Ever watched American Pickers? Then you know how they dig through a big pile of junk and find treasures there. Ever notice how God can do the same thing?
Sunday, June 7, 2015
From the Pulpit--1 Peter 4
Ever watched American Pickers? Then you know how they dig through a big pile of junk and find treasures there. Ever notice how God can do the same thing?
Friday, June 5, 2015
The End of the Beginning
Genesis 45-47
Genesis is the "origin of something", the beginning. Today, we look at the ending of our beginning book of the Bible.
Do you believe that we all have a purpose, something God has created us to do? Joseph did. In 45:5-8, he confirms and explains this. He gives us insight into how he survived his hardships. He always kept in mind God's will above his own. He always left himself open to be part of a bigger plan. It also helped him to forgive his brothers for some very unthinkable wrongs. He just went beyond the actions of the humans and put the purpose of it all on God's bigger plan. If you think about how your life affects others and might be used to help others, it often helps to chase away to depression and disappointment of what may be happening now. It can also help to prevent bitterness and hatred from growing. Joseph is a great example of forgiveness and constant hope for better things.
So much of the Jewish history is grounded in these final books. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is established. The 12 tribes of Judah are given their back story, which will continue through the next 4 books completing The Pentetauch or the first 5 books of Moses. The setting for Moses' story in Exodus is described. And a beautiful story of a family's relationship and growth is told full-fold.
Don't you love a story with a good ending? And don't you enjoy a sequel in a series. We've enjoyed starting this series together. Hope you keep reading!
May God bless our beginnings, our middles, and our endings!!
Genesis is the "origin of something", the beginning. Today, we look at the ending of our beginning book of the Bible.
Do you believe that we all have a purpose, something God has created us to do? Joseph did. In 45:5-8, he confirms and explains this. He gives us insight into how he survived his hardships. He always kept in mind God's will above his own. He always left himself open to be part of a bigger plan. It also helped him to forgive his brothers for some very unthinkable wrongs. He just went beyond the actions of the humans and put the purpose of it all on God's bigger plan. If you think about how your life affects others and might be used to help others, it often helps to chase away to depression and disappointment of what may be happening now. It can also help to prevent bitterness and hatred from growing. Joseph is a great example of forgiveness and constant hope for better things.
So much of the Jewish history is grounded in these final books. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is established. The 12 tribes of Judah are given their back story, which will continue through the next 4 books completing The Pentetauch or the first 5 books of Moses. The setting for Moses' story in Exodus is described. And a beautiful story of a family's relationship and growth is told full-fold.
Don't you love a story with a good ending? And don't you enjoy a sequel in a series. We've enjoyed starting this series together. Hope you keep reading!
May God bless our beginnings, our middles, and our endings!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
The Turning of the Tide
Genesis 41-44
Did you notice the 7's and the 3's! Constant numbers in the Bible--7 is said to be the number of completeness, 3 is the number of balance. Seven years of feast, 7 years of famine. Three days of jail time, on the third day release. More foreshadowing? or just good story telling? Remember, these stories were verbally passed down through the generations as part of the Jewish education at the knee of their mothers. Just as Stephen retold the complete story in synopsis form in Acts 6, most Jewish people could explain and summarize their faith well. Are we as versed? Can we tell our beliefs as clearly? Might be something to work on so that you can witness clearly if given the opportunity at a moment's notice.
I am so impressed with Joseph at the beginning of this story. I so love the way God directed his life and pulled him out of the despair in such a dramatic way and in such grand extreme. Joseph's life could not have taken a clearer "180"--from the bottom of the heap to the top of the world. I hope that gives you as much encouragement as is does me when we feel like we are living at the bottom of a heap. Your life too can take a dramatic turn, if you continue to keep your eyes on God.
I love watching Joseph's approach to the opportunity for change. First, he gave the credit to God as his talents were recognized. Second, he followed his explanation of the situation with a plan of action that was well received. Third, he followed through with the plan by getting right to work. He stuck to the plan and became very successful.
I think we often get stuck in one of these stages. We may have a good idea, but we take all the credit instead of recognizing how the plan came about. Or we don't know what to do with the plan to move it into concrete stages so we give up easily thinking it is a "pipedream" and can't be done. Or we get stuck tweaking the plan and never put our "feet to the ground" to get the plan in motion. I encourage you to keep in mind all the steps and let God guide you through them. Joseph didn't do it alone---God put people around him to move things along. God will do the same for you if you are acting in His will.
I can't leave today without recognizing the old Joseph. As soon as you put on fancy clothes, people seem to change. Joseph got a new "coat of colors" and it went right to his head again, didn't it. Truly "lording" his power over his brothers for 3 chapters. And it never mentions that this was God's idea to handle it this way. Leaves me very curious about his motives--was it payback time? Was he trying to teach them a lesson? Did God guide this part of the story because many hearts did need changing and many lives were involved? I guess that's one of those questions for our days in heaven when all things will be revealed.
God bless us now to complete our past.
Did you notice the 7's and the 3's! Constant numbers in the Bible--7 is said to be the number of completeness, 3 is the number of balance. Seven years of feast, 7 years of famine. Three days of jail time, on the third day release. More foreshadowing? or just good story telling? Remember, these stories were verbally passed down through the generations as part of the Jewish education at the knee of their mothers. Just as Stephen retold the complete story in synopsis form in Acts 6, most Jewish people could explain and summarize their faith well. Are we as versed? Can we tell our beliefs as clearly? Might be something to work on so that you can witness clearly if given the opportunity at a moment's notice.
I am so impressed with Joseph at the beginning of this story. I so love the way God directed his life and pulled him out of the despair in such a dramatic way and in such grand extreme. Joseph's life could not have taken a clearer "180"--from the bottom of the heap to the top of the world. I hope that gives you as much encouragement as is does me when we feel like we are living at the bottom of a heap. Your life too can take a dramatic turn, if you continue to keep your eyes on God.
I love watching Joseph's approach to the opportunity for change. First, he gave the credit to God as his talents were recognized. Second, he followed his explanation of the situation with a plan of action that was well received. Third, he followed through with the plan by getting right to work. He stuck to the plan and became very successful.
I think we often get stuck in one of these stages. We may have a good idea, but we take all the credit instead of recognizing how the plan came about. Or we don't know what to do with the plan to move it into concrete stages so we give up easily thinking it is a "pipedream" and can't be done. Or we get stuck tweaking the plan and never put our "feet to the ground" to get the plan in motion. I encourage you to keep in mind all the steps and let God guide you through them. Joseph didn't do it alone---God put people around him to move things along. God will do the same for you if you are acting in His will.
I can't leave today without recognizing the old Joseph. As soon as you put on fancy clothes, people seem to change. Joseph got a new "coat of colors" and it went right to his head again, didn't it. Truly "lording" his power over his brothers for 3 chapters. And it never mentions that this was God's idea to handle it this way. Leaves me very curious about his motives--was it payback time? Was he trying to teach them a lesson? Did God guide this part of the story because many hearts did need changing and many lives were involved? I guess that's one of those questions for our days in heaven when all things will be revealed.
God bless us now to complete our past.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)