Tag: Joseph

Joseph: Right Where God Wanted Him

Gen 41 38

In Genesis 40, Joseph is still stuck in prison for having done nothing at all.  He has now gone from living a pampered life as the favorite son to being a slave and then being a prisoner. It would appear that the circumstances in his life have literally gone from bad to worse.  But whether he knew it or not, God was putting Joseph right where Joseph needed to be.

In chapter 40, Joseph demonstrates an amazing ability to interpret dreams. In chapter 41, Pharaoh has a dream, and he wants Joseph to interpret it.  Genesis 41:15 says, “So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.”  After Joseph was able to interpret the dream for Pharaoh, Pharaoh declared, “You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”  Toward the end of the chapter, it reads, “Pharaoh had Joseph ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,  and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

In one day Joseph went from being a prisoner to being a big wig, the second most powerful person in all of Egypt. You know you’ve reached the top if you ever have people running in front of your chariot telling everyone else to get out of the way.  How did this all come about?  Joseph was faithful to God, and God blessed Joseph.  No matter what happened in Joseph’s life, Joseph did not turn from God.  Let me ask you a question: do your circumstances ever get you down?  Do you allow yourself to become discouraged or frustrated or even depressed by where you are in life?  Have you ever considered that perhaps God is putting you right where He wants you to be?  The next time you feel tempted to give up on your relationship with God, remember Joseph, and all he went through, from the prison to the throne room–all in one day.

-Jason Turner

Joseph: Prosperous Slave & Successful Prisoner…And God Was With Him

Gen 39 20b-21a

In the beginning of Genesis 39, Joseph has just been sold to a new master named Potiphar.  During the course of the chapter, Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into prison.  The chapter ends as Joseph goes from being a slave to being a prisoner.  Sounds pretty bad, right?  Strangely enough, the chapter starts out by saying of Joseph the slave, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”  The chapter ends by saying of Joseph the prisoner, “The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”  So God was with Joseph and gave him success and prosperity even as a slave and a prisoner.  Sounds very strange to me.  It would seem to me that success would be not being a slave and not being a prisoner.  But Joseph understood some things that many of us never understand.

 

We can learn a lot of good things from Joseph.  Whatever happened in his life, he kept on trying to live for God.  He continued to have a good attitude and he continued to work hard.  He didn’t pout, become discouraged, depressed or cry out, “Why me?”

 

How about you?  When you go through tough times, do you continue to seek God and discover His will?  Do you try to keep a positive attitude?  Would you keep working hard if you were in Joseph’s shoes?  We will soon see how God’s plan unfolded in Joseph’s life.  Feel free to read ahead in the Bible on this story of Joseph.  It is way more interesting than a TV show.

 

-Jason Turner

Joseph: Trouble Comes…for a Time

John 16 33

One day Joseph’s brothers were out watching the flocks in the fields (and in the sun), and Joseph was kept at home to relax.  Later on, their dad sent Joseph out to check on the brothers.  When the brothers saw Joseph coming from a distance, they hated him so much that they talked about killing him. After some discussion, they decided to beat him up and threw him into a large, dried out, underground water storage container.  Later, they pulled him back out.  Joseph thought his ordeal was over, but instead his brothers sold him to a caravan of traveling merchants.  Joseph pleaded with them for mercy, but his brothers just smiled and waved goodbye.  You can read about this in Genesis 37 and some of the following chapters also reveal some of the details.  Joseph had basically done nothing wrong, but he found himself betrayed by his own brothers and sold into slavery.

Sometimes people think that if they do everything right, then no bad things will ever happen to them.  Sometimes people are very cautious in order to avoid problems or troubles.  Some people think that if they serve God without making any mistakes, they will then have a nearly perfect life.  But life doesn’t work in these ways.  Joseph did nothing wrong, but he was sold into slavery.  In John 16:33, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.”  The Bible never promises us an easy, trouble free life.  In fact, we are promised we will have trouble.

Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave, but during his time there, he would see God’s plan unfold for his life.  A much greater good would occur because of his time as a slave.  Perhaps some day you will face tough times when God is trying to bring about long term good.  It will be hard to face at the time, but in the long term, you will see God’s hand at work in your life.

-Jason Turner

Joseph: Loved…and Hated

Genesis 37 3a

One person in the Bible who I find very interesting is Joseph.  During the course of his life, he lived through many troubles and many incredible successes.  Much of the trouble that Joseph faced came from his very difficult family life.  His father, Jacob, had four wives.  Jacob loved Joseph’s mother more than the other three wives.  And then Jacob loved Joseph more than any of the other children.  Genesis 37:4 says “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”  This would lead to big problems for Joseph (more on this later).

