Down But Not Out

Bible Reading:   Genesis 37:18-28; 50:20

God turned into good what you meant for evil.   Genesis 50:20

Joseph was in a bad spot. He had tight relationships with God and his father—a marvelous thing. Those special friendships, however, made his older brothers extremely jealous—a hazardous thing. His brothers were so jealous, in fact, that they thought about killing him. Instead, they came up with a cruel plan to sell Joseph into slavery and report to their father that he had been killed by wild animals. Not only was Joseph sold as a slave, but he wound up in an Egyptian prison for refusing to do wrong.

You might not have experienced exactly what Joseph did, but maybe you’ve been rejected by friends. Maybe you’ve been punished for something you didn’t do or ridiculed for doing what was right.

Talk about it: When people have teased you or made you feel left out, did you wonder what God was doing while you were in pain? What did you expect him to do to make things right?

We can only guess what Joseph felt as he wasted away in a prison cell. But he didn’t let his circumstances keep him from trusting in God and doing what was right. Why? Because he still believed that God was in control.

If you read Joseph’s whole story, found in Genesis 37-50, you’ll discover how God eventually sprang Joseph from prison and promoted him to a high position in the land. God had a special plan for Joseph that resulted in him saving a whole country from starvation. And in a unique twist, Joseph even got the chance to save the lives of his brothers.

Joseph’s story proves how God unfailingly sticks with his people and turns even evil circumstances to our good. There’s a phrase woven throughout Joseph’s story that tells the key to his success: “The Lord was with Joseph.” God is working out a master plan to bring himself honor—a plan that rolls together the positive happenings of life with the experiences that appear downright rotten.

None of us can escape being roughed up by others. But we can remember that when people poke us with evil, God will bring good out of the pain. Even when you feel ditched by others, God hasn’t ditched you. He’s right there with you. And he’s in control.

TALK: Talk about a time you suffered for doing the right thing. How did God show himself faithful to you? How was God honored through it?

PRAY: Lord, help us to trust that you’re in control, even when things seem to be out of control. We know you are always there for us.

ACT: As you choose to do the right things today, remind yourself that God is with you—no matter what!

 

 

Coming off Your High Horse

Bible Reading: Hebrews 11:24-27

Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.   Matthew 11:29

DURING THE AMERICAN War for Independence, a group of soldiers had been assigned to cut down some trees to make a bridge across a creek. The work was very hard, and the men were making slow progress. As they grunted and sweated, a man rode up on a horse and looked over the scene.

The man on the horse spoke to one of the soldiers, who was not working but was telling the others what they should do. “You don’t have enough men, do you?” the man on the horse asked.

“No,” said the man who had been giving orders.

“Why don’t you lend a hand yourself?” the man on the horse asked.

“Me?” the soldier answered in a shocked tone. “Why, sir, I am a corporal!”

“Ah,” said the man on the horse, as if the soldier’s rank explained everything. He got off his horse and helped the men. When the trees were all cut down and the bridge was built, he got back on his horse and saluted the corporal.

“The next time there’s work to be done and you don’t have enough men to do it, just call for your commander in chief, and I will come again,” he said. The man on the horse was General George Washington.

That story, which is one of many great stories found in William Bennett’s book The Moral Compass, shows the greatness of George Washington. Although he was a general and the commander in chief of all the American armies in the Revolutionary War (and later the first president), he humbled himself to do the work a corporal wouldn’t do!

If that story shows the greatness of George Washington, how much greater is our Lord, Jesus Christ! Although he was God and the one through whom everything in the world was created, he humbled himself and came to earth to live a sinless life and die a horrible death—for all of us!

The example of Jesus reminds us that humility is good and right, because the Almighty God humbled himself for us. If God himself was not “too proud to be humble,” we should let him teach us, as today’s Bible reading says, to be “humble and gentle” (Matthew 11:29).

REFLECT: How do you think that army corporal felt when he realized he had been too proud to work beside General George Washington? What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle”? How can you let Jesus teach you to be humble and gentle today?

PRAY: “Jesus, thank you for humbling yourself and becoming a man so that you could die for my sins. Please teach me today to be humble and gentle toward everyone I meet.”

Babel Babble

Bible Reading:   Genesis 11:1-9

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.   Proverbs 16:18

IMAGINE WHAT IT would have been like to have been a kid living in the Plain of Shinar thousands of years ago. You wake up in your corner of the family tent and turn on your radio. (OK, so they didn’t have radio back then. Just play along, OK?)

“Goood mornin’, Plain of Shinar! This is Wolfman Mash, broadcasting live from the site of the Tower of Babel, the greatest real estate development the human race has ever seen!” Wolfman Mash continues. “We’ve got the latest hits by Dust II Men, The Artist Formerly Known as Arphaxad, and Tupac Shinar—but first, I’m sitting here with Nimrod, one of the builders of this amazing tower. Thanks for joining me and my listeners this morning, Nimrod.”

“We are so excited about this project, Wolfman,” another voice says. “When it’s done it should convince everyone that we don’t need any superstitious belief in a god or creator. We are ascending our own ladder to heaven! This tower will shine forever as a monument to the greatness of man—and to the greatness of a Nimrod such as me! And one more thing, Wolfman—razzle frazzle boboli babel!”

You shoot a confused look at the radio. It sounded like that guy just said, “Razzle frazzle boboli babel!” You jiggle the tuning knob just to make sure you’re not losing the station. But then you hear Wolfman’s familiar voice saying, “Goo, mungu peeekee botahaha goo!”

Suddenly you switch off the radio and shake your mom and dad to wake them up. “Hey, Mom, Dad, I’ve just decided what I wanna be when I grow up! A translator!”

