It is Enough! We Believe...

“Then they [Joseph's brothers] went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, ‘Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.’ And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel said, ‘It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” ~ Genesis 45:25-28, NKJV

My own heart leaps when I read these verses. I can imagine myself in Jacob's shoes, being presented with news so good and so impossible and so dearly longed for, and I do not wonder that his heart stood still in shocked disbelief. But then he saw the proof of the carts and he heard the words of Joseph's message. It was "enough"; now he knew his sons' report was true: his beloved son was alive and well, and governor of all the land of Egypt. I serve a God who is the Giver of great and impossible gifts; who can revive the spirit of those to whom He gives. The God who gave us His only begotten Son will certainly also freely give us all things. (Romans 8:32) His greatest gifts are the ones still promised, that await us in a heavenly land in a place that He has prepared for us - like Joseph prepared for his father. It may seem like what He gives is too much, too good to be true. Not so. The proofs, like the carts, are in our lives for us to touch and examine - His past faithfulness, His present graces, and His proven truth. They are the carts and the words that convince us, "It is enough!" We believe! And we will live in the power that His promises provide.

by Rebecca...

Remembrance...

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” ~ 1 Corinthians 11:26, NKJV

The Corinthian believers had made a practice of sharing communion in an unworthy manner. Factions, lovelessness, and even drunkenness had become the rule when they gathered together. Paul takes them back to what this memorial really means by reminding them, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” (vs. 23-25) For generations, Passover was the Jewish memorial of their deliverance from Egypt as well as their anticipation of the Messiah (the perfect Passover lamb) who would deliver them from their sins. When Jesus celebrated that last Passover with His disciples, He was showing them how He fulfilled thousands of years of anticipation. Through His broken body and shed blood, He paid the price required to reconcile us to His Father. Communion commemorates His unlimited and unconditional love and is one of the ways believers proclaim His death to the world. It's our Passover, our reminder to the world - a way to declare, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16) until He returns. Communion is not something to be taken lightly. It is a precious memorial, a practice that draws believers together in celebration and gratitude as we remember the love shown us on the cross. I treasure it. The bread itself is nothing; the wine or the grape juice itself is nothing. But Jesus is everything. Truly believers are more than conquerors through Him who loves us! (Romans 8:37)

by Rebecca..

Nothing is Impossible for Him....

[Judah begging to be enslaved in his brother Benjamin's place]: ‘For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?’ ” ~ Genesis 44:34, NKJV

Joseph tested his brothers to discover whether or not their hearts had changed since they had sold him into slavery, and he used Benjamin to do so. When he sent his brothers home with as much provision as they could carry, he commanded his steward to set up a situation that vey much resembled the circumstances surrounding their betrayal of him. Joseph's silver cup was secretly placed in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers were a little ways out of the city, Joseph sent by his steward and overtook them with an accusation of theft. The brothers, naturally, denied such an accusation vehemently. They volunteered for a search and declared that they would all be Joseph's slaves if the cup was found among them, and that the one who stolen it would die. The steward searched and found the cup in Benjamin's sack. He would have taken only Benjamin back as a slave and let the others return to their father in peace. Surely the men who sold Joseph into slavery would have seized on this opportunity; but these men did not. They tore their clothes and went back, with Benjamin, to Joseph. It does not appear that they seriously believed the cup had been stolen. Judah lays the situation at God's feet, saying, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants.” (vs. 16) I think it's likely that the brothers considered the whole affair as God's judgment on them for betraying their younger brother. Joseph himself gives everyone except Benjamin the opportunity to return home. But that's when Judah steps up. He was the one who suggested selling Joseph in the first place; now, for his father's sake, he begs this ruler of Egypt, “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?” (vs. 33-34) What a change had come upon Judah! Once he sold his father's beloved son into slavery and gave him the boy's bloody tunic to deceive him into thinking Joseph had been torn apart by a wild animal. Now he is willing to trade himself for Benjamin. How God had been working in this family! He can truly change the human heart. No one is beyond the transforming power of His Spirit, not while there is breath in their lungs. God is in the business of redemption, forgiveness, and restoration. Nothing is impossible for Him. All one has to do is ask.

by Rebecca...

Do All to the Glory of God...

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31, NKJV

In first Corinthians nine, Paul concluded by urging the Corinthian believers to run the race of faith in such a way as to obtain the prize. In chapter ten, as a continuation of this exhortation, he points his readers to the Exodus generation of Israelites. Almost an entire generation died in the wilderness because they rebelled against God and persisted in idolatry, sexual immortality, tempting (that is, trying to push God's envelope), and complaining. It's idolatry that Paul is particularly concerned with, since it is at the back of all the other sins. With reference to the communion of Christ and the sacrifices made to other gods (which are really just demons), Paul reminds the Corinthians, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” (vs. 1) You can't be hot and cold at the same time; you can't be wet and dry; you can't be Christ's and also be Satan's. The two conditions are mutually exclusive. If the overall direction of your life is one of idolatry, if you choose to serve a god other than Him (anything that takes God's place in a human heart is another god), then you are not of Christ. You can't be. However, the converse also holds true: if you are of Christ, if the overall direction of your life is one of obedience to Him, if when you sin you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent, then it is not possible for you to be a partaker with demons. That's why, as Paul explains, a believer could eat the meat offered to idols (a practice widely considered as part of the worship ritual itself), without issue. The believer thanks God for the food, which, after all, He created, and his eating is thus to the glory of God and not part of a sacrifice to demons. So if the Corinthians wanted to flee idolatry, as their spiritual father so anxiously urged them, “ ...whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

by Rebecca...

