Joseph and the Midas touch

Blessings Blessings Blessings

3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lordgave him success in everything he did, 4 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. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; Genesis 39:3-6

Do you know people that everything they do seems to turn to gold? Usually we will say that this person is very astute, knows what they are doing, "right place at the right time", etc. Instead of attributing all their success to "luck" ....I am wondering if the reason this person has the "golden touch" is because God is with them.

My husband and I were out to lunch one day and discussing a financial matter of IRA's, (anything finanacial is certainly not our area of expertise). When seemingly out of the sky drops a guys' business card......that parachuting card took us on a journey of financial management with a man, who lives close to God, and is wildly successful. So, by attaching to his coat tails we have also done very well.I want to start to look at sucessful people around me, not just financial success, but also other types of success......I am wondering if they may be a little closer to God??????? In my journey toward God, I want to get closer and closer to him and I may discover more of him by surrounding myself with successful people that attribute their success to him. I think Joseph was like that.

 Do you know anyone like that?

Leah rejected by all but loved by God

Leah....despised and rejected.....from whom salvation comes

There are times when I run acorss something so aptly put, that it fits into where I am at and  I don't want to lose it. This is one of those situations. This article moved me to tears, it wan't about the patriachs, or the lovely women, or favored sons....it was about the woman no one wanted....the lowly one. Her father pushed her out, her new husband didn't want her, her sister was probably angry with her, but .........God loved her. He understood her pain and cared for her.     This is the really crazy part for me, I just always assumed that Jesus came from Jacob and Rachel, and thereby Joseph.....even though I knew He was from the tribe of Judah........he didn't. He came from the unloved and unwanted. The one in pain. It is a continual theme in the Bible woven throughout the stories of Jesus.                  It makes me love God more.

http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2006/march/leah.html?start=2

Being vigilant about vultures

…10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.…

As I was reading I was thinking to myself...."I wonder why this snippet of driving vultures away is in the Bible, because it just really didn't seem important". But, as I began to think about I did pull a couple thoughts away from it......First, after Abraham laid out the sacrifice (according to God's exact specifications) he could have left....all was done, but he didn't. I thought that was interesting....he waited on God. In fact he stayed the night there waiting. Even when we think our work is done.....God needs to give us His benediction. Next, it points us to Christ's sacrifice, as do all OT sacrifices, His blood was shed, and we need to defend His sacrifice from any vultures. They can come in any form....maybe in ways we don't expect, but if you are watchful the vultures will come. So, be vigilant and wary and don't allow anyone or anything to spoil the sacrifice of Christ, or your gifts to God.

So, my takeaways are this: 1. Wait in peace on God and 2. Defend your faith.

Abraham "Blessed are the Peace makers"

"Blessed are the peacemakers" True.  True.
Abraham was the perfect example of a peacemaker.....he allowed Lot everything....all the cards. Lot took it all and ran....to the lushest spot. Abraham gave Lot first choice; putting Lot first above himself although he was the elder. He allowed for the probability that the land he would receive would be "less than" Lot's. For the sake of the family he was willing to do that! By doing this he became the peace maker in the family, and in this situation.....which already had experienced some turmoil.
I also found it interesting that after Lot was was gone............God came to Abraham and said...."Ok you are going to get it all" Blessed are the peacemakers....literally! I also thought it interesting that God told Abraham to " Go, and walk through the length and breadth of the land...." There are constant references in the Bible to walking......Enoch, Jesus, God in the garden, etc. etc. (Guess I had better head out for a walk.) He doesn't just  "tell" Abraham.....Abraham goes out and physically "feels" the land. "Feels" his blessing. I like that thought of "feeling" God;s blessings.

Our own lives reflected on the Bible's pages....

One thought I've been having as I have been going through this study.....I am wondering if we can't apply the entire Bible to each of our lives......deeper than the literal verses...like "go and sin no more". I understand  that, I am just wondering if there isn't something about each and every story that reflects out own lives. For example, Eve taking the apple...I search my soul to say what would I have done? I think I probably would have taken the apple also. Or, am I any different from Cain? If my brother was showing me up; and I got extremely angry and through I could get away with it would I do any differently?Haven't I already been there in my anger?  When God sent him into the world to roam, and he was scared....would I have done any differently than to plead for some special, egocentric consideration? 

In my reading I am trying to take this particular lens that somehow the Bible is also able to parallel not only my life but the lives of each and every one of us. 

Bless us Father as you continue to make revelations through your word!