OK, maybe that’s not exactly the way it happened. But the construction of the Tower of Babel came to a halt because of the pride and ambition of its builders (see Genesis 11:1-9). They intended to build a monument to their own name and ability, but their great Tower of Babel soon became a pile of rubble.

That’s the way it usually goes. The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). The Bible—and the rest of history—is filled with stories of people whose pride led to their fall (Goliath, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, to name a few). That’s one of the reasons God wants us to be humble: He wants to protect us from the destruction and disappointment a prideful attitude often invites and fill us with the wisdom and blessing that humility often brings. And that’s a whole lot better than ending up in a pile of rubble.

REFLECT: Do you agree that pride often invites destruction or disappointment? If so, why? Do you think pride blinds people to some things or makes people less willing to listen to wise advice? Why or why not?

PRAY: “Wise and loving God, thank you for protecting me from the dangers of pride by teaching me humility. Please keep teaching me to be humble and gentle like your Son, Jesus.”

The Not-So-Great Wall

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 7:11-14

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.   2 Chronicles 7:14

IT’S THE ONLY man-made thing on earth that can be seen from outer space. It’s the longest structure ever built entirely by hand, winding for nearly four thousand miles. It’s the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China was started about four hundred years before Jesus was born, and it continued to be built off and on for about two thousand years. Although it has collapsed in places, it stretches from the east coast of China all the way into the north-central part of the country. The Chinese people built it to keep other people from attacking and invading their country. To this day, the Great Wall is a great source of pride among the Chinese. Tourists come to see it. Historians study it. And scientists use it to study earthquakes.

But some historians believe the Great Wall (the pride of China) kind of backfired. It may have protected China from some attacks, but it (and the attitudes it symbolized) also isolated the nation from many good things. For centuries, much of the progress and discoveries that benefited people in other parts of the world never reached China. A great nation became a backward nation, partly because the Great Wall kept progress from flowing into China.

That’s sort of a picture of what pride does. Some people act prideful because they think it protects them or makes them look better than others around them. But usually what happens is that prideful people obstruct the flow of God’s blessings to them. They make it harder for God (and others) to help them and bless them.

On the other hand, humility opens windows of blessing. Humility makes it easier for God to speak to you, help you, and bless you. Humility makes it easier for other people to like you and want to be around you. Pride builds a wall that keeps many good things out of your life; humility opens a window that brings many good things into your life.

REFLECT: In today’s Bible reading, what are the four things God told his people to do if they wanted him to forgive them and heal their land? Do you think God blesses humble people more than proud people? Why or why not? How can you make it easier for God to help you and bless you today?

PRAY: “God, you’ve already given me so many blessings and so many things to be thankful for, like___________. Please help me to keep the windows of help and blessing open by being humble instead of proud.”

 

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

Romans 2:4 (NKJV) Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

This verse is so powerful!  It says that God’s goodness is what leads us to repentance.  It is not banging people over the head, or telling them what a terrible sinner they are, that leads them to God.  It is sharing God’s goodness with them, and letting them know that God loves them and is out for their good.

I know in my life I have seen God’s goodness again and again, and it has brought me to the place of opening my heart and getting rid of junk.  I have not seen God whacking me and telling me that I am a no-good sinner and that I am a waste in the Kingdom of God.  No!  He is always there to love me and help me get back on track.

I remember as a child I had a figure-eight racetrack, and to keep a car on track there was a little pin on the bottom of the car that fit into a groove on the racetrack.  Whenever the car would get off the track, I would have to pick it up and put it back on.  It is the same with us.  God’s goodness is always picking us up when we mess up, and putting us back on the groove and making sure that we can win our race.

God wants us to finish well, and He helps us each day as our Good Shepherd.  Always remember that God, your Heavenly Father, is for you, not against you.  He wants you to win.  He planned for you to be more than a conqueror.  

So today, lean on His goodness.  When He shows you things, repent and move on, knowing that He is in this race with you.  He wants you to win!

Confession: God’s goodness is what leads me to repentance.  My Father is for me and not against me.  He wants me to win in life.  Since He wants that, I know that, through Him, I will!

Today’s Bible Reading

Jeremiah 28 – 29

1 Timothy 1

Psalms 86

Proverbs 25:17

Bible in a Year: 365-Day Reading Plan : English | King James Version (KJV)

SO WHAT IF THE WORLD HATES US

1 John 3:13 (NKJV) Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

Here we have a short verse, yet it says so much.  We are living in a time when this world is not going for godliness and righteousness, but for darkness and sin.  But the Scripture says that we are the light of the world, and to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

Remember that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more!  If we are to be light and salt, then we need to be the brightest light we can be, and the saltiest salt that we can be.  I heard one person say it like this: “Be so salty for Jesus that people will thirst for Him.”  That is what we need to do with light also.  As people see the Lord shining brightly, they will come to Him.

The wise men saw a light in the night.  It was a star shining brighter than any other light, and they followed that star.  So it is with us.  If we love God and want to do the works of Jesus, people will take notice, and when things happen in their lives and they need prayer, guess where they are going to go?  To a bright light: you!

The world wants to live in darkness, and one day when that trumpet sounds, and we are with the Lord, it is going to get pretty dark down here.  Until that day, we are going to shine for Jesus, and the world might hate us for it, but Jesus will say, “Look!  There is one of my brethren standing up for me.  Let us put more light on him!”

Confession:  I am making a decision to let my light shine brighter and brighter each day.  The closer I get to Him, the brighter I will become.  I want people to have a bright path to our Lord, so I am going to do my part and shine brightly.

Today’s Bible Reading

Jeremiah 26 – 27

2 Thessalonians 3

Psalms 85

Proverbs 25:16

Bible in a Year: 365-Day Reading Plan : English | King James Version (KJV)