A Heart of Love...

“But he [Joseph's steward] said [to Joseph's brothers concerning the money they found returned in their grain sacks], ‘Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.’” ~ Genesis 43:23, NKJV

When reading the account of Joseph's brothers and their reunion with the brother they sold into slavery, one observes an interesting dichotomy in Joseph's actions. On the one hand, he speaks to his brothers roughly and accuses them of being spies; on the other hand, he returns their money to them, holds only one brother as surety rather than all the brother except one (as he claimed he would), and supplies provision for their journey. Why? Was Joseph's heart one of revenge, or one of love? I am convinced that the latter is true. Who primed Joseph's steward with the explanation he gave regarding the returned grain money? Surely the steward's master. When the man assures them, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid,” I think we are getting a glimpse of Joseph's heart for his brothers. His desire for them was peace and blessing - as shown by the lavishness he heaped upon them when they returned to Egypt with their youngest brother Benjamin. He wanted to take care of his father, provide for his brothers, and comfort his family. Yet he had to deal with the fact that his brothers had also kidnapped him, bound him, sold him into slavery and almost certain death (ignoring his pleas for mercy), and finally deceive their father concerning his fate. Once Joseph's brothers knew who he was and the power he held, Joseph would lose any opportunity to learn the truth about their characters. Had they changed or hadn't they? Could they be trusted? Did they treat Benjamin - Rachel's other son - better than they treated Joseph? Before he revealed himself to his brothers, Joseph set up a test for them using Benjamin. The transformation he would witness is incredible, and it would overcome Joseph to the point where he could no longer bear to hide his identity. With the test over, he would then be free to let his actions further the desires of his heart - to bring peace and freedom from fear and extravagant blessing to his brothers and to his family. In this way, Joseph reminds me of the Lord. He loves us more than Joseph could ever love his siblings. He is richer than Joseph, more powerful than Joseph, more extravagant than Joseph. His desire is to do for us according to the love of His heart. But because He loves us, He cannot bless us or give us peace if our behavior is evil. That would bring harm to us, not good, by rewarding practices that do not deserve to be rewarded and thereby encouraging us to sin. So He might put us in fear, or make our lives difficult, in order to bring us back onto the right path - where He can heap His favor upon us. Joseph's brothers did not enjoy the test he set up for them. I can't imagine Joseph enjoyed it, either. Certainly God doesn't, when He tests or chastens us. But the end He has in mind is always our good, and we are blessed when we trust in and obey Him.

by Rebecca...

Barriers...

“[Paul on winning people to Christ through the message of the gospel]...to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” ~ 1 Corinthians 9:22, NKJV

The Corinthians - influenced, perhaps, by false teachers - had been questioning Paul's qualifications as an apostle. Though the charges were ridiculous, Paul is nonetheless compelled to defend himself - if only for the Corinthians' sake. In so doing he also describes his ministry, and his great burden to preach the gospel. Though Paul was free from all men, he made himself a servant to all, that he might win the more to salvation; to the Jews he became as a Jew; to those under the law, as under the law; to those without law, as without law (though always under law towards Christ); and “to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (vs. 19-22) Paul, when sharing the gospel, met people where they were. He never compromised the truth or his conscience, of course - no good comes from such practices and they are not in view here. But Paul did endeavor to make sure that his message concerning the gospel could be understood by all those to whom he preached it. Human beings already have a barrier up when it comes to receiving God's salvation: our own rebellious pride, which dates back to Adam and Genesis 3. Paul couldn't do anything about that barrier. But he could do his best to make sure that there were no other barriers! So when he reached the weak for Christ, he became as weak, laying aside his own strength for their sake. Christ Himself did the same when He became a man and laid aside His glory in order to save us. We were weak. We couldn't understand God's message of love to us. On his own a man can't even see the face of God and live! So the Lord became a man in order to reach man. He emptied and sacrificed Himself to give us life. He cared too much about us to let any removable barrier stand in the way of winning our redemption. He didn't leave us in our weakness, either. When someone receives God's salvation and believes in Jesus, He receives that person's weakness and turns it into His strength. How wonderful is our God! How amazing is His love! We have refuge in Him, who has compassion on our weakness, and who lays aside His own strength in order reach us.

by Rebecca...

All These Things Are Against Me....

