Archive | November 2014

Genesis 40

Nov7

Good morning y’all. Thank God it’s Friday :). Today we in chapter 40 of Genesis. Here we see Joseph interpret the dreams of the cupbearer and baker.

Be blessed:)

Joseph was observant and sensitive to the needs of his wards – cup bearer and baker. Verse 6 says “…He noticed that they both looked upset”. Some of us are so into ourselves that we are not sensitive to the needs of those around us. Joseph noticed the long face of the baker and cupbearer and he took the time to find out what the issue was.

As Christians we are called to be light of the world and salt of earth but how can we be light and salt if we are self absorbed and live in our own little world where it’s all about Me Myself and I. The bible also says we should bear each others burden. Again how can we do that if we dont take the time to stop and oberve whats going on around us. I pray God helps us to be more observant and sensitive to the needs of those he has placed in our circle.

Joseph didn’t rely on himself or his knowledge to interpret the dreams. He made sure to let the baker and cupbearer know that God is the one who can interpret dreams. He refused to take the glory but rather give it back to God.
Are we pointing people back to God when they comment about our level of achievement, wisdom, ability to solve issues, knowledge…etc or are we taking the glory for ourselves? We should be quick to let them know it is the God in us that makes all the difference.
Sometimes God places us in certain situations so we can be solutions to the problem and use that opportunity as a means to preach the gospel to the people involved.

Joseph proceeded to interpret their dreams and he specifically asked the cupbearer to remember him and mention him to pharaoh when he gets out of jail. Verse 23 says the cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph at all.

Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.(Genesis 40:23 NLT)

How often do we behave like the cupbearer; it’s like once we get what we want from people or even from God, we completely forget about them. We forget the promises we made when we were desperate for the help. We forget to even go back and say thank you. We only remember to come back when we have another issue. May God help us stop acting like an ingrate

From Josephs side, it looked as if he had been forgotten and would probably rot in jail but i thank God that’s not how his story ended :); he eventually made it to the palace. I wanna encourage someone today, perhaps like Joseph you feel you have been forgotten or cheated, I want you to know that God hasnt forgotten you and at the right time, HE will cause you to be remembered by the right people.

We see God do similar thing in the life of Mordecai in the book of Esther. When it was time for Mordecai to be remembered, God caused King Xerxes to have a sleepless night which caused him to go through the books of history. From the books, he realised Mordecai had been forgotten. The following morning, he ordered for Mordecai to be rewarded and promoted.

God is still in the business of remembering people. He sees, He hears and He cares. Be encouraged :). God will cause you to be remembered In Jesus Name

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. Thank you for this wonderful privilege to be called your children and be able to approach your throne with boldness. Today we ask for the grace to be observant and sensitive to the needs of those around us. Forgive us for the many opportunities we have missed as a result of us being self absorbed. We ask you help us remember to always point people back to you; that we won’t take the glory for ourselves. For as many that feel forgotten today, Lord I ask you will encourage them and cause them to be remembered. Also help us remember to come back to say thank you. We love you Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen

Thanks for joining today.

I’m blogging through the bible with Good Morning Girls. Check us out at http://www.goodmorninggirls.org

image

Pls remember we won’t be blogging over the weekend. Next chapter blog will be on Monday and that’s for Genesis 41.

Have a wonderful Friday and remember to look for ways to be a blessing to someone else today 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Genesis 39

Nov6

Good morning y’all. Today we in chapter 39 of Genesis. Here we see Joseph prosper in Potiphars house; he was thrown into prison for refusing to lay with Mrs Potiphar and even in the prison we see God favour him.

Be blessed 🙂

God is always with us even when we are in situations that are not so pleasant. He never leaves nor forsake his own. Verse 2 tells us that the Lord was with Joseph. Not only was he with Joseph but he also prospered him.
Our location or circumstances doesn’t matter, what matters the most is the presence of the Lord with us. As long as the Lord is with us, we are sorted :). HE can cause us to be favoured and prosper us even in a foreign land. God is not limited by our location or circumstances.

Verse 3 tells us that, his master noticed and could tell that the Lord was with him. His master here is an Egyptian; one could say he was an unbeliever, but he could still detect that there was something different about Joseph – the Lord was with him.
When people see us, what do they see or perceive. Can they tell that we belong to Jesus’s camp? Can they see Jesus reflected in our lives? The presence of the Lord in our lives should cause their to be a change in our lives such that it is evident for all to see. Our speech and actions should reflect Jesus. I’m sure that was what Potiphar saw in Joseph.