Built and called

New International Version
and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.Gen 13:4

"Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well."
Abram built and called on the name of the Lord. So did his son, and his son after him. In Abram in may have been to offer thankfulness to God for protection on the journey, or out of Egypt. It also may have been simply to renew his praise to God at a place where God appeared to him.
Don't you wish God would appear to you? Maybe we need to build and call.


Lord, teach us to build that which is pleasing to you.....and then to call on you for praise and blessings!

adam and Golgotha

To Adam are ascribed Ps. v., xix., xxiv., and xcii. (Midr. Teh. v. 3; Gen. R. xxii., end; Pesiḳ. R. xlvi.; see Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." ii. 337 et seq.). His body, made an object of worship by some semi-pagan Melchisedician sect, according to the Christian Book of Adam, was shown in Talmudic times at Hebron, in the cave of Machpelah (B. B. 58a, Gen. R. lviii.), while Christian tradition placed it in Golgotha near Jerusalem (Origen, tract 35 in Matt., and article Golgotha). It is a beautiful and certainly an original idea of the rabbis that "Adam was created from the dust of the place where the sanctuary was to rise for the atonement of all human sin," so that sin should never be a permanent or inherent part of man's nature (Gen. R. xiv., Yer. Naz. vii. 56b). The corresponding Christian legend of Golgotha was formed after the Jewish one.(http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/758-adam)

God is a God or order and reasoning....so with that I believe that the Christian  tradition makes full sense.....It makes sense that man was made out of the very earth where Christ would come for redemption. We may not know all God's ways.....but that doesn't mean they know make sense. It is a beautiful picture of the redemption that the very dust from which we comes is a picture of the glory and redemption to come. Amen!

"I will see it and remember"

Genesis 9:8-17

New International Version (NIV)

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Two things struck me with this particular passage....the first, was that God made this covenant with ALL livings things....not just the people. I thought that was very interesting....God is still caring for His creation. He loves all the animals/birds/insects He created.

The second thing I noted was that this covenant doesn't depend on me or the people of the earth remembering this promise...no matter what God remembers it. Whenever the rainbow appears He will see it and remember it.....it's not dependent on me, He's got it handled.

Torah

Ok I admit this is a jump out of my sequence of following the Bible....but aI found this quote on the Torah and loved it so I am posting simply as a place to store it.




"This explains the teaching of our sages that when G‑d spoke the Ten Commandments at Sinai, His voice had no echo. For an echo is normally created when a sound meets with a substance that resists it. The Torah has no such echo. Every object in the universe is saturated by its message. There is nothing off which it could ricochet. For the Torah is not an imposed reality, but the very DNA of the world."(Chabad.org)

patience and thankfullness

5/24/14



Pretty simple thoughts today....
1. Do you realize that Noah was 500 years old when he started the Ark?
2. Do you realize that God gave the world....a 120 year opportunity to turn it around?(120 years???????) Remember how he gave Cain a chance to turn it around?
What does your call to "turn it around" look like? If nothing else....this whole story talks about God's patience and His deep desire to call us back to Himself. Even today...He still desperately wants you back into relationship.

3. Did you know that Noah and his family sat in the Ark for 7 days before the flood came? How crazy would you start to feel on day 4 or 5? What do you think his kids were saying? Or his neighbors? Or Noah himself? How long would Noah stay in there before he would say to himself  "Ok this is crazy, we can't live in here forever......Everybody out....If you start to feel rain, come running!" but he didn't, he didn't know how long it would be, but he trusted.  What does that say about God....that he waited a week before He started anything? (Hmmmmm maybe His time isn't my time). Do you think his whole family came up to him one at a time and said......."I'm sorry Dad...I went along with all of this because I love you.....but I never really believed....until the rain started...I really thought you were plumb crazy...I'm sorry."

4. Do you realize that actually Noah and his family were in the Ark (with all those animals) for about a year if you add all the time up...not just 40 days? How crazy would it be on month 3? Month 7???? I wonder what they did with all that time? Maybe fed animals.....but there probably weren't any books. Maybe all the walls of the Ark were intricately filled with carvings? Maybe the spun a lot of wool?

5. How would it have felt to step out onto new earth? and to know you were the only humans alive? To look at your brothers and sisters-in-law....and to know that from you would come the rest of the world, would you been in awe of the responsibility?


and you do you know what the very first thing Noah did when he got out of the Ark was?



May God in His grace give you His patience.......

call on the name of the Lord

A little thought today....

Gen 4: 25"...At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord."





I am thinking that prior to this God actually walked and talked with people....we know that he made or sewed  clothing to help Adam and Eve with their nakedness....so He was still there physically. But, after Adam and Eve had Seth and Seth had a son Enosh....there must have been so much evil around that God removed himself physically from the world. So, they would make offerings and "call on the name of the Lord".
I wish he was still here physically. I anticipate His return.
  

why didn't God kill Cain?

