June 3 - Day 10; Lev 26 - Numbers 7:89

I'm recording this blog posting from my desk while on my lunch break at work. I was reflecting on my role as a leader in my company and in my home as I read today's reading. I find myself often in conflict between my responsibilities as a husband, father and employee. There always seems something that seems to be dropped or out of balance.

In my role as a manager one of the challenges I was facing today was how do you measure success? And all too often in business it is measured by a number. So today as I close out Leviticus (the instructions for the priests) and enter Numbers I see God's hand in helping us understand the relationship of obedience and numbers. In Lev 26, we see both God's telling Moses the rewards He has in store for the Israelites if they choose obedience to the Laws and decrees and also telling Moses the consequences of disobedience.

God has just made some very serious promises here to the Israelites. But how will they know on what side of the promise they are? Who is judge and jury of this? And ultimately we see God answering that by leading into the book of numbers. Obedience is measured in the "numbers." God has set up the rules... and now they must decide if they want to obey.

Now please don't read this posting wrong. I'm not suggesting that obedience always results in material blessing or increasing of the numbers. Certainly God can and has done that in the past. But as God judges obedience He's concerned not only with the group average, but the individual score.

God does keep individual scores. He shows that to us in the opening section of Numbers. He instructs Moses and Aaron to take a census. It is important to know who is where. God knows at all time how many of us there are. Not a one of us is unimportant to Him. He not only knows our number, but He knows where we belong and to whom we've been given. He points out to us in this book as well the importance of family. I was impressed with how he not only counted the people but recorded to which tribe the were a part of. Furthermore, He gave Moses instructions for how to keep the tribes together in their campsites. Family is a primary way in which God creates order in the world today.

Let me draw some applications of my own from this. While man (and my employer) may be interested in the numbers I turn in and they are using this to evaluate success or failure, God is using a different kind of numbers. He knows who I am - out of the whole wide world - He cares about me. I am more than a number to him. He has given me a name and placed me in a tribe. He has given me this tribe and family to help me discover His plan for my life and to walk this journey with. He has given me the responsibility of family to help me help him keep order in this world. He told us in the end of Leviticus what we would get if we obey... and he told us what we would get if we disobey. If I were to judge my success as a leader - as a God follower- in relation to the promises He made what score would I give myself? Do I see more blessings or curses in my life. He is letting me choose to obey or not. So I cannot complain if life is not the way I would want it, because in all likelihood, I'm not completely obedient to him.

I see some even deeper applications here. God laid down the instructions for worship to Moses. 12 times we see the tribes present their offerings to the dedication of the temple in Numbers. 12 times they were exactly the same. To a tribe, the people obeyed exactly as God had commanded. But let me dig and expand a little deeper. It's not written here, but can you imagine some of the conversations that must have gone on behind the scenes. What if you were the person responsible for raising the goats? And the tribe wanted to take your best breeding goat and dedicate it as a sin offering? You'd probably argue a little. :Please take this nice one over here, he's of the same genetics just has the wrong color. Or how about this one over here, he's even better genetics but has a bad leg and can't walk very good." Can you hear yourself arguing about what He's calling you to give up for the sake of tribal obedience? What if it were your sliver plate that they wanted to give away? Now you don't have a matching set. What if it were your whatever...... would you willingly give it? Perhaps in a "family" of sorts, the vote would be cast and you'd be overruled. So the "family" might look obedient but is the spirit of every person in the family obedient to God's instruction? God didn't just record the numbers of the tribe's collective sacrifices and offerings. He started with recording their individual numbers and to which tribe they belonged. God knows if my "tribe" is obedient. He knows whether we've offered the right sacrifices or if we've accepted his offering of salvation. BUT He also knows my individual heart. He knows who I am. He knows if I'm just going through the actions of giving my sacrifices... or if my actions are indicative of a spirit of worship. The danger here is I belong to many "tribes." Is every tribe I belong to obedient to His instruction? My work team, my extended family, my immediate family, my friends, etc.... Then within each of these tribes, what is my heart attitude toward the sacrifice He is asking me to give? When I see it this way, I recognize a great need for repentance in the many tribes I belong to, collectively and individually.

