Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

Sometimes I read the story of Joseph and I just feel so bad for him. First being sold by his brothers as a slave and then being jailed for something he didn't even do. And yet through all of it, he is so faithful to the Lord!

I just love how Joseph reacts when tempted to cheat with Potiphar's wife:

"Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" 

"But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" - Genesis 39:6b-9

How honoring Joseph is to his master even when he isn't there. Now this of course backfires a teeny bit because Potiphar's wife lies to her husband and accuses Joseph of rape, but even then Joseph is honoring to God.

Joseph knew he had earned the trust of his master and could not squander it. He was honoring to his master even in the face of temptation.

Joseph knew what had been entrusted to his care and was careful to preserve it.

As Christ-followers we have many things entrusted to our care. We've been chosen as stewards of money, houses, jobs, skills, time and more. We've also have a few other really important things that God has trusted us with - the gospel and salvation message, the sharing of His word, and the teaching of other disciples.

 "And the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable me who will also be qualified to teach others"

Can you believe it?! God has chosen us as tools to make sure His message of salvation spreads through out the world! Seriously, that is such a priviledge!

Just like Joseph was careful to honor his master by not abusing his trust, we must be careful to honor our Master. We must be good stewards of what he has put in our care.

Good stewards of our money by giving first to his kingdom.

Good stewards of our time by investing it in ways that are eternally significant.

Good stewards of our possesions by knowing who they really belong to (not us!).

Good stewards of our unique skills by using them to glorify God. (shameless plug for the Uniquely Made Women's Conference here! If you don't know what this looks like in your life you might consider checking it out! Plus it's only $40!)

Good stewards of the gospel by sharing it with others  and leaving the results up to God.

Linking up with Thought Provoking Thursdays

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Fighting off Birds of Prey

Remember the other day how we talked about birds of prey?

Sorry. I know its still not funny. But that bird is so cute how can I resist?

Okay actually I'm sitting in Starbucks audibly chuckling at that bird. Maybe it is a little funny.

Ahem. I'm just going to go ahead and move on and not try to think about that funny bird up there.

But really, remember yesterday's post about the cutting covenant that the Lord made with Abram? If you missed it go here and brush up on Genesis 15. Specifically Genesis 15:10-11:

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away

Just imagine if you were Abram. You're really old, childless, and God just promised you that you would have a child of your own. In fact, God promised you that your descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Oh yeah and you're going to get all this land that your enemies live in.

It's hard for me to imagine that I would react in the same way that Abram did. Abram believed God right away. This was the reason he was counted as righteous before God. (Gen 15:6; Rom 4)

Even though Abram believed God, he asked the Lord to give him some assurance. This was not a lack of display of faith by any means, just Abram needing God's reminders (think of the same way that we might continually go back to God's word when we're trusting him for something big).

In the Lord's grace, he assures Abram through a cutting covenant.

So Abram prepares everything he needs for the cutting covenant- a cow, a goat, and a ram that are all 3 years old, as well as a dove and a young pigeon.

(side note/distraction.... has anyone actually ever seen a baby pigeon? I'm convinced they don't actually exist. They just appear in cities full grown. lol)

At this point Abram is pretty invested. Not only emotionally and spiritually but also financially. That's a pretty good stock of animals to sacrifice. But Abram did it joyfully because it was for the Lord.

But now picture this- you've just prepared all this stuff for the Lord and then birds come down and start attacking it! Huge falcons trying to steal your offering to the Lord! What would you do?

Would you just sit there and let it happen? Allowing the birds to take away your offering to the Lord.

Would you fight for a while and then give up because it just wouldn't stop?

Or would you persist? Keep fighting until you literally can not do it anymore?

Abram drove them away. He spent the rest of the day fighting off falcons until he fell in a deep sleep after the sun went down.

There will always be falcons whenever we set out an offering for the Lord. Our task is not to find a place where there won't be falcons but to persist in the battle.

Anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12)

Things will be hard but we can persevere, through Christ. Don't you want to be like Paul at the end of his life and say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:7)?

All we need to do is follow the writer of Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2)

With eyes fixed on Jesus we can persevere and fight off any falcons that might come our way

Linking up with Laura to Brag on God

Dead Birds and a Weird Oven

Uh that might be the weirdest title I've ever had for a blog post. But it's really what this passage of scripture is about. Really.

It's in Genesis 15 where God makes a covenant with Abram. Here's the highlights:

verse 1: The Lord comes to Abram and assures him that He is with him. "I am your shield, your very great reward"

verses 2-3: Abram gently (maybe not so gently) reminds God he still doesn't have a child and asks what he can have instead.

verses 4-5: The Lord makes a promise to Abram. Not only does he promise an heir from his own body (as opposed to the current heir from a servant) but he promises that Abram's offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. 

Also this passage is one of the passages that makes me feel better about my sarcasm. The Lord says "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them" Okay so maybe the Lord isn't being sarcastic, he's just reminding Abram who's boss but still... 

verse 6: "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness" 

 verses 7: The Lord promises to give Abram land

 verse 8: Abram is a fraidy cat and asks the Lord to assure him that he'll take possession of the land

verses 9-21: The most awesome part! The Lord and Abram partake in a "cutting covenant" This is where the dead birds and weird oven come in. So what the heck is it?