“And Jacob their father said to them [his sons, after they returned from Egypt], ‘You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.’” ~ Genesis 42:36, NKJV

Joseph predicted seven years of plenty followed by seven years of desperate famine. Because of his God-given wisdom and insight, Egypt was able to prepare for the coming lack. They had grain when the rest of the region, including Canaan, felt the bite of the famine. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons (except Benjamin, Rachel's only remaining child) down to buy food from them. There the brothers encountered Joseph, the brother they had betrayed and sold into slavery, who was now second-in-command of all Egypt. Unsurprisingly, they didn't recognize him - but Joseph recognized them. Though at one point his heart was so overcome that he had to go out of their sight and weep, he kept his identity secret and tested his brothers' character. Were they still liars and bullies? Or had they changed? Joseph could not hope for an honest answer once his brothers knew who he was. To get at the truth, he had to test their actions. He accused his brothers of being spies and questioned them closely about their family and their reason for being in Egypt. He gave them food (and returned their money to them in their sacks) and let them return home, on one condition: that to prove that they were who they said they were (the sons of one father) they should bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, with them on their next trip. Joseph held Simeon in Egypt to ensure that they would, indeed, come back. When the eleven remaining brothers returned to Jacob, the old man was dismayed. Joseph, as far as he knew, was dead and gone. Simeon was a hostage to a seemingly unfriendly ruler. Now his sons also wanted to take Benjamin from him too? Jacob cried out, “All these things are against me.” If he had only known! The love the Lord bears His children is boundless. So is His power. Jacob didn't realize, but the very things he believed were against him were actually be used for him - to not only reunite him with Simeon, but to restore to him the beloved son he had long ago given up for dead. Furthermore, the Lord was preparing - through Joseph - to bless Jacob and his family with abundant protection and provision in Egypt. Jacob believed everything was against him. So do we, quite often. This is not the case! God is working all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) We may not see the good He intends right away. We may not even fully understand it this side of eternity. But because He has proved His word to us in so many other ways, we can trust Him to fulfill His promise and do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

by Rebecca...

Known by Him...

But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.” ~ 1 Corinthians 8:3, NKJV

Paul moves from the subject of marriage to the subject of things offered to idols. The Corinthian believers knew that "an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one." (vs. 4) Because of their knowledge, they could eat things offered to idols (eating an idol's sacrifice was widely considered part of the act of worship) and be neither better nor worse for doing so. What appears to have been troubling the Corinthians was not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of love. "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies," Paul reminds them (vs. 1). Focused on selfish ambition rather than on their relationship with the Lord, stronger believers were causing weaker believers to stumble. By eating meat sacrificed to idols they emboldened their weaker brethren to do the same, contrary to their conscience. Knowledge without love serves only to puff up the individual who has it. In the absence of love, pride swells to the point where it begins choking out the Spirit, producing spiritual barrenness and bringing reproach to Christ. Paul urges the Corinthians to remember the importance and priority of love, reminding them as incentive that the one who loves God is also known by Him. Being known by God is a very precious thing. God loves the whole world, and God the Son came to die for the world while we were all yet sinners; but God can only know (in the sense that we would think of as friendship or fellowship, or something even closer) those who love Him back. Without that reciprocation, there is no relationship and no salvation. God is not the one who pays the price for the absence of such things. We are. If you are not known by God, who is the source of all goodness and the giver of eternal life, then you have nothing worth having. Your existence is empty and purposeless. Your destination is the lake of fire and your portion is wrath. Your lack of love will quite literally kill you. This is the opposite of the result of returning God's love for you, which brings fulfillment, hope, joy, peace, and life - all consequences of a relationship with the glorious, all-powerful, all-loving Creator God who laid down His life for your sake. It's not enough to just know about Him - you have to love Him for His love to do you any good.

by Rebecca...

"LORD! IT IS NOT IN ME!"

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.’

So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.’” ~ Genesis 41:15-16, NKJV

Joseph had been unjustly imprisoned for at least two full years, thanks to Potiphar's wife and the chief butler's forgetfulness. When Pharaoh was visited with a troubling pair of dreams and Joseph was recommended to him as an interpreter, Joseph could have seized his chance. He could have glorified himself before Pharaoh in an effort to obtain his freedom. He could have boasted about the correct interpretations he had given to the chief butler and the chief baker. But he didn't. When Pharaoh gave him the perfect opportunity to claim credit for himself, Joseph gave all the glory to God. All the credit for Joseph's successes and gifts, including interpretation of dreams, belonged rightfully to God. Joseph freely admitted this and in so doing gave us a beautiful expression of truth: “‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.’” Everything we have comes ultimately from God. The work that He accomplishes through us is also from Him. He supplies the believer with all the strength, resources, opportunities, and energies he needs to fulfill His will for him. That provision is not in us. It's all of Him. And when our souls are troubled or when we face a matter that has others troubled, it is God who also supplies the answers that put the trouble to rest. Joseph wasn't promising Pharaoh a positive, "peaceful" answer when he said God's answer would be one of peace; he was indicating that God's answer would bring Pharaoh personal peace, in that he would no longer be left in the dark, anxious and unprepared. 

My heart resonates with Joseph's words. When my circumstances or my troubles feel as if they're overwhelming me, they fit my frustrated, desperate cry perfectly: "LORD! IT IS NOT IN ME!" I don't have what it takes to do what's ahead of me; I am not sufficient, I do not have the heart, I do not have the courage, I do not have the energy, and I do not have the hope. It is not in me. None of it. But when I turn to Him, God gives me an answer of peace. He shows me how He is sufficient and how He will provide me with all that I need. No, it's not in me. But it is in Him.

by Rebecca....