June 2 - Day 9 Lev 14:8-Lev 25:54

When reading this book, I must remember that Leviticus is a book of instructions. Primarily instructions for priests. What is the priest's responsibility? It is to lead the people and more importantly to intercede on their behalf to a Holy and righteous God. I must remember that in the days in which this book was written, Priests were much different than the leaders of our modern churches. Today we have pastors and ministers who lead the people and shepherd them in their relationships towards Christ. In those days Priests were the only ones ordained to perform the rituals and rites that kept the relationship peaceful between a holy and righteous God and an unruly and selfish people.

These instructions seem so detailed and so laborious. Yet that reminds me that God demands holiness and 100% righteousness. To live in His presence is to cast off ALL sin. Literally in Levitical days we see Priests who could loose their life because they didn't follow God's instructions completely. And likewise we see people who lost their lives because they chose to rebel against the practices prescribed by the Priests. I'm sure it would change my actions completely if I were a priest in those days. Not only would I be burdened by the sins going on around me... I would be agonizing over others sins because I know that I might lose my life or God's judgement may be enacted against a disobedient people if they weren't called into a right relationship with Him.

God demands cleanliness. God demands purity. God demands righteousness. He does this because these are His character traits. He cannot tolerate any less. All of His instructions to Moses for the Priests were to set up these rules for cleanliness, purity and righteousness.

This makes me realize how sloppy I've gotten with my Agape lately. I know that I sin and that people around me sin... but how often am I willing to call out the sin and help them pursue righteousness? Not willing to offend, I often ignore the sins of many for the sake of a few. Jesus certainly didn't. As my High Priest, He decided to take care of it once and for all, so that I might not have to pay with my life. The least (and the most) I can do is to make sure others know not that they are lost in their sin only, but that there is an answer... a remedy for their sinful state. His name is Jesus.

In Lev 20:23ff I find the best summary of all of this passage. "Keep my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you will not vomit you out. You must not live according the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all of these things, I abhorred them. But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. 'I am the Lord your God, who as set you apart from the nations.'"

What God was promising the Israelites is true of us today. While he is not leading us as people through the desert literally, He is leading us through the desert of this world. We are a wandering stiff necked people. We stray from His path and deliberately grumble against Him. Yet, He has promised us an inheritance in Heaven. "A land flowing with milk and honey." Yet heaven cannot tolerate sin. We must be holy. We must be righteous. We must be pure. We must be clean, to enter Heaven. If we are not, the land He has prepared for us will "vomit us out". You see dear friends, this world is not about our happiness. It is about "driving out these things" and helping us pursue Holiness so that we might achieve his inheritance.

Won't you let your High Priest intercede on your behalf today so you might achieve Holiness too?

June 1 - Day 8

I must admit as I started Leviticus today I had a bad attitude. I was thinking... "here we go." As traditionally this has not been the most exciting book of the Bible for me to read. I remember going through it in BSF several years ago and I was fascinated how much it pointed toward Christ and the New Testament. Yet, I get lost in what sacrifice is for what and who can eat it and what to do with it.

This time as I was reading it more for the story and less for the symbolism I found myself thinking very similarly to yesterday. There is so much detail here and it is all instructions from God to Moses, how in the world did they ever remember it all. Just like the instructions for the tabernacle we see God telling Moses, and Moses telling the Priests and the priests doing as God instructed. We also see the consequences of doing what God didn't instruct... in the examples of Nadab and Abihu who paid with their life for offering unholy fire.

As I was wrestling with what God was teaching me today a familiar phrase came new to me... Lev 11:44 and again in Lev 44: 45... "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy... therefore be holy, because I am holy."

I must remember at all times God did not call me to be happy. Certainly the priests on their own accord couldn't have been happy killing animals and disposing of guts all the time. Yet, because they served the lord, the recognized that it wasn't happiness God was after it was Holiness. And Holiness demands a sacrifice. In this case, there were multiple types of sacrifices. Is it not any different today? How the world has it all wrong. Many people pursue happiness... and in the process forfeit their holiness. I often pursue happiness and forget that God is not interested in my happiness.... He is calling me to be holy because He is holy and that is the only way I can have true fellowship with him.