Genesis 4:9

New International Version (NIV)

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God gave Cain a chance to repent.....He could have walked up and asked "why did you kill Abel?", but didn't He gave Cain a choice. He allowed grace. I would have blown Cain away.......
God then tells Cain he will be a restless wanderer on the earth......really how awful to not only have the very earth that you once worked now reject you, your source of pride, and then to have no home. No family. No get togethers. No nothing. No place to lay your head, always on the move. I would have hated that life.
 "Lord, thank-you for the comforts of home."

But Cain is still worried about his own skin, and getting killed.....not about what he had done.

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden.
 God still cares for Cain's life. I am amazed by this fact...and yet am I any different? Are my sins any worse? Through my anger have I not committed murder many times over?

In my own way I too am a wanderer like Cain, and long to be back in God's presence. I used to hate him now I recognize myself in him.
 "Lord, thank-you for your grace and protection."

Eve.... flesh and bone

sometimes my thoughts are best captured by another....Please see this entire post at: GotQuestions.org


http://www.gotquestions.org/Adams-rib.html

Question: "Why did God use Adam's rib to create Eve?"

In the center

 In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In the middle.....in the center....smack dab in the center of where I would move and work and wander every day.It is in the very center of everywhere you live and work. If Adam and Eve could eat of any tree, and didn't choose The Tree of Life, I wonder why.....quite frankly it would be the first one I would run to. Especially because it was in the center....it obviously has some importance.  THE TREE OF LIFE (imagine this in a deep booming voice)         I want to try it now!                But they didn't........................  I can't for the life of me imagine why.

In the middle......was also the tree of of the Knowledge of Good and Evil....This one I can understand a little easier.....it would or could be something scary to tamper with. I think I could stay away from that one, (especially since it came with a warning). 


Maybe God was telling us that in the center of the world.......is Life. Pure, unadulterated life.......without knowing about all the crap of good vs evil. So, we were warned to keep away from that knowledge and move in and around life.  Life is good and desirable, not a situation to be tolerated. Someday we will live as we were meant to. You will find me at the tree in the middle.....eating fabulous fruit!

Make, Form, Plant

Gen 2: 4-10

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dustof the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God is active. 

God could have spoken.....and had it all "be", but he didn't.

 He chose to..............  make it, form it, plant it. What does that say about God? Well, it tells me He doesn't sit on his butt in a rocking chair! It tells me He enjoys making and creating......and gardening! He is a maker, a creator, and even a gardener, a florist, a landscape designer, a sculptor,and more. 

So, some things I "get"....like clouds, and coral, and water droplets......but then I look at the picture above and I wonder....just... what was He thinking? There are some wierd animals/insects/mushrooms etc out there in the world. If He is the Ultimate artist, and they are usually considered to be people that are a little "different" from the rest of us.......He must be WILDLY different, and what do I think about a God like that?

I like it!

I like having a God that "does" stuff.....it almost makes me a little excited for heaven....no way will we be sitting around on clouds! There are so many things I want to learn to do that to me that will be heaven!

What about having a God that is "out" there? Well, I think that if we are going to be around together for eternity then having a God with multiple dimensions will be pretty entertaining and exciting. I can wait to see what He has in store!!!!!!! 

I will bet He likes to cook too! and.......

Day 6 Muddy Animals?

So, today I mostly have questions........ The first is Gen 1:24 "And God said, ' Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock,creatures that move upon the ground, wild animals, each according to it's kind." (NIV) So,if I were standing there as this happened...what would I see.....would the earth boil and roll and begin to birth out all of the different animals? What a sight that would have been....watching the birth of each animal species.....rising up out of the mud, covered still in their muddy placenta's. Wallowing around for a bit, walking down to the water for their first birth bath. Cleaning themselves off, and helping each other wash the last of the earth off. I am not saying that is what happened...I am just saying ....what if?

My second question is verse 29    "...'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." Just wondering if anyone has cataloged every tree on the face of the earth (I think so).....and do we eat ALL of them as food, or could we? Are there poisonous trees? and have they always been that way?

Last verse 30 " And to all of the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground---everything that has the breath of life in it----I give every green plant for food. And it was so."
Ok so here I am wondering about carnivorous animals.....is that just due to evolution and sin in the world? Should they all really be eating just green plants? Should we?