Perhaps you have experienced some of this in your own life, in your own family.  Often it is a bad behavior that is passed down from one generation to another.  It creates a lot of resentment within a family.  Imagine how Joseph’s brothers felt knowing their father loved their brother more than them.  Favoritism: don’t pass it on.

-Jason Turner

God Intended It For Good

 

As I read the Bible, I like to see how we can use the stories in our lives. This is a story of Joseph and his rise to the top. As Jacob deceived his father Isaac, with his mother’s help, he was deceived several times in his life by those who loved him. Laban deceived him and had him marry Leah and then Rachel. His children deceived him when they told him that Joseph had been killed and he lived many years not realizing that his son was alive and sold into slavery. The story of Joseph is fascinating, we can see in the story how one thing leads to another and that God was using him in every situation.  He is sold as a slave and then Potiphar buys him, he is put in control of Potiphar’s household, then wrongfully accused by Potiphar’s wife, because he is a man of honor and will not sleep with her. The prison guard is partial to him and puts him in charge of all the other prisoners. Then he interprets some dreams correctly, later Pharaoh needs someone to interpret his dream and the butler tells him about Joseph. He, through God, correctly interprets the dream and Pharaoh makes him second in command of his kingdom. He then is in the position to not only save millions but also to save his family. I love this verse and think we would all do well to memorize it, Genesis 50:20:

god intended for good

I think sometimes we feel like we are not as important as the people that we read about in the Bible but God uses regular people to make an impact on their family and community. If we allow God to use us, he will take everything in our lives and use it to accomplish His will and it will be used for Good. Another great verse to memorize is Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Everything that we go through in our lives is not good, but everything will be used for good. In the Kingdom all things will once again be very good.

Sherry Alcumbrack

 

 

Obeying Immediately and Without Questions

Matthew 2

Matt 2 14

How do you deal with situations where you have to completely change what you had planned?  I always think I have a long term plan for my life.  When it doesn’t work out, or I have to change something, I don’t always deal well with it.

I want to look at how Joseph reacts to some very difficult situations.  I am going to jump back to Matthew chapter 1 for the first example.  Joseph found out Mary was pregnant and planned to divorce her quietly.  Then, he is visited by an angel, and was told in Matthew 1:21-22, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  So, first Joseph plans to marry Mary.  Then, when she is pregnant, he plans to divorce her quietly.  So, his plans have already been messed up once before being visited by the angel.  He is given a message from God.  How does he react?  By everything we see in scripture, it appears Joseph just listened to what God told him through the angel, and accepted it.  That is amazing faith and obedience.

The second example is after the visit from the magi.  This was probably one to two years later.  We don’t have any real information about the life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus during this time, but most likely they had settled into a routine and things were fairly normal.  Then, after the Magi visit, Joseph receives another message from an angel. Matthew 2:13 record this message to Joseph, “Get up!  Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”  Again, his reaction was swift and decisive.  Matthew 2:14 says, “So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.”  He didn’t even wait till morning but left immediately.

Then, sometime later, an angel appeared to Joseph a third time.  This time he was told, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead” in Matt 2:20.  So, he went back to Israel, but because he was warned in a dream, they went to Nazareth.  Again, there are no signs of questioning, just doing what he was told.

I have never been spoken to by an angel, so I don’t know how I would react in that situation.  However, I have received direction from God in some pretty clear ways.  I questioned what I was being told because it did not fit into my plans.  So, I know that this immediate obedience is extremely difficult, but when we put all our trust in God, it is possible.

-Andrew Hamilton

The Boy who Changed – and Is Still Changing – the World

Luke 2

Luke 2 final

“Do not be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” Luke 2:10-12

 

Today, we are reading through Luke chapter 2 which contains one of the most popular accounts written in the Bible—which is the birth of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. Regardless of our religious affiliation or background, we are familiar with the story line. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem to be registered under Caesar Augustus’s decree. While there, it comes time for Mary to give birth. Because there is no room in any inn, she must give birth in a stable.

 

For us, this narrative is important because it is the beginning of the story of a man who turned (and is still turning) the world upside down. We can skip forward and see how much of an impact Jesus had on so many, and we can also see how he works in our lives today.

 

But imagine being in the shoes of Mary, Joseph, and even the shepherds. They weren’t able to skip ahead, they had to live it out. For Mary and Joseph, they had to trust in God that he would see them through. They had to have strong enough faith that God would do what he said he would do. For the shepherds, imagine going from a normal day to having an angel tell you that the Son of God has been born. The Messiah is here! It is even written that they were terrified (Luke 2:9).

