In Isaiah 30 we encounter a nation of stubborn people. 1 "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin... 9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. 10 They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" 9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. 10 They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.
Any time we want God to compromise to please us, we are in danger of God's stern correction. He is still God and we should always remember to fear and be in awe of Him and His majesty. That's what happens when we take God down from being first (boss) in our life and pursue our own way. We would rather walk in deceit and not deal with truth. The problem is that it is truth that transforms lives. We want it both ways. We want our way and want our way to be considered the right way. We have to come to terms with there is only one correct answer and one Lord. God knows what He is doing and the Lord has a plan for the abundant life that brings real freedom. He loves us and will carry out His plan as we submit and ask for His input , then get up and follow Him. 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Isaiah 17-19; Mark 5:1-20
In Isaiah 17 God speaks clearly about those who "have forgotten God your Savior." Many times we accept world views that pull us away from worshiping the father the way He deserves. "Yet a time is coming and is now come when true worshipers will worship in in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks." (John 4:23)
Many times we put other things in front of our worship or we cease to think it is not a vital part of my walk. These world views are what took Israel out of true worship and God allowed necessary correction on their life in order for them to fulfill their part of the relationship He had provided and to look to Him as their Savior. He was taking their country and put them in captivity because of their attitudes and activities in their daily lives. Even their place of worship would not be spared.
In chapter 18 we see God will take a nation of feared aggressive people who do not know Him and bring them bring offerings to Him. tough people only do that when God gets hold of them and brings them to worship Him. They first have to be humbled. God would do that by cutting off the harvest before its time.
In chapter 19 we see where The people of Egypt will worship Him. ...vs20. "When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them."
The Lord will bring them to their knees through sickness and they will turn to Him to save them. God will bring Egypt Assyria and Israel to Him as He establishes them as His people, handiwork and inheritance. Jesus is the highway that makes all of this possible. He will take away the opposition and sin so we all may have free access to the father. That free access has come with a great price and much love and sacrifice from the Lord. Let us honor what He has done for us.
In mark 5 we see a demon-possessed man coming to meet Him from the tombs. They came out because they knew Jesus the Lord was in their midst. They had controlled this man for years but knew they could not hold a candle to God and bowed pleading before Him. "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" Jesus sent them into the pigs and 2000 pigs ran over the cliff and were destroy. We see a couple of things in this passage. 1. Jesus has power over all principalities and powers in this world. 2. One soul is more valuable than any numbers of living creatures. 3. Once we are delivered we are to stay where Jesus originally planted us and tell others about what He has done. This is our assignment, our ministry to serve where He has placed us, not where we would rather be. We are to be His witnesses as He places us to show those that knew us before what great things He has done. 18..."the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed." Go and tell others what Jesus has done for you and you will be amazed how He will use you in ways you never imagined.
Many times we put other things in front of our worship or we cease to think it is not a vital part of my walk. These world views are what took Israel out of true worship and God allowed necessary correction on their life in order for them to fulfill their part of the relationship He had provided and to look to Him as their Savior. He was taking their country and put them in captivity because of their attitudes and activities in their daily lives. Even their place of worship would not be spared.
In chapter 18 we see God will take a nation of feared aggressive people who do not know Him and bring them bring offerings to Him. tough people only do that when God gets hold of them and brings them to worship Him. They first have to be humbled. God would do that by cutting off the harvest before its time.
In chapter 19 we see where The people of Egypt will worship Him. ...vs20. "When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them."
The Lord will bring them to their knees through sickness and they will turn to Him to save them. God will bring Egypt Assyria and Israel to Him as He establishes them as His people, handiwork and inheritance. Jesus is the highway that makes all of this possible. He will take away the opposition and sin so we all may have free access to the father. That free access has come with a great price and much love and sacrifice from the Lord. Let us honor what He has done for us.
In mark 5 we see a demon-possessed man coming to meet Him from the tombs. They came out because they knew Jesus the Lord was in their midst. They had controlled this man for years but knew they could not hold a candle to God and bowed pleading before Him. "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" Jesus sent them into the pigs and 2000 pigs ran over the cliff and were destroy. We see a couple of things in this passage. 1. Jesus has power over all principalities and powers in this world. 2. One soul is more valuable than any numbers of living creatures. 3. Once we are delivered we are to stay where Jesus originally planted us and tell others about what He has done. This is our assignment, our ministry to serve where He has placed us, not where we would rather be. We are to be His witnesses as He places us to show those that knew us before what great things He has done. 18..."the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed." Go and tell others what Jesus has done for you and you will be amazed how He will use you in ways you never imagined.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Isaiah 14-16; Mark 4:21-41
In Isaiah 14 and 15 we see God is faithful to His chosen people. That gives us hope because through Christ He also chose to include us in the chosen. Not everyone will accept Him. He said only a remnant of Israel will be saved. The root of the plant will be preserved to create a Holy people set aside for Him.
