Lessons from the life of Joseph

My pastor preached a good message yesterday morning and drew lessons from the life of Joseph. Joseph’s story is quite amazing and was particularly encouraging to me. Joseph came from a very obscure family. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and was then falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison. Joseph helped people in prison and he was forgotten by all of them when they were released. So now, here is a man who has been forgotten by the whole world. He is rotting in a prison cell. He is forsaken by his brothers and those who he had helped. And through all of this, he had been smeared with an accusation of rape. But above all of this, Joseph rose to become the Prime Minister of Egypt. Looking at it from a human point of view, Joseph was doomed. He had no hope and no chance. How was he able to get to the position that he did? Here are some lessons for all of us:

1. Bloom where you are planted (Be the best that you are wherever you are!).
• What God defines as success and what we define as success are two very different things. We define success as happiness and financial prosperity. But here is Joseph, a slave with no resources, in our eyes Joseph was not successful. But the bible says that as a slave, Joseph was successful at everything that he put his hands to because the Lord was with him (Genesis 39:1-4). As a result he found great favour in the eyes of his master Potiphar and was put in charge of Potiphar’s household and was entrusted with everything that he owned.
• The lesson – If the Lord is with us, we are already a success.
• Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)
2. Don’t become bitter. Become better!
• By all human standards, Joseph had reason to be bitter. After interpreting Pharaohs butlers dream, he asked that he would remember him when he was released. The butler forgot all about him. 2 full years had passed with not so much as even a mention of gratitude from the butler who had been released. Then when Pharaoh had a problem, the butler was reminded of the young Hebrew man in the dungeon (Joseph) who had successfully interpreted his dream. Pharaoh then sent for Joseph.
• Joseph could have come out of prison with this mindset “Oh, now they need me. Well I will let them know just how I feel about being kept in prison.” Joseph however refused to become negative or become a cynic. The bible says that Joseph shaved and changed his clothes (Genesis 41:14) and came before Pharaoh.
• Joseph chose to leave the jail completely behind. Although he was in jail and people had let him down, He did not allow his circumstances to affect who he was.
• We have all met people like this and have often behaved like this ourselves, we want everyone to know what a crappy time we have had. We carry around the stench of our circumstances and affect the mood of every one around us.
• Here is the lesson – Don’t let the smell of prison follow you throughout life.
3. Make friends with your destiny.
• Matthew 5:9
• Destiny is not a solo journey. Were ever you go or end up in life, there will undoubtedly be people. We were created to live in community and peace with others.
• Note: Making peace is not the same as finding peace. Forgiveness takes one person. Conflict resolution takes two. If you have unforgiveness in your heart, the most affected person is yourself.
• The early church had to make peace with the apostle Paul. Before he had his encounter with Christ, Paul (formerly named Saul) killed Christians. Because the early church made peace with Paul, he was able to go on and become perhaps the greatest apostle to ever live.
• Lesson – Be a peacemaker!
4. Be ready
• It’s too late to prepare when opportunity comes.
• You will always be better off serving even if you don’t think it is where you should be serving. It is easier to steer a moving car in the direction it should go, rather than if the car was not moving.
• Joseph was not necessarily gifted as an administrator. This was a skill that he learnt in prison. If Joseph just sat back and did felt sorry for himself and did not work, he would have totally missed the opportunity that came to him.
5. God is bigger than any circumstance
• You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 5:20).
• Look to God at all times. Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing can separate us from Gods love. As believers we are successful through our God, regardless of the circumstances around us.
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6).

That is a summary of the message based on the notes that I took. I hope that you find some help and encouragement from it. You can read Josephs full story from about Genesis 30:24 to Genesis 50:27. I encourage you to read it. So many lessons from life can come out of it. Our God is faithful. We are much loved. God bless you.

Unity in Diversity

I have a quote running through my mind but I do not really know what it means. “Unity in diversity”. I actually think that it is the stance that the Indonesian government took in trying to quell religious violence and protests. Due to human nature it seems that diversity brings anything but unity. People are either afraid of what they do not know, or they are simply instructed to murder those who differ from them (the latter is practised by a group of militants belonging to a particular religion, both will remain anonymous). The first is easier to deal with.

You just need to educate through the media and in our schools. The media does not seem to do the best job in encouraging unity however. They scare the crap out of most people and have us paranoid looking for non-Caucasians dressed in big jackets carrying backpacks on our buses. Why doesn’t the media put the focus on racial issues. Do you know that there are racist groups in Australia right now recruiting in our schools! Young kids are joining nazi and skinhead groups because they find acceptance there. Not because they necessarily hate non-Caucasians. Where is the education there?

Christians… grab these kids before the racists grab them. Show these kids that they are accepted and loved. Show them that there is unity in diversity and that Gods love does not discriminate.

Media… stop inciting fear in our children’s lives and show them unity in diversity. Show them the truth about the refugees arriving in Australia. Show us the reasons why they need to leave their countries. Show us the struggles that we have in common. Australia’s mandate is to bless the nations. Media, catch up. Be a source of light to the naïve and arrogant. Report on truth. Not on fear.

Media… Don’t make the Indonesians stance on drug smuggling seem unfair. The Indonesians have seen what drugs are doing to our nation. They have seen the affects that drugs have had on the US. They are taking a brave stance. Don’t condemn them based on their stance toward morality. They are doing what they believe is necessary to protect their children.