A real practical application today. This morning I was awakened at 5:00 on a Sunday by my 3 year old. She was coughing and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm not real happy at 5:00 am anyway but evermore so on a Sunday morning. What made it worse was that the alarm wasn't due to go off until 5:45. Since it was already 5:00 it wasn't hardly worth it to go back to bed until 5:45 and I knew if I slept in beyond that I wouldn't have time today to spend in the Word and praying. Likewise it always seems if I don't prepare myself and seek God's protection for our family on Sunday mornings, Satan attacks our family as we prepare to head off to church... but that is a different story. So here I am at 5:00 grumbling about not being happy... and I read this and realize God could care less right now... He has things He needs to tell me.. and it is all about pursuing Holiness. That certainly got my attention and made my reading much more practical.

Now it is after 10:00 pm on Sunday night and I'm preparing myself for the workday to come tomorrow morning. I certainly don't feel happy about returning to work tomorrow because I know the piles of things I left on Friday afternoon are still there waiting for me. Yet I know that God isn't interested in my happiness. However I choose to pursue Holiness and will seek Him as I end today and start tomorrow because He alone is my hope and strength.

May 31 - Day 7

As I approach the end of Exodus in today's reading I found myself skimming the reading at first. I've read it before and either the stories are familiar or I wasn't finding them that interesting. I stopped and prayed and returned to my reading by asking God to reveal to me what was He trying to express to me in this reading. And there was a lot!

As Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and he was receiving the instructions for building the tabernacle, they were given in such detail. God had only given Moses the stone tablets with the 10 commandments on them but nothing else was written down. So I wrote in the margin of my Bible, "How in the world does Moses remember all of this?" Then as the reading moved on, we see Moses relaying these instructions to the Israelites. And it is nearly identical to the instructions he received directly from God! Then later in the reading we see the Israelites actually building and constructing the tabernacle and the elements for worship. They adhere to the instructions exactly. I was amazed. Somehow Moses had to remember it and be able to instruct others to accomplish this. I was thinking Moses must be quite the man to remember all of this and manage this level of a project! But then something struck me... From chapter 39 on - at least 16 times a phrase is recorded that says "as the Lord commanded," or "as the Lord commanded Moses." 16 times!! At church Gary (our pastor) always says, if it is repeated... it is important! So I started pondering the significance of this phrase. At first I thought perhaps this is just reiterating that God gave Moses these commands on the mountain. Certainly God did command Moses then. Yet, I think there may be something more. Because after Moses received the instructions but before everything was built, scripture also tells us about Moses going to the Tent of Meeting, about God showing Moses His Glory, and how Moses would literally glow after meeting with God.

Moses had established the Tent of Meeting in Ex 33: 7. "Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away..." Some distance away... Moses knew it was important to withdraw from the chaos and meet with God. It tells us that God would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Wow! So while Moses received the commands on the mountain once, he was also meeting regularly with God. I wonder what they were talking about? If it were me, I'd be asking God lots of questions about all these instructions making sure I got them all OK. Regardless of what they talked about, the principle I draw from this is that God's instructions may be given once, but it takes a consistent routine and a deliberate effort to have regular conversation with Him. In this ongoing dialogue, God will reveal to me what He wants me to do in precise detail. Though the task of building a tabernacle seems daunting when looked at in entirety, it is plausible that Moses was meeting with God on only one detail and one decision at a time. "Now what about that Ephod again? Is that a sapphire or a ruby that is supposed to go there? Oh yea, you said it should be an onyx. Thanks for correcting me..." I can just hear this conversation. Application to my life is this - when I look at the tasks God has laid before me or when I ponder my life's purpose and importance it seems daunting. How can I ever achieve all that He wants me to be? By taking them one decision and one action at a time and regularly meeting with My God on that issue I can expect that He will talk to me too. Yet I have to put Him first and put myself in a position - outside the camp - to hear His voice. I must be outside of my selfishness - outside my concerns - outside the distractions and noise of my daily grind. Where is my tent of meeting? Also, I cannot read His Word once (e.g. meet with Him once on the mountain), and expect that I'll retain it all. Yet the more regularly I consume His Word and the more regularly I ask Him about it, the more I'm giving Him a chance to help me prevent putting rubies in the place of onyx.

