You Are Not Alone

When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Genesis 39:1-2 (NLT)

Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Genesis 39:19-21 (NLT)

Poor Joseph. He was sold into slavery because his brothers were angry and jealous and then, because he chose to do the right thing he was put into prison. As we ponder that, maybe we shouldn't feel so sorry for him.  

Did you see the line that is in both of today's texts? The Lord was with Joseph. Where ever Joseph was, God was there too. No matter the twists and turns that his life took, God was walking beside him. When things were pretty much as bad as they could get, God was in the mess. How does that translate for us today?

When you lose your job and you aren't sure how it's going to work out. The Lord is with you.
When your marriage is on the rocks. God is in the mess.
As you look at your bills that equal more than what's in your checking account. You are not alone.
As you struggle with the health problem that seems way too serious and complicated. God is walking beside you.

Joseph was not more important than you are. No matter what you are facing today, you can be assured that you are not alone. 

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

Golden

 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”
So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
    so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (NLT)

Lately the theme of this text has been coming up a lot. It has come up in conversations, different devotions I've read, when I read my Bible or other books.  What's the theme? Be content.

Be content in what you have. Be content in where you are in your life. Be content in your relationships.

Does that mean we shouldn't have dreams and strive to do more? Absolutely not! But it means we should also be content in the process. Often that process is God working out his plan in our lives.

We can also be content in the fact that God is with us. He never leaves us. He is always working in and around us. Sometimes, when things don't look the way you want them to, don't run ahead of God. The process is refining us like fire refines gold.

Run!

Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.  Hebrews 12:1-2 (MSG)

I am not a jogger. As a matter of fact I have been known to say that if you see me running you should run too because it means something is chasing me. Seriously.

Reading this text I imagined what it would look like to see someone jogging wearing heavy boots, a big thick coat, baggy, cumbersome pants, a large floppy hat obstructing their view and a heavy piece of luggage in their arms.  No one would intentionally run like that. When you see runners, they are stripped down wearing as little as possible so they can move freely, be quick and nimble. They want to be able to make as much progress as possible with little effort.

Shouldn't our spiritual races be the same? In this journey we are on, are we weighted down with baggage? Are there things we do that keep us rooted in place like a pair of too-heavy boots? Do we have blinders on that keep us from seeing the course clearly? If we are running the race that God has planned for us, wouldn't we want to be able to respond quickly, move freely and make progress?

The Bible says the only way to get rid of what weighs us down is to keep our eyes on Jesus. He never lost sight of where he was headed.  Neither should we.  So today, focus on Jesus. Strip off all those heavy weights you are carrying around. Put on your best running shoes and take off!  Keep running. Don't give up.

Does It Matter?

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (GNT)

What do you have faith in?  As Christians, we have faith in Christ's resurrection. And, we have faith in Jesus' Second Coming. We have faith in something that happened a long time ago and something that will happen in the future.

But what about today? What do you have faith in today? In Hebrews 11, the people listed had faith in what they were doing in that moment.

Abel had faith that his offering meant something.
Enoch had faith in his relationship with God.
Noah had faith that the boat he was building would save his family from something he'd never seen.
Abraham had faith that moving to an unknown place was what God was telling him to do.
And then he had faith that if he sacrificed his son God could raise him from the dead.
Moses' parents had faith that God would spare their son.
The Israelites had faith that the ground of the Red Sea would stay dry as they crossed.
And the list goes on and on......

These people and all the people after them didn't just have faith in what happened in the past or in what was going to happen in the future. They had faith that what they were doing now mattered. The decisions they made, mattered now. They had to believe in what was happening to them today.

Some days it might feel like our lives do not matter but they do.  They matter now. What you believe in today, in this moment, has an impact. What will you do today that requires a step of faith?

A Minute In It - We Are But A Breath

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

We are merely moving shadows,
    and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
    not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:4-6 (NLT)

What is your life about?
What do you spend your time and money on?
Do you think you can make a difference in your world?
The Bible says you can. Do you believe it? Do you live like it?

Focus

 I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (MSG)

All throughout the Bible, people had the freedom to choose. David had choices to make. Should he stand up to Goliath or go home as his brothers said? Should he call Bathsheba to his home or walk back into the palace and talk to one of his wives? Should he own up to what he did with Bathsheba or eliminate the problem by killing Uriah?

Everyone in the Bible had choices to make. Sometimes they made good choices. Sometimes they didn't.

The Bible is pretty clear that the choice is always ours.  We are never forced to do anything. Sometimes our choices will lead us to choose between our relationship with God or ourselves. I think, most of the time, the choice is about focus. Am I focusing on what God would want in this situation or what I want?

So, what do you choose to focus on? Most importantly, is your focus on God?

Fear Not

This morning I woke up hearing the words to Zach Williams song "Fear Is A Liar." The chorus goes like this:

Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar

I went to my Bible and it confirms it.  We have nothing to fear.

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.  John 14:27

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.  Isaiah 43:1

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  1 Peter 5:6-7

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19 (NIV)

The Bible tells us to not be afraid a lot. So this week, when something spikes your anxiety and you feel that knot in your stomach, open up the word and dive in.

Brighten The Corner Where You Are

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

As I watched the Royal Wedding (no, I did not get up at o'dark thirty to watch it, I taped it), I was caught up in the pomp and circumstance. I loved watching the people. I loved watching Harry and Meghan as they looked at each other. I loved the service.

When Bishop Michael Curry quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. my mind started to wonder. He said "We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world.  Love is the only way."

I began to wonder if Meghan and Harry would do that.  Would they use their platform, their influence, their money to make a difference in the world?  The resources they have at their fingertips is immense. They could make such a difference.

And then, I realized that we all have that.  Each and every one of us has a platform where we live. In our communities, in the workplace and in our families we can love like that. We can offer God's unconditional love to everyone we meet. We have influence and we have resources. Sure, they might not be the same resources as Meghan and Harry but we have them just the same.

God asks us to be a light in our neighborhoods, in our communities. He asks us to change the world from our little corner. And truly, that is the way the world is changed, one act of love at a time.