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Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you." Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, " Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:38-46
Favor is a remarkable thing. Favor for Joseph did not start in the palace but in the pit. It was favor that he was even placed in the right spot in that prison. I think sometimes when life takes us to the pits, we tend to forget he is setting us up for something. Favor of God was with Joseph always it didn’t just show up in the Palace. Remember whatever we go through it is has been planned by the Master and we should rest in his favor. youversion note
How sad that Joseph remained in jail two more years because the cupbearer forgot. But then God was waiting for the proper timing. It definitely had more impact with Joseph being freed because of his proving God’s power to Pharaoh. Again, very impressed that Joseph says he can’t do it but God can. In fact Pharaoh was so impressed that he puts Joseph in charge right below him. And just like with Potipher and the jail warden, Egypt prospers because of this decision. Note for math latter that Joseph spent at least 2 years in jail after interpreting the dream for the cupbearer. He entered Pharaoh’s service and married at the age of 30 and his children were born during the following 7 years of plenty, just before the 7 years of famine start. youversion note
if you were reading josephs story, and DIDN’T know the end, i think this ending would be both UNEXPECTED and EXPECTED.
unexpected because how does a slave and a prisoner rise to such a role of high fortune and prestige and expected because this man had a dream placed in his heart by God that was the call of God on his life. God orders the steps of a righteous person and God outworks our call, even through the darkest days and the hardest of circumstances God is in control.
i am always reminded as i read the account of josephs life that my story isn’t over until God says it is over.
my today isnt my tomorrow.
tomorrow may be the day i am remembered before pharaoh and have my life changed
my today is an opportunity to serve and to shine for God, no matter where i am placed
today i can live obediently and wholeheartedly for God in the knowledge that as i trust Him, He IS at work
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master’s wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?" As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. Genesis 39:6-10
sin is sin.
no matter who sees it and how public it is. it is sin.
and it has consequences.
between us and God.
joseph had an open door to sin. his masters wife invited him to sleep with her.
but joseph said no. because even though he was a slave he was a man of integrity and obedience unto God.
this passage teaches me to have my priorities right and to make a decision BEFORE i am in a position of temptation. the easy road for joseph would have been to sleep with her, but he chooses to deny his flesh and selfishness and to obey God’s ways. He priorities God’s pleasure and favour above that of his masters wife.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Genesis 39:2-4
Joseph had a call to be a leader.
then he was sold by his brothers into slavery.
at this point most people would curl up into a foetal position and cry and give up.
not joseph.
he lives out his call, even in slavery.
he lives out his call of leadership in potiphars house, being promoted into position.
when God is with us, no matter the circumstance, we are blest.
when God is with us, no matter what is going on, we can have peace and prosper. we can have success even though circumstances may be incredibly difficult!
the best thing in life to covet is the favour of God – we should live a life that pleases Him, no matter where we are and what circumstances say.
circumstances for joseph shout deny God, suffer and be angry and depressed. that’s how the world often reacts today.
but joseph made a choice. His life was in God’s hands. He would trust God and live by His ways to please Him, no matter where.
and God rewarded Him and blest Him and raised Him up THROUGH His circumstances.
God will place you in dark places to shine for Him.
So let me tell you my hope. My hope is to try to move us a little bit away from discipline and into delight. Because I think the best motivator out there isn’t discipline, but rather it’s delight. If you delight in something, you will be far more apt to be disciplined at something rather than just trying to create discipline in your life in the hope that it will bring about delight. If you love something, if you love doing something, you’re much more apt to do it and actually build things into your life that enable and empower it. If you don’t delight in it, then regardless of what kind of discipline you put in place, you’re going to stumble, fall, fail and give up ~ Matt Chandler – Call To Pray
i love listening to altar calls. esp when you can HEAR people responding. i listened to the elevation church (steven furtick) christmas message the other night and was really impressed – loved how the creatively did it – and loved this end part of steven furticks message. as a preacher chick i like to collect things like this for my own improvement and helping with wordage, and to encourage my heart. God saves. The lost are found. He is GOOD!
but if you are without Christ, i don’t care how life seems to be going for you right now, i don’t care how together you seem to have it on the outside… if you’re not right with God, your situation is more desperate than you think it is. sin is fatal. the bible says that the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life, all you have to do is receive it. why wont you receive it? God’s spoken to you before. you’ve heard it before. your sins have separated you from God and all you have to do is open your life to him and say God i turn from my own ways, I turn to you. no more games, no more excuses, you’ve waited long enough. place your faith in Christ and make the decision to stand with the God who has always been with you and who died for you. are you with God? or are you far from Him? there is nothing you have to do to earn it, He’ll accept just you as you are, but you have to bring Him your whole life.
The message of the gospel is this, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved, its an unconditional promise. anyone who will, can come. its the miracle of God’s grace.
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Genesis 37:1-8
this passage is our introduction to someone i find personally challenging and encouraging and inspiring: Joseph
Joseph’s life story looks crazy when you look at it, when you look back his dreams and the call of God upon his life and the living out of the call. As a young man he dreamed of leadership and destiny but first had to endure the rejection of his brothers, to the extreme – they sold him into slavery – where he was promoted and then falsely accused and sent to prison for many many years. Then when it looked like the light at the end of the tunnel he is forgotten for more years. Over 17 years pass in Egypt. And then SUDDENLY he is promoted again and is living his dream.
I read these interesting verses in psalm 105 the other week while thinking more about THE PROCESS…”He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.” Psalm 105:16-19
Until what he foretold came to pass, until the Word of the Lord, until his dreams of leadership and destiny, until the Lord proved him true… until the right time… until Joseph was ready and the times were ready. There was a bigger picture.
"God often uses our challenges as stepping stones to the higher purposes of God." – James Robison
There are lessons to be learned in the process. Lessons about ourselves, lessons about how to work with others, lessons about how to relate to God.
Process isn’t just about skills its also about character.
Process is all part of it. Its not less important that the destination and the success.
We have not stopped praying for you
and asking God to fill you
with the knowledge of his will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
And we pray this
in order that you may
live
a life worthy of the Lord
and may please him
in every way:
bearing fruit
in every good work,
growing
in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened
with all power
according to his glorious might
so that you may
have great endurance
and patience,
and joyfully giving thanks
to the Father,
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance of the saints
in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:9-12
i love songs about the love of God, because they reveal to me more of God and His lavish love and its such a good reminder for my heart and soul. His love never fails. His love is so great. I am His child.
This is the endish part of Perfect Love by Jesus Culture from their new album Awakening, its perhaps more spontaneous free worship than the song… but i love it… is such a prayer from my heart
You are life
You are hope
You are love
You are healing
You are all that i need
perfect love
unconditional
freely given
His name is Jesus
God is love. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his… Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. 1 John 4
God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love. I pray that you and all of God’s people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is. Ephesians 3:16-19 CEV
His love is lavish. His love made the way for us to be pure faultless innocent holy righteous and clean, that we can draw near to Him. His love rescues us. Let us not be trapped by religion and going through the motions. Let our love not grow cold and stale and forgotten. Let it be fresh and real and relevant and relational. Let us worship Him and honour Him and remind our hearts WHO He is – He is LOVE – and live in that reality and revelation.
Lets live our lives in love with God – responding to His love, demonstrating His love, enjoying His love.
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