I'm fascinated by the types of covenants that are made in biblical times. This probably goes along with my love of the Old Testament stories. So finding this new (to me) covenant was super exciting!

"Cutting a covenant" was a ritual between two parties where the parties cut animals in half and then lay the halves on the ground facing each other with a space in between them. I was going to put up a picture to help you visualize it but then my better judgement got to me. Be thankful ;) The parties would then walk through the space together. Should either one of the parties break the covenant it was said they would get the same fate as the animal. Um ouch.

Okay so Abram slices up some animals and then defends them against some birds of prey. Not birds of pray:

Sorry that wasn't funny. Moving on.

Here's where it gets weird. Abram falls into a deep sleep and sees a vision. The Lord assures him of his possession of the land. "Know for certain..." the Lord says.

And then "when the sun had set and a darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces" (Gen 15:17)

A Tannoor- an ancient earthenware oven

It's not uncommon for the Lord to turn into crazy things (remember the Pillar of Fire and Smoke??). The Lord turns into a weird ancient oven (see above) and a torch. There's lots of thoughts out there about what they mean but it's really not that important right now. What's more important, in my opinion (which is not necessarily right) is the fact that the Lord alone walked through the pieces.

Only God sealed the covenant. God promised on himself to honor his promise to Abram. The promise that was sealed was from God to Abram, not from Abram to God.

God gave Abram a no-strings-attached promise and swore to uphold it by passing through the pieces of dead animals. The covenant was a covenant of grace. Abram didn't have to do anything, including pass through the animals, to ensure that God would keep his promise. God will (and did) honor his promise to Abram simply because it is in his character.

Oh Lord you are so gracious to us! Thank you for the promises that you give  us- promises of eternal life and redemption and forgiveness. And thank you that you fulfill them because you are true. You do not lie. Thank  you for the grace you continually show us and give us. 

Linking up with these amazing women:

We are THAT family, Women Living Well, Internet Cafe Devotions, Good Morning Girls

Gracious Punishment

I have a great small group! I've talked about them before but I just love them. Our wise leaders are taking us through the whole Bible in looking at the Mission of God. Which I'm so excited about because I love that particular topic!

Last night we were talking about how God reveals Himself and His mission through the first 12 chapters of Genesis. Super awesome stuff.

From the beginning God has been concerned about inviting people into His mission. He chooses to use Adam and Eve to fill the earth and now invites us into the redemption of the Earth.

So in Genesis 11 we're at a place where God has commanded his people to "become fruitful and increase in number; multiply the earth and increase upon it" (Gen 9:7, right after the flood) and the nations are in the process of spreading.

And yet we find a problem. They stop.

As they're moving eastward (following the commandment of God) they become distracted and decide to settle there. They decide to build a tower to the heavens. Probably it looked a lot like this:

That friends is a ziggurat. My high school World History teacher would be proud I remembered that. But I digress.

So here they are right in the middle of the mission that God gave them and they just stop. Why? Pride. Ultimately it came down to the fact that they thought they could do societal life better than the way God wanted.

So what happens? God comes in and takes over. Just like the wisdom of Solomon says:

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails (Prov 19:21) 

God messes up their language so they can no longer understand each other. This is the beginning of distinct languages through out the world. This will force the families to scatter, like God wanted, rather than stay together like they had planned.

God's grace seems to be missing. And yet it is here. The grace of discipline, of prevention, of purpose. God's ways are always right. Even if we mess up on the first try.

The grace of God is preventing them from again clinging together and avoiding God's command to go to the ends of the earth. God's grace is confusing their languages so that they will live in obedience to the command. Often times God's grace looks a lot like punishment.

Just like the grace in the Garden of Eden. God exiles Adam and Eve so that they won't live forever in a sinful state.

God's way always prevails. God's grace is that he'll work things out in the way He planned. God's grace, even when it looks like punishment, is that He is God and we are not.


Linking up with: On Your Heart, Finding Heaven

PS. Do you know about the Uniquely Made Conference yet? Read all about it and how you can enter to win a Kindle Fire here!

Win a Kindle Fire!!

Today is maybe one of the most exciting posts I've written! I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to share this and now I finally can!

I'm so happy (like over the moon happy!) to introduce the very first ever Uniquely Made Conference!!

Grab a button and tell your friends!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.uniquelymadeconference.com/" title="Uniquely Made Conference" target="_blank"><img src="http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o304/laurakrokos/imspeaking-1.jpg" alt="Uniquely Made Conference" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Master Plan Ministries and Riverside Baptist (David Platt's mentor is the Pastor) are partnering together to put on the Uniquely Made; Displaying the Glory of God conference. It's a mini conference for women of all ages and seasons of life, designed to help women be intentional in using what God has given them for His glory. The purpose is to help women discover and use their gifts and strengths for making God known for the expansion of His kingdom.