14:1 "The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob." He will take vengeance on their oppressors and justice will prevail in their lives. It is such a gift to understand He will fight our battles for us and bring peace to our lives. 14:27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
In chapter 16 we see the details of God's wrath against the Moabites who oppressed Israel during their captivity. God is just and will deliver us and promises Christ to establish His throne and justice in our lives.
5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. God has a plan for us as well and will bring good things into our lives as we enter His rest through Christ. He is the path to peace and restoration for us all.
In Mark 4 we see three parables. In the first we are to shine the light in our lives for those around us to witness and to help guide them out of darkness. We are not to keep it to ourselves. When we use it and share it we will be given more, if we don't He will take it away and give it to those that will use it and share it with others. God gives abundantly so don't be surprised how He will use you.
In the second parable He talks about the kingdom being like scattered seed. when we are faithful in spreading His word, He makes it grow. He always amazes us with the increase when He works.
The mustard seed is the smallest yet grows the largest plants. The kingdom of Gos is similar as He takes the most unlikely people and uses them tremendously for His work.
Then we see Jesus calming the storm. He calms the storms in our lives and sometimes He just calms us as we count on Him to navigate us through a necessary journey of faith and growth. He is the only captain that can calm the storm and not just navigate around the turbulence that may take our eyes off of Him when fear sets in. Sometimes we fear the storm instead of having reverent fear of the one who can calm our storm and bring peace in the midst of a troubled world.
14:1 "The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob." He will take vengeance on their oppressors and justice will prevail in their lives. It is such a gift to understand He will fight our battles for us and bring peace to our lives. 14:27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
In chapter 16 we see the details of God's wrath against the Moabites who oppressed Israel during their captivity. God is just and will deliver us and promises Christ to establish His throne and justice in our lives.
5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. God has a plan for us as well and will bring good things into our lives as we enter His rest through Christ. He is the path to peace and restoration for us all.
In Mark 4 we see three parables. In the first we are to shine the light in our lives for those around us to witness and to help guide them out of darkness. We are not to keep it to ourselves. When we use it and share it we will be given more, if we don't He will take it away and give it to those that will use it and share it with others. God gives abundantly so don't be surprised how He will use you.
In the second parable He talks about the kingdom being like scattered seed. when we are faithful in spreading His word, He makes it grow. He always amazes us with the increase when He works.
The mustard seed is the smallest yet grows the largest plants. The kingdom of Gos is similar as He takes the most unlikely people and uses them tremendously for His work.
Then we see Jesus calming the storm. He calms the storms in our lives and sometimes He just calms us as we count on Him to navigate us through a necessary journey of faith and growth. He is the only captain that can calm the storm and not just navigate around the turbulence that may take our eyes off of Him when fear sets in. Sometimes we fear the storm instead of having reverent fear of the one who can calm our storm and bring peace in the midst of a troubled world.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Isaiah 5-6; Mark 2
Isaiah 5 is the song of the vineyard. His loved one cleared it of stones, planted it with choicest vines, built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. He had deeply invested in this vineyard and it did not yield good fruit. 4 "What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."
The vineyard "is the house of Israel and the and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress."
God had invested deeply into them and they only turned to their own way. Many times we are guilty of their sin and want to turn away from where and how God wants us to serve. He is God and He does have the right to make that choice. He sets the standard, and the details, not us. He guides our life and places us where He wants. We end up walking away from the Lord and the work He was doing in us remains undone. Does the Lord have the right to make decisions in the vineyard of our lives? Many times the struggles we have are a necessary part of God's plan to strengthen us and develop us for effective service. The easy part is to walk away and say I can't do this. You're right, but God can. When we walk away from His plan, He does have a right to cut the vineyard down.
In chapter 6 we see Isaiah's commission. When he saw the presence of the Lord he was in awe and confessed He was a man of unclean lips because lived among a people of unclean lips. Then God sent a messenger to cleanse him and make him ready for his assignment. God always equips us for the assignment. 8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" It was a tough assignment to go to a people who had rejected God and deliver a message of God's judgment and discipline for their leaders and on their land. God had closed their understanding: 'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 This people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Isaiah's only question was "For how long, O Lord?"