Christ Could Come at Any Moment...

“But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.” ~ 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, NKJV

Paul spends chapter seven of his first epistle to the Corinthians responding to certain things of which the Corinthians had written him, mostly concerning marriage. Marriage, as Paul explains, is good. But our fallen human nature means that marriage also brings trouble in the flesh (since each spouse is trying to live with another sinner), and all things being equal, it is easier for someone who is unmarried to serve the Lord without distraction. Paul's point in the passage above is that believers - whatever their state - need to be living for eternity. Since Jesus' ascension, the "time is short," that is, Christ could return for us at any moment. That was true in Paul's day and it remains true today. The constant imminency of His return is by design, so that is easier for us to see God's kingdom as near to us rather than planted somewhere in the vague, distant future. If we know His kingdom is near, we will be more concerned about heavenly priorities rather than being ensnared by the temporary cares of this world. A life lived for heaven is the best kind of life to have on earth. Are you married? Christ could come at any moment. Don't hang on your marriage those hopes and expectations that can only be fulfilled by God. Are you weeping? Christ could come at any moment and wipe all your tears away. Are you rejoicing? Christ could come at any moment. Rejoice, but don't stake your soul on human causes for celebration. Are you buying or investing? Christ could come at any moment. Don't assign those possessions too much value, or let them own you. Do you use this world? Christ could come at any moment. Use the world, but don't misuse it, inverting your priorities to care only about the things of this world and not the things of the world to come. The form of this world is passing away! When it goes, its cares, its sorrows, its cruelties, its valuables, its petty gratifications, and its priorities are all going to go with it. We will get more out of this world and we will be blessed in the next world if we live our lives with the Lord as our highest priority. Not even marriage is more important than He is. For the believer, the fact that this world is passing away brings comfort and hope. We see the evil that flourishes here. We see the pain and the sorrow and the corruption. We see death. But we look further ahead, to Christ's return and all that it will bring - the resurrection of the dead, the new heavens and the new earth, the fulfillment of our salvation, the casting of Satan into the lake of fire forever - and we rejoice with a joy that does not pass away.

by Rebecca...

Nothing Can Separate Us...

“So he [Joseph] asked Pharaoh’s officers [the chief butler and the chief baker] who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’

And they said to him, ‘We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.’

So Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.’” ~ Genesis 40:7-8, NKJV

Egyptians were religious regarding dreams and their interpretations. People could bring their dreams before an expert or specialist, or perhaps a magician, to have them properly interpreted. Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker, imprisoned in the house of the captain of the guard (Joseph's master, Potiphar), each had dreams but did not have access to an interpreter. Since they were not experts themselves, they had no way of understanding the meaning of their dreams, and this troubled them deeply. Imagine what it must have been like having one's access to something so important be so fragile. Joseph urged Pharaoh's troubled officers to share their dreams with him, saying, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" The Egyptians would have agreed with that statement. But their access to God or gods was restricted, bureaucratic, uncertain, delayed, and in the case of these officers, easily blocked. Joseph's access to his God - the one true God - was otherwise. He needed no interpreters, no temples, no priests, no political or social clout; God was always with him. Conversation with God was never more than a prayer away. God gave Joesph the interpretations to the butler's and the baker's respective dreams, and the interpretations came to pass exactly as Joseph said. Believers do not any special circumstances, places, or intermediaries to access their heavenly Father. They don't need priests. They don't need saints. (They are the saints.) They don't need rituals. They don't need bureaucracy. They don't need experts, or interpreters. Like Joseph, we have God with us always. We go straight to Him, with no delays or relays or formalities. Our connection to Him is unbreakable, immediate, and intimate. He hears our cries; He knows our hearts; He feels our pain; He perceives our thoughts; He walks with us through our lives. He is always ready to respond when we reach out to Him, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, NKJV)

by Rebecca....

Set Free...

“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” ~ 1 Corinthians 6:12, NKJV

Corinth was a church with problems - namely, its members. Though true believers, they often behaved more like fallen human beings rather than as children of the living God who were indwelled by His Spirit. The intense love Paul bears for this community of believers, evident in his letter to them, is representative of the infinitely more intense love God bore them. This love comes as an encouragement to us when we stumble as badly or perhaps even worse than the Corinthians. In Corinthians 6, Paul expresses dismay at the believers' practices of cheating, wronging, and suing one another. He reminds them that, "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Of such were some of the Corinthians! (vs. 9-11) But then they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They were washed, they were cleansed, they were sanctified and justified through His sacrifice on their behalf. They received the Spirit of the Living God and now had new life inspired and energized by God Himself. How could the Corinthians go back to their old ways? Paul warns the Corinthians that though, in Christ, all created things in and of themselves are lawful for the believer, not all of those things are helpful. Nor should we engage in those things that bring us under the power of anyone or anything except God. We were already enslaved to sin. We were already under its power. By the grace of God we have been redeemed - so we shouldn't go back! What things bring our minds back into bondage vary from person to person. But the principle remains the same. We have been set free - we have liberty in Christ. We are now able to do those things that are good and righteous. It makes no sense for us to go back to slavery and the harsh taskmasters of sin! Instead, we ought to seek to be like Paul, able to say, "I will not be brought under the power of any." My Master is God, and God alone; may He give me the grace to live accordingly.

by Rebecca...

