SEPTEMBER 18-19 The dreamer (part2)

While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them – Genesis 4:5-7.

After being wrongfully charged for an offence he didn't commit, Joseph found himself in prison. One day he received two new cell mates, Pharaoh’s chief baker and his chief cup-bearer. Since Joseph had shown himself to be responsible and skilled, he was ultimately placed in charge of these two prisoners. Having this kind of authority, Joseph could have easily let it go to his head and lorded it over them, and been rude and disrespectful. Instead, we see that Joseph was kind and compassionate, acknowledging their feelings and reaching out to them.

Joseph offered a shoulder to cry on. Not only did he listen to their distress, he also offered to solve their problem by interpreting their dreams. What amazing character Joseph had. Though also a pisoner, Joseph put himself aside to help others.

After Joseph interprets the baker’s and cup-bearer’s dreams, he asks the cup-bearer, whom he knew would soon be promoted back to his job, to remember him and hopefully aid in getting him freed from his wrongful imprisonment. Joseph reached out and helped someone despite his suffering, so it seems right that he would receive a reward and a blessing from that. But once the cup-bearer was restored to his position, he forgot all about Joseph, thus he was to remain in prison for two more long years. I bet it was really tempting for Joseph to try to manipulate and scheme things to get himself out of there. In contrast, it seems that he instead grew closer to God and grew in faith waiting for God to move, in His time. We know that by how Joseph acted when we see him next.

Two years after Joseph interpreted his dream, the cup-bearer finally remembered him when Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dream. At last Joseph was brought out of prison to share one of his God-given gifts and help someone in authority. After Joseph interpreted the meaning of Pharaoh's dream - forthcoming prosperity and famine throughout the land, he advised Pharaoh regarding his best course of action. (Genesis 41).

Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt (Genesis 41:33). Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” (Genesis 41: 37-38).

If I were Joseph, I’d probably want to shout from the rooftops “Pick me, pick me!!!” Joseph was very capable of doing this job and he would do it well because he was experienced and gifted at it! But Joseph was quiet. He didn’t promote himself or try to prove that he would be the best at this. Instead he sat back and watched as God did just that - God promoted him.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:39-41).

In just one day, Joseph was released from prison and put into a place of high authority, and brought glory to God instead of himself. Joseph was an amazing man of patience, integrity and character. So many of us have read his story over and over again and marveled at how God brought justice and blessing to him, despite being treated unfairly. Looking at Joseph more closely and analyzing his actions (and lack of action in certain circumstances) we can see a shining example of one of God’s loyal servants whom God saw worthy of being promoted to a high calling.

When we have times in our lives where we are being treated unfairly or things seem to be continually against us, we can look to Joseph for a great example of how to keep our eyes on God and continue to live in integrity and have confidence that God will come through for us at his perfect timing.

Acknowledgments Cortni Marrazzo.

Our music today, Gaither Vocal Band LIVE - “Sometimes it takes a Mountain. Click on the picture of Joseph interpreting Pharoah's dream to listen.

SEPTEMBER 17 – The dreamer (part 1)

“The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master” - Genesis 39:2

I read an interesting article this week about Joseph, a Bible favourite of many, particularly when they were youngsters.

Joseph was the dreamer of the family, and these dreams were to be his downfall as far as his brothers were concerned. The result was that his life took a detour to the one I'm sure he had imagined. While you and I may not have been sold into slavery or imprisoned, our lives are probably far different now to the ones we had imagined living. Along the way we will have learned a few things about ourselves that we never knew.

Joseph was Rachel's son, and thereby the favourite of Jacob, his father – Rachel had been Jacob's first true love. One day Jacob gave Joseph a special gift in the form of a fancy robe, or tunic. This robe was beautifully coloured, ornate, had long sleeves, and extended down to his ankles. In comparison, Joseph’s brothers likely had shorter, sleeveless tunics that allowed them to more easily do their manual labor. Charles Swindoll writes in his book Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgivness, “By giving Joseph this elaborate full-length coat, which was also a sign of nobility in that day, his father was boldly implying, ‘You can wear this beautiful garment because you don’t have to work like those brothers of yours.’"

