstrate Christ's compassion.

Mk 6:34

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.