Lord, Bring the Rain!

Genesis 4:17

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

Genesis 4:17

Psalm 51:6 (NASB)

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 

Psalm 51:6 (NASB)

Micah 6:8

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Hosea 6:3

So let us know, let us press on to know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.

Lord, what a beautiful picture you gave me of this verse this morning! Just as I was settling down to meet with you it started raining outside and you came to me like the rain. You refreshed my soul yet again.

Lord, you come to us like the spring rain in waves of blessing. Sometimes it's a soft, gentle outpouring. Then it becomes a deluge flooding my soul with your truth and washing away all the contaminants that I've picked up along my way. Just like a hard rain washes away the pollen from the air, you leave behind a fresh clean feeling and I can breathe again. I'm left dripping and soaked in your love and truth. Lord, may it splash out onto everyone I'm in contact with today! Please keep raining on my soul all day today!

Lord, use the rain that you've watered my soul with to water seeds that were planted in others! Let the rain you are giving me splash onto other believers leaving them soaked and dripping too.

Then they can pass it on to others as well.

Genesis 39:2-6a

The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master's household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar's household for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn't worry about a thing -- except what kind of food to eat!

Lord, I know that Joseph was a type of Christ. Jesus Christ, I want you to be in charge of our household and finances! I know that with you in charge all our household affairs will run smoothly and our crops and livestock will flourish. Help me to look to you to know how to run my household. Show me what you want me to do with every minute of my day. Do you want me to go do laundry? Please let me know and I will go do it. Is it time for me to check the kids' schoolwork? Speak to my heart and I'll do it. Help me to stop and ask for guidance each moment of my day.

Please be in charge of the kind of food I eat as well! Lord, I tend to want to let my stomach be my master. I tend to want to eat the kind of things that are not good for me. Help me to submit to your will in what I eat and how much I eat. Then my body will flourish and be healthy.

1 Peter 2:21-23

Lord, help my husband to know that the suffering he goes through at work is all part of what YOU have called him to. Remind him that Christ, who suffered for him is his example. Help my husband to follow in HIS steps. Jesus, you never sinned and you never deceived anyone. Help my husband to not retaliate when he is insulted. When he suffers, help him not to want to get even. Enable my husband to leave his case in YOUR hands God because you always judge fairly! In Jesus Name! Amen!

Learning to Forgive COMPLETELY

Genesis 50

When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 
Genesis 50:17b

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid, Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
Genesis 50:19-20

Wow! What a beautiful picture of forgiveness! Joseph obviously was a deeply emotional person. Yet he was able to forgive his brothers so completely that when they sent this message asking him to forgive them it pained him to realize that they still had feelings of guilt and feared him.

I have a hard time forgiving this completely. There have been times when I thought I'd forgiven, then some new friction between that person and me causes that same old bitterness to rear it's ugly head again. It's like I'm peeling away painful layer after layer of gunk when instead I just need to steel myself and dig the whole nasty, ugly mess out of my heart. This is not something that I can do on my own. I need God to perform heart surgery on me by changing the way I think.

It always seems to come back to that. If my thoughts are being changed to become something that pleases God, then the bitterness will disappear. It will be replaced by love. And not a puny, based on feelings kind of love, but a sincere, unconditional love.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6

Thank you, Lord for showing me this! Please help me to only allow the thoughts in my mind that please you. Holy Spirit, please be my teacher and show me when my thoughts are not so pleasing, because I so easily forget to remember! I love you so much!! In Jesus sweet, precious name I pray. 
Amen

A Living Sacrifice

Genesis 47

"You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh." 
Genesis 47:25

These people were willing to be slaves to a mere human. How much more should I be willing to be in bondage to Jesus Christ! All Pharaoh did was save their bodies and he only did that through Joseph. Christ saved my very soul from an eternity of pure, unceasing torment.

I praise you, Jesus for giving your life so that my soul could be saved! I want to be your bondservant for the rest of my life! Jesus, I give myself to you as a living sacrifice. May I be holy and acceptable to you. Amen!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 NLT

Don't Quarrel

Genesis 45

Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!" 
Genesis 45:24

Oh, my gosh! This makes me laugh! But I laugh because it is so true and hits so close to home. Joseph knew his brothers. Why is it that we have a tendency to argue with the ones who are the closest to us?

