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Monday, November 28, 2016

Part 3: Politics & Flannel Graph Faith (the stories you learned in Sunday School seen in a new way)


“Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:8-10‬ ‭

Given enough time (200 years) new leaders forget what was important to the original leaders.  Leaders driven by fear make very bad decisions!

The most common command in the Bible is to not fear.  It causes us to act the opposite way God desires us to act.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭

Things started going VERY BADLY for Israel.....
“So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:11-14‬ ‭

In Genesis 15:13, God told Abraham this would happen.  But He had a plan.  It felt awful to the people at the time, but it was all for the best.  It helped Israel to put their faith in God and not in the nation of Egypt.  Just like in America today.  So we freak out and worry about who will be elected.

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:1‬ ‭

God is always in charge.  Your faith cannot depend on your circumstances.

““When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭

Sounds horrible, disgusting, unthinkable.  Right?  Inconceivable?  Yet Americans do it to 1,000,000 boy and girls every year.  It's called abortion.  To date, since Roe v Wade, Americans have killed over 50,000,000 children.  Makes Hitler, Stalin, and Castro not such bad guys in comparison!

Pharaoh's command did not work, so he comes up with another (worse) idea:
“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭1:17-22‬ ‭

One family prayed for a daughter so they would not experience this horrible tragedy.  But God gave them a son.  What would they do?

“and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭2:2-4‬ ‭

What a horrible situation, now what?  Read on - in the midst of all the horrible evil and chaos, God was still in control!

“Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭2:5-7‬ ‭

What a brave little girl and what a cool idea.  Who will she go get?

““Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭2:8-10‬ ‭

So God took Pharaoh's commandment and defied it, orchestrated a plan in which his own daughter in his own house would raise one of the Hebrews as the prince of Egypt!!! Moses will eventually be the savior of his people, used by God to deliver His people.  He is a foreshadowing of Jesus, the one true Savior.

What about you?  What have you placed your faith in?  God or your bank account or your nation.  Who or what is your functional savior?  Your reaction to the outcome of the election will answer that question.

Prepare your heart and your mind now.  Victory or defeat, your way or your opponent's, how will you respond?  What have you put your trust in?

Regardless, God is in control.  Your past is your past and it will not change.  In many cases, you cannot change your circumstances.  But like God drew Moses out of the Nike, God can draw you out of your circumstances.

It doesn't matter if Clinton is president or Trump is president, as long as God is in control!  Our joy, freedom, and salvation is only in Jesus Christ!  Praise be to God for what He is about to do!!!  

For more truth about life, see...   www.truthatlife.com

Friday, November 25, 2016

Part 2: Flannel Graph Faith (the stories you learned in Sunday School seen in a new way)

Joseph & the Baker and Cupbearer
“Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.” “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.” Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. (And you thought Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump would be crappy leaders of our nation - it could be worse!).   The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭40:1-23‬ ‭

Joseph has endured years of injustice, and now this.  Surely now he is ready to "curse God and die!"

“When two full years had passed, (what?  Are you kidding me?  TWO FREAKING YEARS!?!) Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. (It's about time!). Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭41:1-13‬ ‭

“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. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh. (Seriously, this does not seem like a good opening statement for Joseph to make to a man who kills men in a heartbeat - impales them on a pole - turns them into shish-kabobs),

“but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.” Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 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.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭41:14-40‬

In a moment, Joseph went from lowly prisoner slave to the 2nd most powerful person in the world.  Wow - think about it!

Now think about this?  What if the cupbearer had remembered Joseph 2 years earlier?  How would that have worked out?  ANSWER: Not as good as it did!

God has perfect timing.  We don't always see it.  Sometimes it seems He takes a lot longer than he ought to.  And sometimes we feel like he has abandoned us.  But he has a plan - and there isn't anything that could possibly be better.

For more truth about life, see...   www.truthatlife.com



Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Part 1: Flannel Graph Faith (the stories you learned in Sunday School seen in a new way)

The story of Joseph...

How could a group of brothers determine to kill their own flesh and blood?  In today's culture, this could never be the norm.  But is is.  Mothers choose to kill their babies everyday.  4,000,000 of them.

The brothers sold him into slavery to descendants of Ishmael - Muslims.  They hated the Jews, because generations earlier, Abraham made a very bad mistake and had a child who would grow to hate his half-brothers, the Jews.

Joseph's brothers deceived their dad, Jacob, by telling him the found Joseph's bloody coat.  Jacob was called the deceiver. He deceived his father and stole his brother's birthright.  What goes around comes around and results in generational dysfunction.

Joseph later deceived his brothers and pretended not to know them - more deception.  Finally, he became transparent and honest and vulnerable and the devotion ended.

Generational dysfunctions.  We are imprinted by, and impacted upon, our parents and grandparents and what they did.  Will you let it continue or will you bring it to an end?  It is your choice.  You can stop it.  Let it end right here right now.  What dysfynctions in your family need to come to an end?

For more truth about life, see...   www.truthatlife.com