Pointing Up

The story of Joseph takes the turn we all hoped it would in today's reading.  We left Joseph as a forgotten slave rotting away in prison.  Today's reading in Genesis has him promoted to second in command, saving the entire world, teaching his loser brothers a good lesson, and reconciling with his family.  It's a crazy, feel good story at the end.

As I read these passages, I think Genesis 41:16 is the turning point.  Joseph is remembered and brought up out of the dungeon to meet with Pharaoh.  He goes from the bottom of the pile to the top in one giant step.  The Pharaoh is god, he is worshipped as god, and revered as god by everyone in Egypt.  To not do so is to lose your life.  He brings Joseph in, and tells him that he has heard Joseph can tell him the meaning of his dreams.

Joseph answers: “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” 

Sounds good.  Unless Pharaoh thinks he is god.  Joseph puts it all on the line.  Why not just answer, "Yes Pharaoh, the spirits will guide me", or something safe like that.  But no, Joseph goes all the way with pointing to his God, and giving Him all the credit.

He has one shot at being saved, and He risks it all to be sure that God alone gets credit.


It works.


This is the crux of life for those of us who follow Christ.  Everything we say and do needs to point back to Jesus, just like Joseph risked everything to point back to Jehovah.  Whenever we fudge an answer, or hide our faith a little, we miss out.  What if, when a friend wants your advice, your answer was "I can't, but God will provide you an answer."  You think it's crazy; admit it.  But is it?  What IF we live like that?


What might happen?


The whole world might be saved.

Jason Chenoweth

Jason Chenoweth: "I connected Blogger to my http://flavors.me page - http://flavors.me/jasonchenoweth"

Don't Stop in the 4-0!

We read the story of two of the 12 brothers of Israel in Genesis 38-40 today.  You've got Judah, the leader of the brothers, who should know God best.  He ends up dishonoring his daughter in law, sending her away, and breaking the laws of caring for your family.  Then, on top of that, he sleeps with a prostitute after his wife dies, and gets her pregnant.  Of course, being the Bible, this twisted story isn't done.  It turns out the prostitute wasn't a prostitute, but was his daughter in law in disguise, and he gets busted.  He ends up having twins with his son's widow.  What a mess.

Compare that to the second story of Joseph, the second to youngest.  He's been sold off into slavery, and should be bitter for all that has happened.  In his story, a powerful woman tries over and over to seduce him, but he refuses.  He gets thrown in prison, obeys God, and is forgotten there.  He's left to rot, even though he was innocent.

So, in this tale of two brothers, one is dishonorable, skanky, and a liar.  He pretty much gets off scott free and lives a life of wealth and freedom.  The other obeys God in the face of incredible temptation and still does what is right.  He ends up alone, in prison.

So often, when we follow God, this is what it seems like life is like.  We feel like we miss out, or we suffer, because we are doing what God tells us to.  Our friends, or our enemies, who ignore God seem to have a great life, full of fun and freedom.  It really makes us question if following God is legit or not.

But there's the catch.  Life doesn't end in chapter 40.  There is a chapter 41, and we will hit it tomorrow.  It's coming, just not yet.  The story is not done for either of these two brothers.  If we quit reading now, we will never know the whole story, we will never see God's whole plan for them.  It gets much, much better.  There are still some tough times to come in this story.  But it definitely gets better.  Better than anyone in chapter 40 can imagine.

So, maybe in your life, you're in chapter 40.  It seems unfair what is going on right now.  You're trying your best to follow God, and it doesn't feel like He is taking you anywhere.  Other people around you have it alot easier, and they could not care less about God.  Ok.  Yeah, that may be true today.  We all face those chapter 40 days.  But hold on.  PLEASE keep going.  Don't give up.  Chapter 41 is coming.  Something is going to change.  I promise.

You're Such a Heel Grabber!!

I read Genesis 30-37 today (catching up on my weekend reading on my one year plan).  It's the story of Jacob.  There is so much lying and deceiving in it, and yet God blesses Jacob like crazy.  I read it, and I'm so baffled at it.  Why in the world does God bless this guy, who just lies and deceives people, and raises a group of boys who does the same?  I thought God blessed the faithful and cursed the disobedient.