Because the Lord was With Him...

“The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.” ~ Genesis 39:2-3, NKJV

Joseph consistently impressed those around him. Potiphar, his Egyptian master, made him overseer over all that he had; in fact, he so trusted Joseph that he left everything in Joseph's hands, and did not himself know what he had except for the food that he ate. Potiphar's goods prospered under Joseph's stewardship, and Joseph never let him down. Joseph was imprisoned only because of the lies of Potiphar's wife, not because of any crime which he committed. But even in prison Joseph found favor with those around him! The keeper of the prison committed all the prisoners to Joseph's hand, "whatever they did there, it was his doing." (vs. 22) The keeper didn't even look in to anything under Joseph's care, "because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper." (vs. 23) Later we see how Joseph so impressed Pharaoh that he was made second-in-command of all Egypt. Now Joseph was likely a diligent, exemplary young man, faithful and honest in all his doings, but Scripture does not lay the credit for his greatness at Joseph's feet. The narrator specifically and repeatedly identifies the Lord as the reason for all the favor shown Joseph. Because the Lord was with him, because people saw the Lord, not Joseph, when they looked at him, Joseph met with such favor. God is desirable to man. God is everything we are not: righteous, loving, sovereign, peaceable, truthful, pure, diligent, faithful, joyous, patient, kind, just, wise, and above all, good. God is so much these things that they can scarcely be ascribed to Him as adjectives - instead He is their source, their definition. For all he is in rebellion against God, man wants what God is. What God is "works." His attributes make the world go round. They bring prosperity and stability. Joseph, the man who had God with him, was so impressive and conspicuous - a metaphorical giant - precisely because God was with him. As believers, God is with us, as well; we have the Spirit of God living in our hearts, and God Himself walks with us throughout our lives. His favor is on us and He is jealous for our well-being. But when people see us, do they see Him? Can they perceive His presence overshadowing our own fallen selves? When they are with us, do they come away feeling as if they had been with Jesus? Oh, that this would be true! I pray that as I study God's word and apply it to my life, I would come more and more under the influence of His Holy Spirit. May He so overshadow me that it's not me people see; it's the Lord.

By Rebecca...

Sincere and True...

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” ~ 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, NKJV

Paul wrote the above regarding the Corinthian church's response to their member who had his father's wife. Instead of being grieved by this sin, they condoned and even paraded it, actually glorying in something that should have brought them shame. Jesus, in His parables, used leaven to represent sin. Paul continues that metaphor here. A little bit of leaven (yeast) leavens the whole lump of dough. Any sin in the midst of the "lump" of the church leavened the whole church with sin, hindering their relationship with the Lord and sabotaging their witness in the world. Since the Corinthians were truly unleavened because of Christ's sacrifice on their behalf, Paul urges the church to purge out the old leaven - the deeds and practices of their old, sinful natures - and walk in the Spirit. They needed to put away from themselves the "evil person" (vs. 13), and repent of their own sin of glorying in shame and rejecting the law of God. Then they, as a church, would be keeping Jesus' Passover feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Taking sin out of your life takes away duplicity, deceit, double-mindedness, hypocrisy, facades, manipulation, and everything that is untrue or insincere (not genuine). A believer who is walking in the Spirit (that is, under the influence of and in obedience to the word of God) is very different in character from a nonbeliever, or even from a believer who has allowed the old leaven of sin to once again permeate his life. Someone keeping Christ's Passover knows the truth and lives his life according to it. Because of this practice, he is also what we would describe as "real": genuine, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, graciously honest, forthright, straightforward, honorable, and undeceiving. Sincere and true - that's the kind of person I want to meet or associate with; that's the kind of person I want to be. But the only way I can become that kind of person is if I immerse myself in the word of God, receiving it with meekness and allowing the Spirit of God to energize its application in my life. May God grant each of His children the grace to do so.

by Rebecca...

We Have Nothing We Have Not Been Given...

“For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” ~ 1 Corinthians 4:7, NKJV

As they vied for superiority over one another, the Corinthians abandoned an important truth: we have nothing we have not been given. Everything we have - our being, our bodies, our possessions, our talents, our lives, our world, the very breath in our lungs - we have received from God. He is, after all, the Creator; there is nothing that does owe its existence to Him. So why were the Corinthians boasting about what they had (in this case, from who they had received the word of salvation), when they had no right to take credit for it? Paul urges believers to boast in nothing except Jesus Christ. Boasting about Jesus is another way to point to Him with praise and thanksgiving. It makes praise much more personal in that you yourself are deeply invested in what you share. It is profitable boasting, since it serves not only to glorify God, but to share the good news of His salvation with others! There is nothing about myself in which I can boast. But there's everything for me to boast about in Christ, not least of which is implied in the verse above: I can't earn God's love. Everything I have has been given to me, yes? I can't claim credit or ultimate, creative ownership of anything, yes? So that makes it impossible for me to even begin to earn or pay for the favor God has given me. It's not even worth trying; to do so would be an exercise in futility and a defiance of logic. I have nothing to give and there's nothing I can do about that. Isn't that great? It's a huge burden that God has taken off our shoulders! "No," He says, "you don't have to sweat and strive and sacrifice to try to afford Me, because I've made sure that such a goal is beyond your reach. I don't want you to have to labor like that. I want to give you all My love and all My favor for free. Like everything else, you just need to receive it." Unfortunately, we human beings (or at least this human being) find receiving difficult. Receiving requires humility. It requires a surrender of our self-willed independence. To receive the better things God has for us we need the filling of His Spirit, which comes through the influence of His word, so that the receiving is done in His power and not in ours. It is not an easy process. But it leads to life, and life abundantly - with a Father like no other.

by Rebecca...