As Christians we know that unity is essential in the body of believers (Ephesians 4:1-6). We know that as brothers and sisters we must love each other as Jesus loves the church. But in humanity let there be unity among everyone. People from different religions, different nationalities, different social groups, different classes. Gods love does not discriminate and neither should ours. Every single human being on this earth shares the same core desires. We desire safety, protection, eternal life (deep down), and most of all… we all desire Love. Do not let ourselves get caught up on the cosmetic differences.

When a suicide bomber blows him self up, it is because he is seeking eternal life and safety. He wants safety for his family culture. He feels that westerners and their “christianity” are threatening their very existence. So they react the only way they know how. Remember that our war is against what is unseen. It is against the principalities that we can not see. The devil and his demons that breed hate among God’s most loved here on earth. Our war is against that realm. Our weapons are not bombs or guns or any weapon made by man. Our weapons are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17). Let us love and accept everyone here on earth. Be gentle as doves but as cunning as serpents. Let us get our hands dirty and stand and fight in the heavenly places. Let us take up our armour and our spiritual weapons (the Word of God) and destroy these principalities of hate and lies. Fight! Fight! Fight!

Gods love is for every single muslim on this earth. Gods love is for every one of every race. Gods love is for the drug smugglers and the executioners. Gods love is for us and for them. God does not desire that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come into the knowledge of Him and His love for them. And I promise that this will one day happen. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14). But we must fight for it. Jesus Saves. He is the only way that broken and sinful man (which we all are) can be made whole and stand before our awesome God in confidence. Jesus took our punishment. He gave us life.

Let there be unity in diversity. God created us all uniquely. He created every people group. I love the diversity of this country. Let’s never lose that. Australia’s culture is being formed now. We are a young nation. What happens now will undoubtedly have a major affect on how our country is viewed in the future. Let us be an example to the world that unity in diversity works. Love one another

@ work

I havn't had time to post lately because I've been quite busy with work. Here is my past fortnight in brief...

• I got engaged to the lovely girl that I have been dating for 4 years.
• I had a health scare, but with prayer support and the blessing of God, it turned out to be a minor issue. Praise God for His faithfullness and thank you to everyone who upheld me in their prayers. Our God is faithful.
• I am planning an engagement party.
• I am being trained to be Sharepoint Portal administrator and K2.NET developer at work. This is very exciting and will open the door to many excellent career opportunities.
  
• Went to Churchtogethor on Sunday night. It was a great night with over 18000 people from different churches in attendance, remembering that we are One body of Christ.
• Right now I am restoring our company portal from Indonesia to our local portal here in Perth.
• I have cut back on coffee during the week but increased my coffee intake on the weekend.
• I got up on the speakers box in Perth city on Sunday before church togethor to tell everyone about our God...
  
• I am attending MC again. I did not want to uproot my fiancee when I am not fully planted @ RV.
  
• And thats all.... GBU all.
  

If you are deceived...

Islamic terrorists. You claim to serve God. You do not serve my God. My God is the God of all LOVE. My God made the greatest sacrifice of all. He gave His son to die for us. Through my God there is no more death but only life.

You murdered another 30 people in Bali on Saturday. Many who never knew God and will now not have that chance. You took their lives. But count yourself blessed that you are still here to receive salvation from the one true God. He will not take your life in return. He only wants your hearts.

How could you kill innocents you murderers. You may argue that no one is innocent, well look at yourself. Do not be deceived. There are no virgins waiting for you. Repent while you still can. God is love and He is well able and willing to remove all of your sins and accept you as a son. To love God means to love people. To hate those who God loves is a sin. You say Allah is great! He is. Allah akbar! But do not be afraid. You believe in God, believe also in Christ. Only Christ can forgive you. He is the One who redeems. He is more than a prophet. He is not God’s son by means of the flesh. He is God’s son by means of the Spirit. Christ was born through a virgin. There was no defilement. God had only pure love for you. He who was rich became poor for you. He who was a King became a servant to all. That is love. That is the nature of God. Test God on this. Ask God to show you the truth. He is faithful.

John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave His only son, so that whoever will believe in Him will not die but have eternal life.”

I do not condemn you and neither does God. The day of condemnation will come. But today is the day of SALVATION. Salvation is for all who will believe.

Love does reign.

Bali

The terrorists struck again. Please lift Bali up in your prayers. Let's stand togethor and hold our neighbour up before God. The Balinese are beautiful people who do not deserve this. I have been hearing stories that are causing me to believe that Gods hand is truly on the nation of Indonesia. God is love and God is life. The God who created us is the same God who paid for our sins through the death of His Son - Jesus Christ. He is definately not a God that encourages people to commit murder.

God bless the Balinese.

Sunday

Watched a message recorded at Hillsong conference 2005. The speaker was Reinhard Bonke. Reinhard is an evangelist.

Since the year 2000, he has seen 38.5 MILLION people come to the Lord in Nigeria. WOW!!! He is a very hot fiery preacher. He told of how certain churches in Germany asked him to stop preaching so loud. I love his response... "How can I pur like a kitten when I see what the devil is doing to the German people. I want to roar like a lion 'JESUS SAVES! JESUS SAVES! JESUS SAVES! JESUS SAVES!' I want the whole the world to hear me roar!" (paraphrased).

Went to church today. There is a very strong sense that revival is about to come. Hearts are expectant. One man from the Solomon Islands testified of an email sent to him yesterday by a pastor in PNG, who last week baptised 1,300 people in one day. That is exciting. If you are a Christian, be expectant. Throw off every thing that hinders and eagerly expect the miraculous.