In Mark 2 When Jesus re-entered Capernaum after preaching to the nearby villages, so many gathered at Simon Peter's house that there was no room left. The paralytic had to be lowered through the roof. That is radical church growth. That is what should happen when believers see God at work. When we see God caring and changing lives while working through other believers, we will be drawn to him. That's what he created us for, and all believers long for that. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus forgave the paralytics sins based on faith, and that angered the Pharisees. Was Jesus forgiving sins blasphemy? It had to be if Jesus was not God's son. They sinned if Jesus was God's son. Many times being on assignment is not popular.
The fasting will take place when Bridegroom is taken away, vs 18-22.
Fasting was associated with sorrow. John's disciples fasted as an expression of repentance, intended to hasten the coming of redemption taught by John. The Pharisees disciples fasted as instructed by scripture to observe certain fasting days, and at the direction of the Rabbi.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.
They did not recognize the Lordship of Jesus. Lordship is a product of obedience. If there is something the Lord has commanded or told us to do, then we will not be able to be trusted with the next thing until we obey the first thing. If you are having trouble getting a clear picture of his will for your life, it might be worth your time to check things out.
Is it:#1 Baptism, unhurried time with the master, priorities: do I have things right side up, or upside down? Who is in control? Go ahead and get yes out of the way. God will not take a back seat to other things in our lives. To our: spouse, our children, or our possessions.
The vineyard "is the house of Israel and the and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress."
God had invested deeply into them and they only turned to their own way. Many times we are guilty of their sin and want to turn away from where and how God wants us to serve. He is God and He does have the right to make that choice. He sets the standard, and the details, not us. He guides our life and places us where He wants. We end up walking away from the Lord and the work He was doing in us remains undone. Does the Lord have the right to make decisions in the vineyard of our lives? Many times the struggles we have are a necessary part of God's plan to strengthen us and develop us for effective service. The easy part is to walk away and say I can't do this. You're right, but God can. When we walk away from His plan, He does have a right to cut the vineyard down.
In chapter 6 we see Isaiah's commission. When he saw the presence of the Lord he was in awe and confessed He was a man of unclean lips because lived among a people of unclean lips. Then God sent a messenger to cleanse him and make him ready for his assignment. God always equips us for the assignment. 8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" It was a tough assignment to go to a people who had rejected God and deliver a message of God's judgment and discipline for their leaders and on their land. God had closed their understanding: 'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 This people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Isaiah's only question was "For how long, O Lord?"
In Mark 2 When Jesus re-entered Capernaum after preaching to the nearby villages, so many gathered at Simon Peter's house that there was no room left. The paralytic had to be lowered through the roof. That is radical church growth. That is what should happen when believers see God at work. When we see God caring and changing lives while working through other believers, we will be drawn to him. That's what he created us for, and all believers long for that. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus forgave the paralytics sins based on faith, and that angered the Pharisees. Was Jesus forgiving sins blasphemy? It had to be if Jesus was not God's son. They sinned if Jesus was God's son. Many times being on assignment is not popular.
The fasting will take place when Bridegroom is taken away, vs 18-22.
Fasting was associated with sorrow. John's disciples fasted as an expression of repentance, intended to hasten the coming of redemption taught by John. The Pharisees disciples fasted as instructed by scripture to observe certain fasting days, and at the direction of the Rabbi.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.
They did not recognize the Lordship of Jesus. Lordship is a product of obedience. If there is something the Lord has commanded or told us to do, then we will not be able to be trusted with the next thing until we obey the first thing. If you are having trouble getting a clear picture of his will for your life, it might be worth your time to check things out.
Is it:#1 Baptism, unhurried time with the master, priorities: do I have things right side up, or upside down? Who is in control? Go ahead and get yes out of the way. God will not take a back seat to other things in our lives. To our: spouse, our children, or our possessions.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Isaiah 3-4; Mark 1:23-45
As the Lord describes in detail what judgment will hold for the people of Israel we see the righteous will be protected. They will hurt as their kinsmen and rulers face the consequences of their actions. It shows how just God really is. 3:10 "Tell the righteous it will be well with them,for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. 11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done." The leaders are the ones God will hold accountable as they have lead His people into idle worship and mistreated the poor. The women were possessed with self-indulging practices and were more caught up in being alluring than in worship. There will always be much pain when God ceases to listen to the prayers of the people.