Second warning I received is from the Golden Calf incident. There are of course the usual applications from this story and I must admit, I know them but do I apply these warnings regularly? Do I have other gods before God? Am I fashioning an idol out of something I have in my life? These warnings beg that I apply them more, but this is not the new warning I received.

Exodus 32:27 says that after Aaron made his feeble excuse for why he allowed this to happen, Moses called everyone together and asked for those who were "for the Lord" to come to him. He then further asked them to become an instrument of God's judgment and kill brothers, friends and neighbors - presumably those who participated in the Golden Calf folly. 3000 people died as a result! No matter how bad things have been in my life and how much I knew someone else was lost in their sin, I can't imagine what it would be like if God told me I had to kill them because of their rebellion towards Him. Now come with me as I try to apply this to today's world. Not the killing of brothers directly, but the fact that if you have any god before God, He will get even. He is a jealous God. The instruments of His judgement are many and may come from areas we might never suspect. How many people today around our society snub their nose at the very mention of God -- let alone placing Him above all else in their life?? How many people let something or someone else become their god or their idol? God has told us from the beginning that this is not just dangerous ground but deadly ground. I see that as more and more people ignore His warnings, His creation is groaning displaying His judgement on a decaying society. The only hope we have is for those in His protection to call sin by its rightful name and ask those lost in their own Golden Calf Folly to repent. To return to Him and acknowledge Him as God. I certainly don't want to be asked to kill anyone I care about (neighbor, father, son, etc.) but isn't that what I'm doing by allowing them to continue to live in their sin without helping point them to Jesus? Who will I attempt to introduce to Jesus today so they can know God as their God?

May 30 - Day 6

Dear God,
You were preparing me for today's reading even as yesterday began. Here in Indiana, we are experiencing some of those "perfect" days of Spring. They came a little later than usual this year and the temperatures are now in the high 70's with the bright blue skies and puffy white clouds. These are the days people write poems about. As I was walking out of my house yesterday morning our dear neighbors were walking past on their early morning walk. I remarked to them how beautiful the day was and then continued on by saying that this was the "perfect day" and I was disgruntled about how it had taken so long for the warm weather to arrive and how much I wasn't looking forward to the really hot sticky days of summer. My dear neighbor responded by saying, "I bet the Good Lord surely gets tired of us." And I knew at the moment I was standing on holy ground and that You had just spoken to me through her.

Today in my reading I'm reminded of how much I'm like the Israelites. Despite the many miracles you revealed yourself through, they continued to grumble. You led them out of captivity and they grumbled. You led them through the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptians. They praised you momentarily but only a few paragraphs below they were grumbling again. Time after time they missed the miracle of your revelation and provision for them because they were so focused on themselves and the way they wanted the world to be. I recognize now that my dear neighbor was just preparing me to identify with how easy it is to praise you when you're giving me what I want, but how slippery it is to start grumbling when your provision doesn't meet my expectations. I miss the miracle of you when I focus on my self.

Secondly I was reminded that you were with them in all circumstances. You provided your pillar of fire and your cloud of covering for them as they wandered through the desert. These served functional physical and spiritual purposes and were a visual reminder that You were the one directing their path. Yet they also came to expect this as an entitlement rather than a blessing. They truly missed you because they thought they deserved You. How often I explain away Your presence in my life rather than celebrating the miracle that it truly is. I can explain away the beauty of the creation because scientifically I understand the chemistry or biology behind it. Yet I miss the miracle that You were the one who created atoms and cells that enabled it all to come to be. Please forgive me.

Throughout this reading you also reaffirmed to me many of your physical qualities.