Jesus, the One Who Has Borne Our Griefs...

“And he [Jacob] recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.’ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” ~ Genesis 37:33-35, NKJV

Jacob's favoritism promoted hatred and rivalry among his sons. When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, they hid their crime by dipping Joseph's multicolored tunic in the blood of a young goat. They brought the tunic to their father, as if they had "found" it, and asked him if he recognized it. Convinced his beloved son had been taken by wild animals and torn apart, a devastated Jacob grieved bitterly. He refused the comfort offered him by his sons and daughters. He resolved to go to his grave still bearing the grief of his loss. Jacob is not the only one to respond to intense sorrow in this way; it is a phenomena that is difficult to explain within a materialistic or evolutionary framework. Why not accept comfort? Why not try to make yourself feel better? What benefit is derived from stubbornly remaining in mourning for a loss you cannot recover? What makes the pain desirable? I know that mingled in my own grief is a cry for justice. I don't accept that is, should be. Death and evil are an affront, an offense, a contaminant - not the natural order of the world. If your worldview does not include God that there is no accounting for such a bone-deep demand. There is no point or depth to relationships. There is nothing beyond this physical realm of existence. There is no hope in using your grief to throw down the gauntlet in a demand that the world be different. If you do not believe in God, then you might as well abandon your sorrow and give up any desire to see things be "right." You may as well surrender yourself to the nightmare of a world that dies. Or you can be like Jacob. Whatever his sins, he loved his son. I would rather spend my life in mourning than give in to the reign of death. I will bring my tears and my sorrow and my loss to Jesus, the one who "has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows," and by whose stripes "we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4, 5) Jesus conquered death. He overcame evil. He is salvation to those who believe in Him, so that there will come “to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’

‘O Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

I'll keep my grief. Because instead of exchanging it for emptiness, I will see it transformed into joy.

by Rebecca....

Evidence of Spiritual Immaturity...

“For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:3, NKJV

The Corinthians' lack of spiritual maturity, as evidenced by the prideful, petty, and self-promoting divisions that existed among them, was a cause of great concern for Paul. When discussing spiritual things, he wanted to be able to give them "meat" and not "milk." But they weren't ready to dig deeper into the truth. Instead of exercising their faith to maturity, they had remained in the familiar ruts of their old, fleshly (carnal) ways. They behaved like mere fallen human beings, dead in their spirits and dictated by the lusts of their flesh, rather than like the children of the living God. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Paul cries in verse 16. Believers have the glory and power of God Himself living inside them! Our bodies are actually God's temple! His Spirit is Him, in all His fullness, and we can freely access that fullness. We can live in His power; we can shine with His glory; we can walk in His truth; we can see with His eyes; we can act with the character of His Son. By exercising our faith through obedience to spiritual maturity, we become more able to tap into the resources of the Holy Spirit. We come further under His influence. We behave not as mere men and women, still trapped in the bondage of sin, but as children of the living God, free and full of life and joy and power.

by Rebecca....

On 9/11....

“Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
So that men will say,
‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.’” ~ Psalm 58, NKJV

As I remember, the 9/11 Commission determined that our failure to anticipate the attacks made on that day was one of "imagination." We didn't think big enough to believe that our enemies would hijack passenger jets and drive them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Even today we repeat the mistakes of the 1930s, choosing to deny or ignore or diminish the reality of evil. This is the evil of silence, and it is just as deadly as the evil that clamors and draws attention to itself. But David makes no bones about declaring evil for what it is. He speaks his mind; he uses graphic, vivid language; he calls it like he sees it. Evil is real. Evil is everywhere. Evil is powerful. To deny it and claim that doing so is righteous and upright is just to participate in a different form of evil, which weighs out violence in the earth and brings death and destruction. But where there is evil, there is also judgment! David's God - our God, the God of Israel - is a just God. He is righteous and He judges in the earth. There have been times in history when His hand of judgment has been apparent; there have been other times when it seems not so. There is also coming a day when every evil will be judged, every unrepentant soul will face His wrath - and everyone will know it. I take comfort in this psalm. Yes, the evil that I see and feel in the world around me is real, no matter how much it is denied; and yes, that evil will face judgment from a righteous and holy God. When those truths guard my heart the madness of this world cannot bring me to despair. I have hope instead.

By Rebecca Lilley..

Led Astray by Pride...