Joseph had also just shown great favoritism to Benjamin by giving him a lot more gifts than the rest. He must have known that they would be tempted to harass Benjamin about that.

Lord, help me to not give in to the temptation to argue with my family. Help there to be unity within our family so that others see it and wonder what is so different about us.

Lord, I see so much strife in the family across the street. You know that they desperately need you, Jesus. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would pursue that young woman and her boyfriend. Give her grandmother the strength she needs to manage this wild girl. Comfort them all as they still grieve the tragic shooting death of the grandfather. I pray that now that the mom is out of prison that she will remain drug free. 

Holy Spirit, please pursue every person in that home! As well as everyone who is in and out of it. I pray that you would give me opportunities to share with them and boldness to speak the words you give me in those moments!

Amen

If this post resonated with you, please leave your comments below. I'd love to hear how God is working in your life.

What Are My Motives?

Genesis 44

People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.
Proverbs 16:2

Joseph's brothers have had a dramatic change in their attitude towards a favored younger brother. Perhaps it was the guilt they felt in chapter 42 when Joseph accused them of being spies, or maybe it started even before that.

Joseph was testing them to see if they would treat their youngest brother as cruelly as they had treated him. Joseph was a picture of Jesus who also by the Holy Spirit examines our motives. Joseph was hoping  to find repentance in his brothers and the Holy Spirit looks for the same in us.

What a merciful God we have!! What other "god" shows us our wrong motives and then gives us the chance to change, not by our power but his?!

Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgements. 
Revelation 19:1b-2a 

Fruitful in the Land of Suffering

Genesis 41

The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." Genesis 41:52

Lord, I praise you for making me fruitful in the land of my suffering. Indeed, it often seems that is when I am most fruitful. That is as long as I cling to you, my vine.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

It's Not About Me!

Genesis 41

Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Genesis 41:15-16

It would be easy to take the credit for being able to do something like interpreting dreams. However, Joseph gives God the credit. He recognized that God is the one who gave him that ability in the first place, even though this seems to be an ability that ran in his family. Back in chapter 37, his brothers and father seemed to have no trouble interpreting the dreams he'd had.

I've always felt that God gives us each special abilities to use for his purposes. A couple of those for me are crochet and writing. Am I using these talents for his glory and to eternal purposes? I believe so, although there is room to grow in this.

God used Joseph's ability to prepare Egypt for a severe famine. He then promoted Joseph to a prominent position. But it wasn't for Joseph's sake that he did this. It was to bring about the salvation of Joseph's family and to birth the nation that would contain the lineage of the Messiah. It wasn't about Joseph at all, it was always about Jesus. Neither are my talents and abilities about me. It's all to easy to become prideful when people notice my talents and praise them. Lord, help me to remember that it isn't about me. It's always all about you!
Amen


If this post resonated with you, please share your comments below. I'd love to hear how God is working in your life!

Still in the Dungeon

Genesis 40

The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph, he forgot him. 
Genesis 40:23

Who can command things to happen without the Lord's permission? 
Lamentations 3:37 NLT

Joseph was eager to get out of a difficult situation. Who can blame him? He'd done nothing to deserve prison. I can imagine his excitement thinking, "Soon the cupbearer will mention me to Pharaoh and I'll be taken out of this dungeon." But then his disappointment when day after day no word came for his release.

Little did he know that God was working behind the scenes, not just for his release, but for the release of many others. The time was not yet right for Joseph's release. If the cupbearer had mentioned him right away, then he perhaps would never have gotten the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, ultimately saving his whole family.

How often do I beg and plead with God to take me out of a painful situation when he just might be working behind the scenes to bring about not just my release, but also a release of others who are in bondage to sin? As Christians we are God's servants to use as he sees fit. He wants to use us to bring as many as possible to a redemptive relationship with him.

Thank you, Lord, that the painful times in my life are not wasted. Unbelievers are watching me and how I respond to these times. I pray that with your help, Lord, I would respond in ways that bring glory to you! amen

I wrote this before heading to church this morning. During worship we sang this song and it went so well with this that I had to add it in.