This coat probably wasn’t the first gift Joseph received that blatantly pointed out the favor he had with his father. Joseph had likely been spoiled and coddled his entire life, until that fateful day where he was forced to leave his father’s favour and blessings. Overcome by their jealousy, his brothers plotted, and one day they threw Joseph into a pit, eventually selling him into slavery. Talk about the end of a spoiled childhood! Joseph was sold on and spent the rest of his life in a foreign land with people who paid to own him, his days of being favoured and coddled were over.

Without Jacob, his father, Joseph had to learn to work. And Joseph did work, and he worked hard. We see Joseph’s gifts of administration and leadership start to bloom as “Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned” - Genesis 39:6. Joseph worked hard and was soon given charge of the prison, and eventually became ruler over all of Egypt!  When famine struck the land, it was to be Joseph’s God-given gift of administration and leadership that God used to save Joseph’s family and the whole nation of Egypt from starvation.

By losing his status of “chosen son” and having to work to earn his keep, Joseph’s gifts and talents were able to develop and grow in his life. Had he never had the hardship of being sold into slavery, he never would have tapped into those abilities, and consequently never would have saved his family. Joseph’s life in captivity was filled with what seemed to be setbacks on the surface, but in fact were the very situations that matured him, tested him, and ultimately set him up for God’s plan to be fulfilled through him.

In one of these major setbacks, we see the true, noble character that was the core of who Joseph was.

“These Things Shall Pass” by Johnny Cash is today's choice of music. Click on the picture to listen.

‘He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as it was his custom. He stood to read,’ Luke 4:16

Continuing on from yesterday I want to share with you the second gem I learned when I saw Pastor Mark Finley at the Open day at Stanborough Press in Grantham. Dr Finlay said that one of the questions he was asked most on his travels around the world was, how did he manage to commit so much of the bible to memory? Apart from the obvious answer of daily reading and meditating in and on God’s word, he shared this method which I found useful.

The context for this he used was the common core of education about 30-40 years ago, the three R’s of reading, writing and arithmetic. Now we know that they don’t all begin the letter ‘R’ but they all have the ‘R’ sound and this is how they were commonly referred to. He has coined his own phrase again using the 3 sounding R’s principle and they are; read, write and repeat.

First he says that we should read the scripture from the bible and meditate on it, think about what it mean. Then he says take a piece of card and write it down. This reinforced what was just a visual action into a kinaesthetic process where you are doing a physical action to do with what you have seen. The third step was to repeat this text by saying over and over again whilst walking, on the bus, meditating. This should be done as often as is possible and formed into a habit, not something we just do once and then put down.

I have used the same text from yesterday, and will leave you with this one thought, if it was good enough for Jesus, then surely it is good enough for us, right?

The music today, thank you Bryn, is sung by Vince Gill ‘Tell me one more time about Jesus’. Click on the picture to listen.

‘He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,’ Luke 4:16

All men and women are created, I get that. But, there are some that can do things just a little better than others. You could say they understand how to get the most out of their gifts. I remember years ago going to watch a football match when the great Thierry Henry. I can kick a ball but this guy had the ability to freeze the defender and waltz past him as if he were not trying. However one of my greatest joys is to hear a preacher at the top of his craft. These guys are humble servants of the lord, but they have a heavy anointing. Over the next two days I will share a few nuggets I gleaned when I recently heard the Pastor, Dr Mark Finley.

He is an international speaker and evangelist who has written some wonderful short but compact books on Christianity. In his travel around the world speaking in many different pulpits he said that he has noticed a worrying trend amongst Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Due to the digit age we are living in Pastor Finley stated that Christians are going to be lost because of their lack of the reading of God’s word. Merely listening to 3ABN, the Hope channel and presentations on YouTube are no substitute for picking up a Christian book and reading God’s word for yourself. I feel I must put this in context as he said it.