Well, yes and no.  One, I realized that I only have snapshots of Jacob's life in the story.  Genesis isn't about Jacob, or Abraham, or Moses.  It's about God.  So the only parts of Jacob's life that show up in Genesis are the parts God wants to share to show the advancement of His story.  In Jacob's case, the stories that get told are really embarrassing.  But it only shows a couple of months of history from a life that spans over a hundred years.  This isn't necessarily who Jacob is, it's who we see as God tells the key points in His story.

Secondly, God doesn't reward the faithful and curse the disobedient.  Not the way we think.  CLEARLY, when we obey God, our lives run much better, and our relationship with Him is stronger.  Don't be confused on that for a minute.  But for God to bless any of us, He has to lead with Grace, not Justice.  We are all disobedient.  I am just as sinful as Jacob.  I lie, deceive, live arrogantly, twist things for my own advancement all the time.  If God boiled my whole life down to a couple of stories over a couple of months, it could easily look worse than Jacobs.  Yet God blesses me.  Why?  Not as much because I am good, as the fact that He is good.

That is where I fit in the Jacob story.  He and I are brothers, under God's Grace.  Twins, it would seem at times.  And God blessed Him.  And, by the way, God gives him a new name.  He takes away the Jacob name ("heel grabber"), which alludes to Jacob being a thief and deceiver by meaning, and names him Israel ("God's chosen"), the one blessed by God.  He goes from being known for his own mistakes, to being known as one of Gods.  God has changed my name too.  I have gone from being one known by my own strengths and weaknesses to one claimed by God, a follower of Jesus, a little Christ.  I am a Christian.  I am His.

I like my new name much better.

How Sweet the Sound

Ok, so I read Genesis 27-29 today, and I've got to tell you, it always leaves me messed up.  I've read these stories over and over and over, and never walk away without shaking my head.  I really, really want to encourage you to read them for yourself.  But here is a short summary of the story.

Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob.  Esau is older and should receive the inheritance and blessing.  Jacob bought the inheritance earlier for a bowl of soup.  Now, he and his mom trick his father into giving him the blessing as well.  He puts on his brother's clothing so he smells like him, and goat skins so he will feel like his hairy brother.  (Just how hairy is this dude, anyway?!)  Since Isaac is blind, it works.  When Esau comes home and finds out what has been done, he begs his dad for a blessing.  The blessing Esau gets is that he will have to live in the desert, he will be a warrior, and his brother will rule over him, but eventually he will get sick of it and rise up.  Okay, really?  This is the dad's blessing??  That's horrible on so many levels.

Jacob runs for it, and flees to his relatives far away.  He goes to find a wife there.  When he gets there, he falls for third cousin named Rebekkah.  She is beautiful, and he wants to marry her.  He agrees to work for seven years to gain permission to marry her.  The Bible says it seems like a few days because of his love for her.  Awww, isn't that romantic?  Well, hold on.  It goes downhill again.  The wedding comes, and Jacob gets so plastered that his uncle sends in Rebekkah's older sister, Leah.  Guess what?  She's blind too.  So, he sleeps with her, and doesn't know it's not Rebekkah.  Yeah, he's not THAT romantic if he can pull this off.  So then he has to work seven more years to get Rebekkah.

Meanwhile, his bro back home realizes that his parents don't like his wives, and he marries someone more acceptable to impress his parents.  He was so blind to what was going on, he didn't realize his parents didn't like his wives. 

So now Jacob has two wives.  He loves one and not the other.  Leah, the unloved, is given four sons.  So Jacob doesn't love her, but they are still able to conceive four boys.

Everytime I read these stories, I get mad.  These guys are heroes of the faith?  They are Jerry Springer rejects!  They are selfish, conceited, deceitful, angry, murderous, lying, hateful, dysfunctional people.  ALL of them are.  These are Jesus' great(x20) grandparents for pete's sake!

BUT, God uses them.  They found the nation that saves the world.  God speaks directly to them.  Why?  Not because they earned it.  It's because of Him.  Through the whole story, with the "blind" motif seen over and over, it says that God sees what is going on, and gets involved.  He keeps promises, He shows grace, He works miracles, He cares for the broken.  Why?  Because that is who He is.  Our junk can't stop him.  Ever.

That's the real story here.  Not the Malcolm in the Middle level of dysfunction.  The unbelievable, beautiful, awe inspiring, powerful, over arching Grace of God.

