September 12-13
“Soon I will die, Joseph told his brothers, but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land He solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” - Genesis 50:24.
Last words are often great words. On the gravestone of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta USA., are three words that encompass his life's work, “Free at last....”
Undoubtedly the most famous last words in the Bible are those of Jesus, spoken from the cross....”It is finished!” - John 19:30. The Apostle Paul too, choosing his own epitaph wrote: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith....” - 2 Timothy 4:7. Last words matter. They communicate what our priorities in life should be.
After 110 years of walking with the Lord, Joseph wanted his final words to his family to remind them to hold fast, and continue their hope in the Lord's faithfulness. His last words reveal the secret of his hope-filled faithful life. Joseph had chosen to hold on to God, his focus never wavering throughout the ups and downs life had thrown at him. Joseph's story, from his life as an indulged youngest son, to his years as a ruler in the house of the king of Egypt, is a fascinating and inspiring read and gives understanding of why, Joseph, with his dying breath, charged his family to hold fast to their God as he had done (Genesis 50: 24-25).
Have you experienced God's care? Often it's in the darkest times in our lives that, as with Joseph's life, we find God's faithfulness is strongest. We are truly blessed if we have people around us we can depend upon, but much in this life, achievements, material things, are transient and cannot be relied on. But we can have confidence in the anchor of God's promises to always be with us – no matter what the trial or temptation (Deuteronomy 31:6. Matthew 28:19-20).
Yes, we do, and will err, but Christ knew this when He spoke His other famous last words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” - Luke 23:34.
I wonder, what our last words will be?....maybe the words of our song today - “Sinner Saved By Grace” - Selah. Click on the picture to the right, and I'm sure you with me, will say Amen.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