• You are patient and long suffering. You continued to provide for the Israelites despite their grumblings and lack of respect towards you.
• You are to be feared. Ex 20:20 states that "God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Please help me establish a healthy fear of you.
• You are a God of order. You outlined the commandments. You deigned the instructions and rules to maintaining order. You gave elaborate instructions on the construction of the tabernacle, priestly garments, and elements of worship.
• You are a God of provision. You enabled Moses and Aaron to do things that they wouldn't have been able to do on their own. You provided manna and meat for the Israelites. (Actually this reinforced a point I've made in earlier posts about helping me understand between my needs and my wants. Ex 23:25 states, "Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water." It doesn't say your blessing will be my material gain (or my wants...) rather it says it will be on my needs (my food and water.) Help me realize you provide for all my needs.
• You are an omniscient, all powerful God. You are in control of everything. You tell the Israelites in Ex 23:27ff that you will drive out their enemies. However you won't do it all in one year because the land would become desolate and overrun with wild animals. Even though you could smite all evil in the world with a single stroke of your hand, you are perhaps even using this evil for our benefit because without it we wouldn't know your provision in the way we have the opportunity to today.

How I praise you for who you are and what you reveal to me daily. Help me focus on myself a little less so I can see you a little more today and every day after.

May 29 - Day 5

Today's reading really struck a chord with me for some reason. The words were leaping off of the page and piercing my heart. Overall, I was inspired again by realizing we must first know WHOSE we are before we can understand WHAT we are to accomplish.

This was first impressed upon me as I read about Moses early days. Exodus 2:11 Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and acts in anger to kill the Egyptian. I don't condone the actions that Moses took, but I'm impressed that Moses still felt this much loyalty to the Hebrew people. He was raised as an Egyptian and granted all the benefits of being a kings son. How easily it would have been for him to mentally view himself as an Egyptian. However the small phrase found in verse 11 sticks out to me " . . . one of his own people." He identified with the Hebrews and never lost focus of WHOSE he was first and the privileges he was granted second. This is important to me today as I struggle with what am I supposed to accomplish in this life? Is it what the title on my business card dictates? There is more work there to be done than I can ever accomplish on my own. And if I do accomplish it all, does it even matter? Certainly God has placed me here for a reason but unless I acknowledge that I'm first a Child of God the earthly advantages he's given me mean nothing. I can easily loose my identity in the distractions of this world Lord, help me maintain my focus and my identity in You!

After his calling in the desert through the Burning Bush, Moses returned to Egypt to follow the Lord's calling. Yet here I gain another application of our obedience to the Lord demonstrated through our actions. Moses knew he'd been called to go and he knew it was the Lord who'd called him. Though he'd argued with the Lord about why and what he should say, He still agreed to go. Step one of obedience. However in Exodus 4:24 we see God ready to kill Moses for not having his son's circumcised. What is that all about? I stumbled over this several times. I can't quite understand it, but I think God is revealing that obedience means actions in all areas of his commands. So surely God talked to Moses and told him to Go... but he also talked to all Hebrews through the covenant with Abraham and told them what he expected. Circumcision was the outward sign of their inward attitude. God expects us to obey in all areas of our life. Not just those things that are comfortable for us or convenient for us. Once God saw that Moses was a "bridegroom of blood" the Lord let him alone. I surely feel proud sometimes that I've decided to follow the Lord's calling in my life. However, I also realize that there are times when I've chosen to not obey or not listen to the full commitment God is asking me to make. I've gone with him on the journey outwardly but my inward commitment hasn't resulted in full obedience. Look around us today. How many of us are demonstrating outward obedience without an inward commitment that is piercing to the soul. If we truly were this way, every aspect of our life would be changed and we'd do things not because they were comfortable, but because they were drawing us closer to His Glory.

Exodus 6:9 - God has just reveled his promise to Moses for the Israelites. Moses hastily delivers this to the Israelites himself... but here it states that they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.
I draw two things here for my life...

1. Unless the people around me have the physical needs met, they will be less likely to hear the Spiritual promises that God is revealing to them every day. AND
2. How often do I not hear God's promises because I perceive my needs not to be met? Bringing me back to the definition of a need versus a want. You supply all my needs. Yet it mostly is my "wants" that I choose to let get in the way of receiving your promises. Forgive me, dear Father.

