Good Morning!
Let’s focus our day by spending some time with Jesus before it begins.
Pick a song from one of our Spotify Playlists & let it play in the background.
FOCUS. Our memorization & meditation focus for this study is John 1:12-13.
Breathe in & out slowly. Pray, Jesus, I receive you. God calls me His child.
THANK. Write down or say out loud 3-5 things you’re thankful for from the last 24 hours.
PRAY. Pray the Lord’s Prayer, a Ripple Prayer, or find more at paradoxchurch.com/pray.
READ. Today’s reading is from Genesis 38:1-30
ASK. After reading, ask the following SOS Questions & journal your thoughts.
S = Say. What is the main point? What does it teach about God (Jesus) & yourself?
O = Obey. What can you apply (practice) from this passage today?
S = Share. Who can you share what you’re learning with today?
THINK. A Thought from Pastor Dave
Much of the latter chapters of Genesis focus on the story of Joseph. But interestingly, Genesis 38 focuses in on Judah, from whose lineage Jesus would someday come. The last time we saw Judah, he had come up with the idea to sell his younger brother Joseph into slavery (Genesis 37:26-27). Here, we see another glimpse into a deeply broken, imperfect, and flawed man. Judah seems to be… impulsive. Especially when it came to women. Not only had he married a pagan Canaanite, but in today’s reading he assumes he has slept with a “cult prostitute” before being called out for sleeping instead with his daughter in law Tamar, who he had failed to take care of and keep his promise to. This fact is dramatically revealed when Judah discovers that Tamar has been “acting like a prostitute” and is now pregnant - a sin for which he wants her burned to death for. Clearly, we’re dealing with some hypocrisy here - to say the least. And yet, his story reminds us that God’s story continues to be written, even in the midst of sinful circumstances. While God does not accept or condone sin, God still uses sinful people and even circumstances to accomplish His kingdom plans. Thank God today that you’re never too far gone, and that God can and does use even the most broken people and situations to bring about His plans. Pray that God would do that in your life/circumstance today.
TALK. That was our take - what’s yours? Share thoughts & ask questions in the forum.
SHARE. Stay focused with a friend! Invite them to text “FOCUS” to (586) 200-6277.

Stay focused on Jesus today, and make it a great one!