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:12, NKJV

Led astray by their pride, the Corinthian believers were wasting time pursuing the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom and power of God. Paul reminds them, “‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” Since we have been given the Spirit of God (who alone knows all the things of God), we have unparalleled access to Him and can know all the things that He has, in His infinite love, freely given us. These things include His wisdom; His grace; His salvation; His life; His power; His exceedingly great and precious promises; His (Christ's) inheritance; His hope; His joy; His peace; and so much more. How could the Corinthians neglect this gift in favor of the things of the world, which, apart from God, are passing, empty, and damaging? How can any believer follow the Corinthians' example? Unfortunately, of course, we find it all too easy; we "default" to the ways of the flesh, and it takes time for the truth to become rooted in our hearts and replace our old habits of thinking and feeling and doing. But oh, the joy that we have when it does! When the Spirit teaches you the things of God, and you know what He has freely given you, your cup becomes filled to overflowing.

by Rebecca...

Walking in the Fulfillment of God's Promises...

“Also God said to him [Jacob]: ‘I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.’” ~ Genesis 35:11-12, NKJV

In this passage, the Lord is passing on to Jacob the promises He also first gave to Abraham and to Isaac. But in Jacob's case, he is actually beginning to see God's word come to pass. Abraham was promised that he and Sarah would be the parents of a great nation, and yet they had just one son together, and that when they were old. Isaac and Rebekah, in their turn, were barren for many years before finally just having two sons, Esau and Jacob. As far as descendants and nations and claiming Canaan went, the size of their family looked highly inadequate. But with Jacob the tide changed. Twelve sons and one daughter filled his household! With each generation came more increase, until Pharaoh, king of Egypt, would become to afraid of Israel's numbers that he force them into slavery and enact brutal population control measures. What a privilege it was for Jacob to witness with his own eyes the beginning of the fulfillment of the promises God had made to his fathers. When we see God's promises fulfilled in our own lives, we get a glimpse of His glory, His perfect timing, and His sovereign power. My prayer is that these truths about my God would be so engraved upon my heart that the way I think and what I believe would be transformed.

by Rebecca...

You, Think You're so Great?

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” ~ 1 Corinthians 1:25, NKJV

Paul addresses the divisions and contentions that existed in the Corinthian church by addressing their root cause, human pride. He points to God's own strategy for our salvation, and His methods of action in the world - using the foolish things of this world to accomplish His purposes and to confound the humanly wise - as proof that God is not interested in our glory. In fact, He is interested in the opposite. Why? Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men! Man doesn't have anything to glory about! In His love for us, God breaks down our pride and exposes our frailty so that we do not, in our pride, drive His salvation far from us. I love 1 Corinthians 1. I love the Lord's care for us and His sense of humor. (You think you're so great? All right. I'll turn your whole world upside down, and I'll use twelve broken-down, Galilean commoners to do it!) I love most of all that I serve a God who is so much greater than me! If His foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men, and His weakness is stronger than the strength of men, then I am safe indeed.

by Rebecca....

Behold, God is my Helper...

“Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

He will repay my enemies for their evil.

Cut them off in Your truth.” ~ Psalm 54:4-5, NKJV

Without God truth has very little meaning and very little power. God, after all, is truth. He defines truth, He encompasses truth, and He empowers truth. He's what gives truth weight because truth is what He is. David suffered much injustice during the years he fled from Saul. Truth was buried. He wrote this psalm after the Ziphites informed on him to Saul, saying, “Is David not hiding with us?” So when David prays for the Lord to cut off his enemies in His truth, he is praying for justice; he is praying for God's laws to be manifested. Going against the ways of God is like violating a natural law. The penalty is usually built into the crime. Defy the law of gravity, and you will fall; defy the law that human beings cannot breathe water, and you will drown. Defy God's spiritual laws and the result is much the same. You bring upon yourself misery, death, and ultimately, separation from God (the definition of hell) as truth exacts its toll. David indeed suffered many trials during his years on the run, but he took comfort in the inviolable nature of God's truth. So can we.

by Rebecca...

Greet Apelles, Approved in Christ...

“Greet Apelles, approved in Christ.” ~ Romans 16:10, NKJV

The closing chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans is filled with names as he greets, with much love, individuals known to him. The phrase Paul chooses as Apelles' identifier is "approved in Christ." Technically speaking, all believers are "approved in Christ." Jesus is the one who makes us good enough, who marks us as sufficient - not because we are sufficient, but because He is. What we could not achieve Jesus achieved for us, and imputed it to our hopeless accounts. Did his approval in Christ mean so much to Apelles, perhaps because of his past or ethnic background, that this was how people knew him - as the man whom Christ had made sufficient? Or was it Paul's subtle encouragement to Apelles by reminding him that in Christ, he did, indeed, have the approval of God? I don't know. But I treasure Paul's words. Like Apelles, I am approved in Christ. I am sufficient. I am good enough. I meet the mark. I've been adopted as God's daughter, perfect and complete, without flaw or blemish. There is no condemnation, no despair, no defeat, no tearing down for the child of God. He is approved in Christ.

by Rebecca....

The Goodness of God Endures Continually...