‘Listening to Mark Finley or Doug Batchelor is fine but you cannot be saved on their relationship, you have to find yours.’

We have to develop those habits Jesus did in Luke 4:16

‘He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,’

Tomorrow I will share with you another value lesson I learned.

Our music today is one Byrn shared with me a while ago. It is called 'Revive us again.'Click on the picture to listen.

SEPTEMBER 11-12 -Before our very eyes

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stsrs, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him....? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands, you put everything under his feet....O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” - Psalm 8: 3-9.

A Salvation Army captain, Rachel Tickner, was working on the Island of Bute, in Scotland. Buses were infrequent, so to get to the town of Rothesay three miles away, she often walked along the coast road (picture left). One Spring day, when she was experienciing some difficulties in her work, the beauty of the snow-capped hills, the great variety of sea-birds, and the sight of a rainbow, lifted her spirits. Usually it's not possible to reach the end of a rainbow, but that day, the rainbow stretched from the other side of the Clyde estuary, right across to where Rachel was walking. To her amazement, it “walked” with her all the way into Rothesay.

C.S.Lewis in his book “Miracles,” writes: 'Each miracle writes for us in small letters something that God has already written, in letter almost too large to be noticed, across the whole canvas of nature....each carries the signiture of the God whom we know through conscience and from nature.'

The Bible reveals in the miracle of nature, not a magician, but a personal God, pwerful and loving, a God who, as Psalm 8: 3-9 says cares enough about us that He made us just “a little lower than the angels”... made us stewards – rulers, over His creation, to care for it and each other.

The miracle is, that despite man's irresponsibility and the damage we have caused to the earth over the centuries, God has kept on refreshing and renewing all that He makes, and we take so much for granted.- dew on the grass each morning – the pinhead seed that when planted in soil bursts out in blossoms and colours that no artist has ever been able to truly replicate. There are varieties of plants, birds and animals still to be discovered. Year by year yet more species are found.

Rachel said, “For all it's magnificence, the rainbow that day was not awesome, just ressuring and pleasant,” calming her mind and making the decisions she had to maje, clear. The rainbow is a sign of God's promise, and Rachel quoted from a song she knew....'Whenever you see a rainbow, remember God is love.'

Noah and his family safe after the flood, were told by God, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds....This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth' - Genesis 9: 16-17. Rachel believed God's promise, and was rewarded that day on her walk to Rothesay, not only to reach the end of the rainbow, but to have it 'walk' with her every step of her three mile way.

Today's song is the one Rachel quoted, an old children's song many a parent has taught their child - “When I See a Rainbow.”

SEPTEMBER 10 – God's grief

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” - Matthew 23:37

Yesterday, I watched as media coverage of the thousands of refugees arriving daily in Europe was being repeated by all TV news channels throughout the day and night – desperate people who have fled from their homelands and persecution, carrying their few possessions with them. The scenes were heartbreaking as I watched thousands of men, women, newborn babies, pregnant women, and children who had become separated from their families, follow railway tracks to reach and cross, the border into Austria and perseved safety. They have one thing in common – they want to reach a better land and future.

Over the last two weeksof news reports, three images remain burned into my mind and heart. The first, a young man, barely more than seventeen years old. When he was interviewed he had with him a younger sibling around six years of age, and his elderly, infirm grandmother, a wheelchair, and two bags of possessions. This young man had walked 100 miles, pushing his grandmother on smooth ground, in the wheelchair. When the ground got rough, he carried her on his back. Second was the sight of a child, perhaps seven years old, lagging behind the stream of refugees he was following, carrying a baby in his arms, and with grim determination on his face. Third, but I know it won't be the last as I watch further news reports, echoes the first. A man, maybe forty years old, with his elderly mother, arms around his neck, clingly on tightly as he carried her on his back to safety. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends “ John 15:13

The majority of these refugees are not Christians, but over and over again, when briefly interviewed, they speak of God – their dependence on God – and believing that He will help them. As a Christian, it makes you think, doesn't it. Would we have the same attitude in similar circumstances – when things get rough? Maybe I've missed it, I don't know. But only once have I heard someone virtually ask if God cares about their plight.