In chapter 4 God promises restoration. He will always have a plan for bringing us back to Him after needed correction. He promises the Branch of the Lord. Some say this refers to Jesus and some say to the restoration of Judah after captivity. Both were in God's plan and both could apply. The cleansing and setting apart a holy people for Him are in the plan. His shelter of protection is part of restoration and will be there.
In Mark 1 we see the Lord drawing men to Him through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. He cast out unclean spirits and willingly healed the sick that He encountered. Then we see Him getting alone and praying. This was an important part of His life. It was His strength and food from the father. This is just as important for us today in order to get spiritual nourishment from the father. He rose from there to do ministry and spread the good news. He kept compassion and was willing to serve. Prayer our service effective. Without it were relying on our own strength. We will get tired, frustrated and want to quit. That is our human side taking over. God will give us the strength to carry out the assignment and the blessing will come along with the victory He has in mind for our life.
In chapter 4 God promises restoration. He will always have a plan for bringing us back to Him after needed correction. He promises the Branch of the Lord. Some say this refers to Jesus and some say to the restoration of Judah after captivity. Both were in God's plan and both could apply. The cleansing and setting apart a holy people for Him are in the plan. His shelter of protection is part of restoration and will be there.
In Mark 1 we see the Lord drawing men to Him through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. He cast out unclean spirits and willingly healed the sick that He encountered. Then we see Him getting alone and praying. This was an important part of His life. It was His strength and food from the father. This is just as important for us today in order to get spiritual nourishment from the father. He rose from there to do ministry and spread the good news. He kept compassion and was willing to serve. Prayer our service effective. Without it were relying on our own strength. We will get tired, frustrated and want to quit. That is our human side taking over. God will give us the strength to carry out the assignment and the blessing will come along with the victory He has in mind for our life.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Isaiah 1-2; Mark 1:1-22
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Isaiah 1-2; Mark 1:1-22
The Lord gave Isaiah His vision concerning His people. Isaiah is the book of prophecy most quoted by Jesus so getting familiar with this reveals to us the heart of God for His children. His own did not understand Him and had become a nation of sin loaded down with guilt, evil, corruption and had forsaken the things of God and had become detestable in His sight. Their spiritual condition was such that God had turned His eyes from them and would not hear their prayers. It made them vulnerable. The power of God they had to overcome their enemies was gone and bitterness towards God had set in. Their country was in destruction and there was only a few of their people left in the country. God wanted them to confess their stubbornness and be redeemed. He wants restoration and victory in our lives. Then God told them the consequences of remaining as they were will be destruction. His plan for us is always restoration and remaining in intimate communion with him as He wants to have the place of other things in our life. His plan then is to gather His flock back in their fold:
2:3 "Many peoples will come and say,"
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
...5 "Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD."
...22 "Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?"
We all have a tendency to follow the advice of others before we seek Godly council. This was Israel's biggest sin and it always leads to not listening to God. We may listen to a friend at work or a neighbor and follow what they are doing. That is not where God has placed us, it may even be where He has placed them, but we end up taking their vision as ours because we do not like the message or assignment God has given us, or in Israel's case God stopped talking to them because of their attitude before Him. They did not understand where they were in Him, and became bitter toward Him and His prophets all because of decisions they had made that did not include Him. When we blame God and His people for our circumstances we tread on dangerous soil. They were listening to the prophets that told them what they wanted to hear rather than the one God had sent into their lives. That always puts us at odds with God and we end up following the vision or assignment intended for someone else. God may have them on a path for discipline and we will end up there with them.
In Mark 1 we see John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. He said make straight paths for Him. We are to clear anything out of our life that may be getting in the way for god to communicate clearly. We are to do this with anticipation of what God will do next. He baptized Jesus and then Jesus was sent by the Holy Spirit out into the desert to be tempted for 40 days. When He was there angels and wild animals attended Him. Testing is something that is necessary for growing in our experience with Him. God always sends those to attend us as we go through it. Jesus then called His disciples. He went to them and said 17"Come, follow me Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him. Where are you now? What is it in your life that is keeping you from following Him? If the Lord has placed you here to serve with us and you have been asked to join in that, take that as Jesus saying "Come, follow me" and He will bless you richly as you see Him work through you like never before. Will you follow Him, or take someone else’s vision and attempt to make it yours?