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The goodness of God endures continually.” ~ Psalm 52:1, NKJV

David wrote Psalm 52 after a servant of King Saul, Doeg the Edomite, told the king that David had gone to the house of Ahimelech, the high priest. Not knowing of King Saul's vendetta against David, Ahimelech willingly provided David with food and a weapon. When Doeg reported this to Saul, Saul had Ahimelech, eighty-five priests of the Lord, and a city full of the priests' families were executed - by Doeg's hand. From Psalm 52, we know that Doeg boasted in his evil. He loved devouring words, lying over speaking righteousness, and evil over good. He worked deceitfully and his tongue devised destruction. (See Psalm 52:2-4) But Doeg was foolish. The goodness of God endures continually. Because He is God, because He is good, and because He is unchanging and eternal, any evil is doomed; God will not fail to judge and bring justice. David addresses Doeg in his psalm, writing that as Doeg worked destruction, "God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and uproot you from the land of the living." (vs. 5) There is no need for the believer to despair or be discouraged when evildoers lift themselves up and glory in their deeds. If they do not repent, their judgment is sure. But those who are clothed with the grace of God's salvation (because we deserve judgment just as surely as Doeg), there is peace. We trust in His mercy forever and ever. (vs. 8) We are blessed and will be made to prosper. For us, eternity holds not judgment, but life. What peace we have with God!

by Rebecca....

The God of Peace Be With You...

“Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” ~ Romans 15:33, NKJV

Paul writes this verse as he prepares to close his epistle to the Roman believers. Earlier, he had written, “Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.’” (vs. 8-9) Jesus, while He was on the earth, submitted Himself completely beneath the strictures, ordinances, and rituals of the law (or the circumcision), so that in fulfilling it He might then, through His death, confirm God's promises of salvation and restoration. He did this “for the truth of God”; that is, so that God's word might be true. He did this furthermore for the Gentiles, allowing those who were once apart from God to bring Him glory through His mercy to them. Jesus' death on the cross, as penalty for sin, brought peace with God to both Jew and Gentile. The law - though good - is death to both groups alike! We can never fulfill it, and it justly condemns us. Our enmity with God brought us the death contained in the law. With death comes all its dreadful cohorts, those enemies who are to blame for every breach of peace in the world: fear, envy, strife, anger, bitterness, pride, rebelliousness, selfishness, greed, despair, anxiety, and the like. But when the God of peace walks beside us - and because of the peace won by Christ He can walk beside us! - there is no room for death and all his friends. They are cast out by God's perfect peace through His unfailing and unlimited love.

by Rebecca...

Jacob Wrestles with God...

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.” ~ Genesis 32:24-25, NKJV

As Jacob prepared to meet Esau again, he spent the night alone on one side of the ford of Jabbok. Here he wrestled with God until dawn - and he prevailed. It's not good to prevail against God! A man only prevails against God when God restrains Himself, as a father with a child. God, our heavenly Father, wrestles against our wills in order to bring us into submission to Him, where we can prosper, have joy and peace, and be blessed. When we, like Jacob, won't yield to the Lord, He must move beyond wrestling and cripple us. A shepherd with a perennially wandering sheep will break that sheep's leg in order to save it from destroying itself (as would surely happen if it kept wandering). Then he binds the leg and tends the sheep as it heals, keeping the sheep close to himself. Later, when the sheep is well, it no longer strays far from the shepherd. Sometimes, as with Jacob, our wills our so vehemently opposed to God's that the Lord must cripple us in order to save us. He put Jacob's hip out of joint. He may send an injury, a sickness, a disability, or a confining circumstance to other Jacobs. When God cripples, whether permanently or temporarily, He always does it in love and with His child's best interest at heart. Through a crippling we learn, as a sheep does, that the best place to be is close to Him. But how much gentler, how much easier - on God and on ourselves! - to let Him prevail when He wrestles us! We save ourselves much time and pain, and we come that much quicker into the blessings and goodness of our loving Father God.

by Rebecca...

Whatever is Not From Faith is Sin....

“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” ~ Romans 14:23, NKJV

Eating the meat of an animal sacrificed to an idol was considered as part of the act of worship. In pagan cities, where animals were offered to idols and the meat was served to guests or sold in the marketplace, believers faced a difficult decision. Was eating the meat tantamount to idol worship? Or was it, as Paul wrote on more than one occasion, just meat? Nothing in God's creation is unclean of itself. If someone had the faith to accept God's word and eat the meat without a doubts in his conscience, this was all well and good - as long as his eating wasn't making another, weaker believer stumble. But it was not well and good for someone to go against his conscience and eat the meat, because his actions, indeed, would be sin - he was going against his conscience and doing that which he believed to be wrong. Faith is the believer's connection to everything that is good. Faith is what holds him to the truth of God's word. Faith is how he receives the Holy Spirit and God's nature. God's nature is good and encompasses all that is good; human nature, on the other hand, is only evil. So, as Paul writes above, whatever is not from faith is sin. All the good motivations - such as love - have their roots in faith. All the evil motivations, like fear, pride, envy, self-seeking, anger, and revenge, are found apart from faith. It's an eye-opening and rather intimidating division of sin and righteousness, but it's also a division that brings simplicity. Where are my actions coming from? Are they from faith? Are they in accordance with the word of God? Are they empowered by the Holy Spirit? Or are they not? Paul makes it very easy to see what deeds are worthless and what deeds are not. And the grace of God is always there to help us walk by faith and not by sight.

by Rebecca