And He offers it to us.  To our friends.  To our enemies.  To the people on Springer.

Always.

Everyday.

He comes to us and offers Grace.

Amazing Grace.

God's Favorite Dysfunctional Family

Today my reading hit Genesis 25 and 26.  The stories involve Isaac and Rebekkah, and their sons Esau and Jacob.  It's Abraham's son (Isaac) and then his grandsons.

A couple of things hit me today.  Isaac is told to stay in the land of Israel, even though there is a famine.  He could have went to Egypt where there were supplies and food, but God said to stay.  So he does, even though there is a famine.  God multiplies his money and family, and then blesses his crops.  While there is a famine.  But then, he has conflict with the people around him, because they are jealous of him being blessed.  So, he sent away with his crew.  As they try to find a new place to settle, every time they get to a well, someone argues with them about whose well it is.  Instead of fighting, Isaac moves on, until finally he hits a well and no one fights with him about it.  Who cares, right?  Think about it a bit.  The famine, the crops, and the well are all of the needs of life.  It equates to our jobs, homes, food, bills, and money.  Same idea.  Isaac is in trouble with his needs.  They are going to starve.  God says stay put and trust me.  Don't fix it yourself, but trust me.  He does.  God blesses him.  Then, because God took care of him, it causes conflict.  His obedience cost him in his relationships.  He moves on, without causing problems, and again faces issues of need (water).  Continuing to be a peacemaker, God provides.  How often in life when we need something do we simply devise a plan to fix it and move on, without ever asking God?  That would have been like Isaac moving to Egypt.  Problem solved.  But God had different plans, and different blessings for Isaac.  Do we miss the same types of blessings when we don't stop and ask God what we should do?

Secondly, Isaac's kids.  Geesh.  Esau is this all guy, hairy, drives a truck with a gun rack, shoots everything in sight, makes quick decisions, and let's his temper guide him type of guy.  Jacob stays home with mom, would rather cook than hunt, and is always trying to leverage things to go his way.  Parenting those two?  What a nightmare.  Both are seen as kind of jerky.  But God still uses them to accomplish his plans.  The parents screwed them up, both boys did their own things, yet God worked in and through them.  It's so good to know that none of us are past God's dreams and His reach.

The stories of this family are like a weird, but true, soap opera.  I encourage you to take some time and read them for yourself.  And then ask, where am I in this story?

Normal Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be....

Today I read through Genesis 22-24.  There are three interesting stories in there.  The first one is very well known, about Abraham taking his son Isaac to offer as a sacrifice to God, and God stopping him.  Abraham's faith becomes what saves him, and God promises to bless him.

Then his wife Sarah dies.  Abraham has to buy property to bury her, and is able to do so even though people didn't normally sell property very much at that time.

Finally, Abraham sends a servant back to his home land to find a bride for Isaac.  The servant goes back, and God provides Rebekkah for Isaac through a series of small miracles, and they are married.

I look at these three, and begin asking "What is God trying to teach us from these stories?  What's the point?"  I think there are a couple of things.   One, God is proving that He keeps His promises.  He told Abraham that HE would make a nation out of Abraham's family.  Abraham wouldn't do it, but He would.  And so, He provides for the families needs, comforting them in death, and providing the wife who is going to lead this new family / nation.  God is proven to keep His promises, even when He has to go to what we would consider great lengths, and use impossible means to make it happen.  He is faithful.  So what promises does He make to us?  He will never leave us.  If we live life His way, He will care for us and bless us.  He will give us wisdom when we ask for it.  He will give us peace in the middle of storms.  He promises all of these things, and He has proven Himself faithful.

Secondly, nothing Abraham does is "normal".  He lives very, very differently than the people around him, even if it means offending people.  He is willing to trust God by sacrificing his miracle boy.  He doesn't accept the gift offered, but instead pays for the tomb.  He doesn't choose a wife from the local girls, but sends hundreds of miles away for a wife sight unseen.  These things weren't, and aren't, normal.  But He does them.  There is simply no way around the fact that if we want to follow God's ways, it will look different and weird to some people.  But it's because they have accepted destructive ways as "normal".  And we aren't built to live destructive lives.  We are built to follow God.  We have to redefine normal, and follow Him.  What are you being called to do that doesn't look "normal"?  Why are you doing it?