 

Why does this matter? I just think it’s important for us to realize that these heroes we read about in the Bible were more than just characters. They were real people. They didn’t get the luxury of knowing what was written on the next page. They had fears, and they weren’t perfect. They had to trust in God and his purpose. They had to believe that God was going to hold their hand through everything. Imagine the trust! Imagine the faith!

 

So as you read today, place yourself in their shoes. Because if we can understand what Mary and Joseph went through, maybe we can learn to emulate their faith in our own lives.

 

-Leslie Jones

 

 

A Change of Perspective

Thursday –

Romans 8-28

 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  2 Peter 1:3

Repeat after me:

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

If you didn’t actually repeat after me, we’ll wait.  (No, I’m not kidding).  Say it.  Out loud.  If you really want to believe something, it can help to speak it out loud.  So let’s try it again:

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

I’ve never made a tapestry, or any major work of art, but I can understand that those who do need to repeatedly take a step back to look at the big picture.  Just looking at the little area where the artist is currently working doesn’t allow for seeing how that bit fits with the rest of the piece.

A change of perspective can make all the difference.

When Joseph was being sold into slavery, being accused of committing a crime he didn’t commit or serving time in prison (Genesis 37, 39-41) I’ll bet he wasn’t thinking, “Hey perfect!  Slavery!  This is the next logical step in accomplishing my leadership vision!”

Of course not.  But what Joseph did do was use the gifts God had given him even in his distress.

Joseph had taken hold of God’s purpose for his life.  He believed that God had a plan for him.  But he still had to walk through very difficult experiences (for years) to see those plans fulfilled.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

How many things?

How many?

And who are you?

“I am the masterpiece of God.  I’m a new creation in Christ.  I already have everything I need to do everything God wants me to do.  (And God DOES have something for me to do).”

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion:  God made us to be overcomers, even when we don’t feel like it.

-Susan Landry

The End of the Patriarchs (Genesis 48-50)

At the end of their lives the patriarchs bless their children.  The ancients believed words matter.  If you asked them, “What’s wrong with the world?”  or “Why is the world broken?” they would answer, “The curse.”  What’s wrong with the world is that God cursed it–using words.  So, how should we expect the world to find healing and redemption?  How does God plan to undo the consequences of our first parent’s rebellion?  He blesses.  First he calls Abraham and blesses him.  Abraham calls Isaac and blesses him.  Isaac calls Esau, but Jacob impersonates him to receive the blessing.  Even so, now Jacob has come to die and he wants to pass on the  blessing to his twelve sons who will become the twelve tribes of Israel.  Somehow or other, God is going to use this dysfunctional Abrahamic family to initiate his master plan of redemption that will one day culminate with making everything wrong with the world right.  Jacob is here playing his part in God’s agenda.

What’s interesting about how he blesses his children is that for several of them, the blessing sounds more like a curse.  For example, to Levi and Simeon he says, “Cursed be their anger…I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”  Through Jacob’s words, God is prophesying about the future.  Indeed Levi was scattered throughout the tribes and Simeon was absorbed into Judah.  What’s so fascinating about the blessing is that Israel passes over his first born, Reuben, as well as his second and third born, Simeon and Levi, and he jumps to boy number four–Judah.  He compares Judah to a lion and then says, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49.10).  This prophesy is rather staggering as we look forward to the rest of the bible.  The great king David and his successors were from Judah.  Ultimately, Jesus, himself, descended from Judah.  So, how did Jacob know which of his children would hold the scepter?  The odds of guessing it right are only one in twelve–about 8%.  God was working with this man of faith to know what to say and whom to say it to.  Jacob might be old, be he is still walking with God, right up until his last breath.

After Jacob dies, we learn about how Joseph forgives his brothers rather than taking vengeance into his own hands.  Ultimately, Joseph himself arrives at death’s door.  We read in the New Testament hall of faith the following about Joseph:

Hebrews 11.22
By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

Out of everything that Joseph went through, his heroic perseverance and faith in God, this is what he is remembered for.  When he came near to death, that same Abrahamic promise that had burned in Israel’s heart, blazed in Joseph’s as well, even while he came to the end of his life.  He expressed his faith by this last request:

Genesis 50.24-25
24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”  25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

Look at the faith of this man!  He’s suffered so much in the course of his life and yet he never gave up on God.  He had been elevated to the highest office in the land, next to Pharaoh, and he still retained his faith.  In the end, God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not die.  One day he would return to the land of his childhood.  It would be centuries, but eventually, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they carried Joseph’s sarcophagus with them through the desert and laid him to rest in the promised land.  Whether you experience hardship or prosperity, be like Jacob and Joseph and keep faith your in God’s promises to bring the kingdom.