And I am so excited because I get to speak, joining a host of other incredible ladies including my one of my very favorite people Laura Krokos!

So want to come? Oh I hope you can, it is going to be such an inspiring weekend with an eternal impact.

And did you catch the price!?! $40. Yup, just $40. Isn't that awesome!?!

And there is an opportunity to win a kindle fire over at UniquelyMadeConference. There are multiple chances to win and multiple ways to enter.

Grace and Apostleship

Do you friends know that I have a deep love for coffee shops? Really for coffee in general but I so very much love sitting in a busy coffee shop surrounded by people and having an intimate moment with my Savior.

Today as I'm sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops, the Lord spoke deeply to my heart.

"Through him {Jesus} and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ" - Romans 1:5-6

For the glory of God, we received grace and apostleship. Our grace is not one of consumerism, but of service. We were not saved with a "get out of Hell free" card, but with a specific purpose and mission.

We were saved for the glory of God- to reveal his character to the nations (this is the same word -ethnos- as Gentiles in the verse above). We were given grace not for our sake but for "his name's sake".

We were given grace to live as apostles. To live as "one who is sent by authority with a commission".

Then Jesus came to them and said "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" - Matthew 28:18-20

We are sent by the ultimate authority, Jesus, with the ultimate commission, to partner with God in his plan of global redemption.

Jesus thank you for the beautiful reminder that my life is not about me, but about living for your glory. Thank you for giving me grace and choosing me to participate in your plan. Thank you for giving me purpose. Thank you that I know you are always with me, even to the very end of the age. I pray that I use the grace I don't deserve, yet you lavished upon me for your name's sake. For you alone are worthy.


Linking up with my sweet friend Laura

Responding to Fear

I generally don't consider myself a fearful person. With the exception of heights and moths. Seriously, last year I went rappelling and literally cried the whole way down. Ha!

But generally speaking, I'm not afraid of too many things. God has given me an exceptionally trusting spirit. (Which sometimes plays out in crazy ways. Did you ever read the story of my exploded car?) But just as Warren Wiersbe says "Even the best men are only men at best"

I am not immune from fear. Last year when I was praying about doing college ministry full time I was overcome with fear and didn't realize it. Fear of what people thought, fear of failure, fear of not doing the will of God, etc. The scariest part of all of it though? I didn't go to God's word but relied on my feelings and circumstances. I sought out the counsel of others more than the counsel of God. The Lord in his patience did not give up on me and helped me to see my error. I repented and God's word reminded me what was true - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9)

When we respond to fear by looking to God's word first, instead of our feelings and circumstances, the outcome is totally different.

In 1 Samuel 23:1-6 we see how David and his men respond to fear. David is running from Saul because Saul is crazy (literally) and wants to kill him. David was anointed (fancy Bible word for chosen) by God and Samuel affirmed that when David was just a boy. God promised to send his Spirit to be with David that day.

Through out all his trials, David could fall back on what he knew to be true - The Spirit of the Lord was with him. (Before Christ the Spirit would come and go, but as believers now we know that the Spirit will never leave us if we have identified ourselves in Christ. He is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until Christ returns[Eph 1:13-14])

So when David hears of a problem in God's kingdom, in the town of Keilah, he is moved to action. His first step is to ask God what to do "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?" The Lord responds "Go and save Keilah"

As a leader, the next step for David was to share with his men what God had told him. Upon hearing this plan David's men were terrified. Which is totally understandable! The Philistines are big and scary (remember Goliath?) plus they had the added fear of running from Saul's army who wanted to kill them also.

No doubt this sounded like an impossible feat. Which it probably was if the Lord wasn't with them. But remember "What is impossible with men is possible with God" (Luke 18:27)

David probably was afraid too. So he again went to the Lord. "Are you sure?"

Sometimes I'm guilty of thinking that God would react the same way I would. Because I would be so dang annoyed at David's doubt. "Uh yes David, just like I told you 5 minutes ago. Go and save Keilah!"

But seriously? I'm not even as trusting as David. When faced with fear in my own life I didn't even go to God's word the first time, let alone a second time! I could surely learn from David!!

So anyways, thankfully the Lord is nothing like me and is patient with our doubt and fear. He again tells David his will and promises him that He'll deliver the Philistines into David's hands. The Lord is always faithful to hear our pleas.

David and his men obeyed the Lord, even though every circumstance was against them. They were outnumbered, under-skilled, and literally backing themselves into a corner (Keilah was a walled city).

Because the Lord is faithful, He upheld His promise to deliver David and his men. They ended up not only saving Keilah and coming out unharmed, but also with a great reward, the Philistines' livestock.

As a leader, I'm challenged by David's quick obedience. His response to fear, not just once but twice, is to go to God's word and then obey what He says.

Lord, make us like David - quick to seek your Word when things get hard. Let us not be ruled by fear or emotions but fully clinging to your promises. We want to be quick to obey you and live out our faith. Thank you for the promise you've given us in your Spirit. Thank you that we can know You're always with us. Help us lean wholly on You, Your Word, and Your Spirit this week.