Someone once said "if you can answer a question with just one word it wasn't a very good question" Hopefully the questions here can create a dialogue for you....
Peace,

Day 5 Barac/Blessing

4.11.14

I was struck today by the fact that God created the birds and the fish.....and then blessed them.   " God blessed them and said 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." This is the first part of creation that is blessed. So, exactly what is a blessing.....?

The blessing definition is to speak audibly words in the power of God's name that bring spiritual, physical, and material tangible benefits to an individual's family or nation that continue from one generation to the other.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/blessing-from-god.html

Which would mean that even today, so removed from that creation day birds and fish are still experiencing the effects of having that blessing spoken to them. God cares for his creatures....even the sparrows! It is amazing....and how much more so that He cares for me, quite humbling. God blessed me with a son when I was past the "normal" age for children. After experiencing infertility for 19 years I feel as though I experienced the desert and came through to his blessing. I wonder how we are still experiencing that blessing?

The Hebrew verb for bless is 'barac' with its noun 'berekah', which means bowing down (someone kneeling down); in fact, it shows God bending over to make us prosperous. The New Testament word for the same is 'eulogeo', which means to speak well of a person.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/blessing-from-god.html  
I revel in the thought of my God bending over me to bless me....what a personal feeling, what an awesome God. It is part of the reason I am a Christian....I don't see that in other religions. Be at peace today with the thought that the Creator of the Universe is still bending over you to bless you!


Barac!

TED talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_hidden_miracles_of_the_natural_world?utm_content=awesm-publisher&awesm=on.ted.com_b07gf&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=on.ted.com-facebook-share&utm_source=facebook.com

This is a great video detailing what I was talking about yesterday....makes you think about the "stuff" we don't even see....so many layers to our world!

underlying purpose

4.9.14
There have been days when I have wondered about the sun burning up or simply ceasing to exsist  ....but then I remember the fourth day of creation.....and I am simply reminded again that God  set the moon and sun there with a purpose. So, my daily bread for today is that His purpose is not yet fulfilled.....and I rest in that thought.
The moon sun, and stars were placed there....not just for looks but for a purpose, which makes me wonder about all  the rest of the "purposes" out there. When I teach my students about pollination we look for the "purposes" in the plant parts.....why is top (stigma) sticky? Why are the petals colorful, etc. If we are His crowning glory, each part of our beings also have purpose. I know about the book "A Purpose Driven Life", but I think here I am even thinking smaller......why was I given a propensity toward certain behaviors? Why is my hair stick straight (when God knew I love a little curl) He must have a reason......If I accept he is a God of perfect intellect, reason, and  .............            underlying purpose. It makes me think about everything differently, it gives me another lens.
May God bless all of your purposes today....

Seed=Life

As in everything in life plants can go one way or another.......they can go off and become invasive or they can become a source of life for us.  For me it is always a holy experience when a seedling emerges.....a special time in life when promise/potential is laid out.

Day 4 ..."Let the land produce vegetation: , seed bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."(NIV) God didn't have to create plants with seeds in them, but there is something special about holding an apple and knowing that in your hand is     VAST POTENTIAL.           I love the thought of that............... and I am sure our multi faceted God thought of that also. In side of each of us is the "seed" of potential, and each of us will produce "according to their various kinds" or "gifts".  Cool. Again, I am struck with the complete order of God.....it may look disorganized but underneath there is so much order. 

You know seeds can germinate even after years of laying around, I think God also knew that when he created them.......

Go Grow,

just me

Between waters

4.5.14

Ok
so this round through the Bible I am going to journal/blog. I think it will take me the rest of my life.....but that is ok.


"And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." Instantly my mind goes to where else is there an expanse between waters? The Red Sea.....and what have we learned from the Red Sea?....that God carries us over on dry ground, in safety. All the trouble that is following us doesn't touch us...
We live in that expanse between the waters...we aren't living under the water, nor do we live above....but in the expanse, where it is dry, and safe because that is where God has us on dry ground. No trouble can eternally touch us. I recognize that this world is not perfect ...yet.      In a deeper sense we are living in the expanse between also.....between what was (past history) and will be to come. It's  pretty scary here sometimes and we want to turn back toward whatever safety we came from, but rest in peace knowing it is ok.
Ok
over and out....
Laura
ps Can you think of any other examples of "between" the waters?

...just wondering about the start

....in the beginning......""God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." (NIV)  I am wondering if this was separation of Himself from Satan and the fallen angels? We know from Revelations that there will be no more dark/night, and he didn't create the sun and moon until the fourth day.
Just a question for today...



(http://www.kenbushe.co.uk/html/last_light_-_sidlaws.html)
You know that is why I love the Bible so much....most books I read and I am done with....but this one always amazes me no matter how many times I read it!

God's Peace