Is God grieving over the suffering of these pwople Scripture indicates that He does feel anguish – deeper than you and I could ever understand. In Judges 10:16 we are told that He “could bear Israel's misery no longer.” In Hosea 11:8 He anguishes “My heart is changed within me; all my ccompassion is aroused.”

As Jesus approached Jerusalem He mourned and wept over the devastation that was coming – not just to Jerusalem at that time, but in the world, down through the ages.

Yes, God cares, and this is today's choice of music - “Does God Care?”  LIVE - the Gaithers. Click on the picture to listen.

Most people when pushed for an answer have a favourite season. Some like the summer and the hot sun whilst others prefer the cool winter months. Still others like the budding of the springtime and there are those who like to witness the mellow dramatic changes seen in the autumn.

Now the weather in the UK is definitely getting colder. It hardly seems fair that while summer didn’t properly arrive we are soon to be experiencing autumn. I have some friends who have a certain date when they switch on the heating. Me, I just wait until it gets cold then on it goes.

There is a condition or state called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This is a depression associated with late autumn and winter and thought to be caused by a lack of light. There are light boxes that you can buy called SAD boxes for those who suffer from this state and they are supposed to replicate sunshine and give the feeling that sunshine gives to the body. There is some evidence that suggests this treatment makes the suffer feel better. So, although it is still winter this light box gives the body the impression that the sun is out. You could call it fake sun.

I couldn’t help but think about when my life goes into a season that I don’t like. Like the Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferer what do I reach for as my light box, my fake sun to make me feel better? Is it the TV? Is it a food binge? Is it ever more media consumption? Or do I reach for my bible?

Scripture tells us that in life we will have seasons, seasons of change. Let us fortify ourselves daily with God’s word so that at least we may be constant in our devotion to him and ever deepen our changing relationship.

Our music today was chosen by Bryn and is 'Who am I' by Casting Crowns. Click on the picture to listen.

^‘For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.’ 2 Corinthians 8:12

Greg Rutherford, the reigning Olympic, Commonwealth and European long jump champion, has now added the world championships title to his haul to become only the fifth British athlete to do so. You would think he would be happy, I certainly would. Instead this is what he had to say,

“…I’m the Olympic, world, Commonwealth and European champion. I’m hoping that’s enough for people to accept I am a half-decent British athlete now.”

After his triumph on ‘Super Saturday’ of the London 2012 Olympics, he was called a fluke. Before the commonwealth championships at Hampden Park two years later he had been labelled a ‘one hit wonder’. His doubters claimed his European championships gold medal was his ‘third fluky title in three years’. So the pressure was on at this year’s world championships especially after Jessica Ennis-Hill and Mo Farah the other two athletes from ‘Super Saturday’ has secured gold. Like a true champion that he is Greg rose to the challenge and delivered a second round jump of 8.29m to take a lead which would not be bettered. His fourth round jump of 8.41m was the second longest of his life and ensured that he finished the competition with the two longest jumps as his closest rivals choked under his dominant pressure.

Despite all of his success all he wanted to be was be accepted. In spite of all our faults, mistakes, triumphs, successes, regrets and broken promises, I suppose it’s something that we all long for. 

The good news for Greg, and us, is that there is someone who accepts us regardless of our achievements or lack of success. Paul says,

^‘For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.’

We will never be content if we are looking to the world for appreciation or acknowledgement. But with God as our chief supporter we know that our minds can be at rest IF we rest in Him.

The music today Bryn rediscovered for me. It is originally sung by 'The Imperials' but this time given the Gaither treatment - 'Forgiven'. Click on the picture to listen.