How far are you willing to go?

James 1:2-4 “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

This morning I woke up to the TV singing some very random music.  I asked my dad from the bedroom what in the world they were watching.  He said, “Some Joseph: King of Dreams thing.  It put the baby to sleep.”  If you don’t know the story of Joseph, let me give you a short recap.  Joseph had ten older brothers and one younger brother.  He was despised by his older brothers because he was special to his father as one of the youngest sons.  To make a long story short, the older brothers did away with Joseph by selling him as a slave to travelers headed to Egypt.  The older brothers made up a story about how Joseph died to their father.  Joseph went through many trials in the years to follow, including being in jail for something he didn’t do.   But, God blessed his patience and faith.  Through a favor he did for the pharaoh he was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt.  There’s much more to the story which can be found in Genesis starting at chapter 37.  How many of us would still hold true to our trust in God if we had ten older brothers hate us and then sell us off to strangers headed to a distant land, far away from our family?  Joseph was only seventeen at the time.  I don’t see very many of us doing that, especially at that age.  We have become spoiled in what we expect from God.  We have everything we need and still it’s not enough to us.  We expect to get everything we want, too and if we don’t get it we think our life is crap.  Now, I’m not saying God won’t bless us with some things that we want.  He loves to shower us in all kinds of blessings, but His first focus is our needs.  Can you imagine going from being in a stinky jail for years and then all of a sudden one day becoming so high up that you’re like the president of the United States?  Hard to see, yet that’s what faith can do.  

Genesis 39:2-4 “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.”

Practice what you Preach

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

I love those moments when you’re super upset and you say something that blatantly applies to you just as much as the other person you’re talking to.  During a band meeting, I sat and listened to the rest of the band members starting to get into an argument.  I finally got flustered and yelled over everyone that they just needed to calm down.  Clearly, I needed to calm down as well.  I know this moment isn’t uncommon to any of you, the moment when you say something and then feel completely ridiculous but you still attempt to keep your pride intact by acting like what you just said didn’t apply to you.  God wants us to preach His word but at the same time He wants us to put into action what we preach.  We’ve all heard the phrase, “Practice what you preach.”  This couldn’t be truer.  God asks us to shine His light and be an example of who He is to those around us.  If our words contradict our actions then we’re making it nowhere except making ourselves look like idiots.  Don’t say it unless you can prove it with your own life first.  

James 1:22-24 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Breathing Deep

Psalm 36:7 “How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.”

Not too long ago I was having one of those days where I was whining about everything.  My mom would ask something like, “Would you like ketchup with your eggs?”  I would reply with something like, “I’m not very hungry, if I eat it will probably just make my stomach gross.”  Yeah, that bad and it got worse.  I was feeling very alone that day and decided to leave for work early just to have extra drive time to listen to music.  I got in my car and took a deep breath and God in that moment made Himself clear to me.  The weather was beautiful so I breathed deep again, closed my eyes, and smiled letting His love pass over me.  Sometimes we just need to stop in our own pity party and breathe in God’s wonderful presence.  He’s always there to offer it.  Instead of wallowing in anything we can think of to feel sorry for ourselves we should “wallow” like a happy pig in the thick love God has to offer.

Song of Solomon 2:4 “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near him].”