Also the latter part of verse 3 says, “and that the lord gave him success in everything he did”. Joseph was successful at everything he did. He wasnt lazy, moaning or complaining about the bad hand he had been dealt, rather he busied himself doing the task he was assigned as a slave and God rewarded him by making him successful at it. I am reminded of Colossians 3:23-24 which says “Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know he will reward you“.

The Lord caused Joseph to be favoured,  which then led to him being promoted to the officer in charge of Portiphars household. “When the ways of a man pleases the Lord, HE causes his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7). Joseph was sold as a slave to potiphar but the Lord was pleased with him and as a result Potiphar favoured him and made him in charge of everything he owned. A slave being in charge! That’s God for you :). He is sovereign and can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. He can open doors in the least expected places.
Lets keep on doing the right thing and our day of favour will surely come. Galatians 6:9 says: “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up“.(Galatians 6:9 NLT)

Potiphar household and all that he owned was blessed as a result of the presence of the Lord and favour of Lord in the life of Joseph.
We are blessed to be a blessing to others. Our presence in a place should cause there to be a positive change.

Mrs Potiphar had a thing for Joseph. I love Josephs response to her silly request. He said ‘how can I do this wicked thing against God‘. He didn’t even say how can I do this against my master. His first concern was God. Joseph knew that it was God that favoured him and brought him thus far in Potiphars house and to sleep with his wife will offend God greatly. The offer I’m sure was enticing but Joseph knew better. Joseph was more concerned about obeying God and pleasing God than gratifying his flesh.
What are we concerned about? Pleasing our flesh or God?

We are told Mrs Potiphar hounded Joseph day by day. She was relentless in her pursuit!. I know how persistent a woman can be when she wants something and wants it bad, so I can imagine the torment Joseph was facing. She must have been torturing the poor dude….lol
One day though, Joseph went to attend to her and for some reason they happened to be alone and she must have thought this is my chance to get what I want. This time she didn’t even ask him gently, she grabbed him by the cloak and demanded he lay with her. I’m tryna picture the look on Josephs face at this point. I’m sure dude was terrified and full of fear. He didn’t even try to reason with her, brother Joseph ran for his dear life :). He fled to the point that he left his cloak with potiphars wife. ..lol.
Lesson here is; do not play with sin. Joseph could have tried to reason things out with Mrs Potiphar that day, but he understood that sin is not something you play with. Perhaps if he had stayed a min longer, he would have given in to the temptation. At the end of the day, brother Joseph is a man and has feelings, but thank God he chose to obey God as opposed to his feelings. Sin looks good and pleasurable on the surface but the end result is never worth the few mins of pleasure.

Mrs Potiphar didnt take the rejection from brother Joseph lightly; she was furious and cooked up a story to tell her husband and her husband put Joseph in prison. There might be times when we have bad consequences for doing the right thing but we know that God will vindicate and fight for us. He will honor our obedience to him and come to our defence eventually. We just need to hold our peace and keep doing good.

Joseph is now in prison but it doesn’t end there. We are told that God was with him even in the prison. God is always present, even in the good and bad times; He is there watching over us. Verse 21 says God showed him favour and caused him to find kindness in the eyes of prison warden.  Again, I don’t know why but this scripture “when the ways of a man pleases the Lord ….” keeps dropping into my mind. I feel like God wants us to know this morning that as long as we are pleasing to him, honor him, obey him, we don’t need to worry about anything because he will take up our case and fight for us. He will make sure we are well taken care of. He will even use the people that are meant to be against us to bless us.

In the prison Joseph became the one in charge. The prison warden didnt concern himself about anything else cos he knew Joseph was on top of things and God was with him. Joseph was destined to lead. Even from his dream he was gonna be in charge and his brothers where going to bow to him. God was preparing him for the next level to come.

Prayer:
Dear Lord thank you for today. Thank you for your word.  We ask Lord that we will be pleasing to you in all that we do. That your hand will be upon us for good and favour. Help us to flee from all appearances of evil and not toil with sin. Thank you for victory. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day and remember God is always with us 🙂

***With God all things are possible***