Posted by Dan Holley at 5:23 AM
Isaiah 1-2; Mark 1:1-22
The Lord gave Isaiah His vision concerning His people. Isaiah is the book of prophecy most quoted by Jesus so getting familiar with this reveals to us the heart of God for His children. His own did not understand Him and had become a nation of sin loaded down with guilt, evil, corruption and had forsaken the things of God and had become detestable in His sight. Their spiritual condition was such that God had turned His eyes from them and would not hear their prayers. It made them vulnerable. The power of God they had to overcome their enemies was gone and bitterness towards God had set in. Their country was in destruction and there was only a few of their people left in the country. God wanted them to confess their stubbornness and be redeemed. He wants restoration and victory in our lives. Then God told them the consequences of remaining as they were will be destruction. His plan for us is always restoration and remaining in intimate communion with him as He wants to have the place of other things in our life. His plan then is to gather His flock back in their fold:
2:3 "Many peoples will come and say,"
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
...5 "Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD."
...22 "Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?"
We all have a tendency to follow the advice of others before we seek Godly council. This was Israel's biggest sin and it always leads to not listening to God. We may listen to a friend at work or a neighbor and follow what they are doing. That is not where God has placed us, it may even be where He has placed them, but we end up taking their vision as ours because we do not like the message or assignment God has given us, or in Israel's case God stopped talking to them because of their attitude before Him. They did not understand where they were in Him, and became bitter toward Him and His prophets all because of decisions they had made that did not include Him. When we blame God and His people for our circumstances we tread on dangerous soil. They were listening to the prophets that told them what they wanted to hear rather than the one God had sent into their lives. That always puts us at odds with God and we end up following the vision or assignment intended for someone else. God may have them on a path for discipline and we will end up there with them.
In Mark 1 we see John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. He said make straight paths for Him. We are to clear anything out of our life that may be getting in the way for god to communicate clearly. We are to do this with anticipation of what God will do next. He baptized Jesus and then Jesus was sent by the Holy Spirit out into the desert to be tempted for 40 days. When He was there angels and wild animals attended Him. Testing is something that is necessary for growing in our experience with Him. God always sends those to attend us as we go through it. Jesus then called His disciples. He went to them and said 17"Come, follow me Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him. Where are you now? What is it in your life that is keeping you from following Him? If the Lord has placed you here to serve with us and you have been asked to join in that, take that as Jesus saying "Come, follow me" and He will bless you richly as you see Him work through you like never before. Will you follow Him, or take someone else’s vision and attempt to make it yours?
Posted by Dan Holley at 5:23 AM
Friday, January 16, 2009
Gen 39-40; Romans 13
Here we see the life of Joseph after being sold into slavery by his brothers. We see God blessing Joseph in every way. First he is put in charge of Potipher's household. Then we see Joseph wrongly accused by Potipher's wife and He is put into prison. God established him as responsible (granted him favor) in the eyes of the prison warden to the point that the warden paid no attention to all he had been placed in charge of.
In chapter 40 we see the baker and cupbearer's imprisonment and dreams. Joseph understood his gift and interpreted for them. The whole time Joseph was in prison he never wavered from the original dream God gave him while in his father's house regardless of how his circumstances changed. The cupbearer was to be restored and the baker was to be put to death by Pharaoh. Sometimes when we don't like the message we have a tendeny to try to change our circumstances when if we would prepare ourselves for where God has us reguardless of the circumstances and count on him to change the outcome. We need to ask ourselves where am I in you Lord? When we are in Him we are ready for tomorrow whatever the assignment may bring.
In Romans 13 we see the command to submit to authorities, to let no debt remain outstanding other than the debt of love and to wake up from our slumber as the day is drawing near. Finally we are told 13 "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." We are to put on Jesus and it will add a whole new Godly dimension to all relationships in our life.
In chapter 40 we see the baker and cupbearer's imprisonment and dreams. Joseph understood his gift and interpreted for them. The whole time Joseph was in prison he never wavered from the original dream God gave him while in his father's house regardless of how his circumstances changed. The cupbearer was to be restored and the baker was to be put to death by Pharaoh. Sometimes when we don't like the message we have a tendeny to try to change our circumstances when if we would prepare ourselves for where God has us reguardless of the circumstances and count on him to change the outcome. We need to ask ourselves where am I in you Lord? When we are in Him we are ready for tomorrow whatever the assignment may bring.
In Romans 13 we see the command to submit to authorities, to let no debt remain outstanding other than the debt of love and to wake up from our slumber as the day is drawing near. Finally we are told 13 "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." We are to put on Jesus and it will add a whole new Godly dimension to all relationships in our life.
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