The plagues are one of our children's favorite Bible stories. They like recite the repeated phrase, "let my people go" as it appears in their Children's Bible. When reading these plagues my tendency has been to focus on the hardening of Pharaoh's heart against God. Yet when I read these again today, I started to realize that yes, God did harden Pharaoh's heart but whose benefit was it for? Certainly ultimately it allowed God to reveal his Glory and power. However I started to reflect on the character each successive plague was developing in Moses. Initially upon receiving God's calling in the desert, he tried to explain why he wasn't the right choice. The God took away all of his excuses why he shouldn't go. Then Moses found himself capable but not confident in his ability to represent the Lord. God had to first reveal signs to Moses (a staff turning into a snake, a perfectly healthy hand turning leprous and then being healed.) Moses had to first believe God was all powerful in his own life. Then with each successive plague, God had to help Moses understand that He could not just harden hearts, but also that he was in control of everything. I can almost see Moses' courage and confidence increasing with each successive plague. He was rediscovering God in a whole new light and recognizing what an awesome privilege it is to serve such a powerful God. And God chose Moses personally to accomplish this task. Surely, I may never be called upon to deliver plagues to others. I may never be called upon to deliver slaves from captivity (at least not literally). However, God had chosen me to serve Him and created unique opportunities for me to help set people free from spiritual bondage. These plagues not only strengthened Moses into a fine leader, but they encourage me as well of what an AWESOME and powerful God I serve today.

Finally when Pharaoh did let the people go Exodus 13:18 tells us that the Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. When I first read this, I thought that that meant that as I'm set free from my sins, I should be ready to fight as well because the world will be against me. I'm sure this is part of the application but not all of it. Because, reading on in Exodus 14 I discovered how the Israelites were "trapped" between the red sea and the approaching Egyptians. They began to grumble an realized that the were in dire straits and were ready to serve the Egyptians all over again. (Did they forget that they were "armed for battle?") Then Moses reassured the people not to be afraid. He wouldn't have been able to say this with confidence unless he knew from previous experience that God was in charge of all things. And He encourages them that "the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Ex 14:14) When I read this and contrasted it against Ex 13:18 I realized that we are to be armed for battle but sometimes that means our armor is resting in the Lord's provision for us. As I move into unfamiliar territory following where he is leading me, I must be armed with realizing that my Powerful God is TOTALLY in control of my life. He will protect me... I need only to realize that He is fighting the spiritual battle for my soul all around me as I'm still in Him.

Lord, thank you for opening my eyes to your truths. Now my prayer is that they are coming at me so fast that I'm concerned they'll stay in my head or words on this page rather than being acted out in obedience to you. Help me ingrain these applications into my daily actions so I gain the full benefit of your revelation to me.

May 28 - Day 4

Thank you God for allowing me the privilege of reading your Word today. Though it wasn't all in one sitting I was able to complete the reading and gain new and exciting truths from it. The Living Word is coming new to me as I read these familiar passages in light of my current situations and draw linkages between what you said then and what you are speaking directly to me today.

As I read about these Old Testament saints I realize I am strongly envious of their ability to hear you and sense your guiding. I recognize that not everyone I'm reading about understands who you are and what you are saying, but those Fathers of your chosen people remained humble and obedient. Through that humility you taught them and each successive step of obedience helped them gain the courage to trust you more.

Joseph displayed humility when he was asked by Pharaoh to interpret the dreams. Though he had been in prison for many years for a crime he didn't commit, he chose to help rather than to become bitter for the treatment he'd received. Not only that but he remembered his source of gifting. He replied to Pharaoh, "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." This serves as a great warning to me. How often do I usurp God's glory by negating the gifting He's bestowed upon me? Daily I have the opportunity to interact and influence people. I asked for such an opportunity and God delivered. Yet, daily I plunge into my routines with my own strength and try to rely on my gifting rather than the SOURCE of my gifting. God has blessed me with tremendous talents and I use them daily. Yet using them is not enough. Using them for His glory and at His prompting enables me not to become depleted or defeated. Lately, I've been feeling defeat. I've not been enlarged and my territory and responsibility is diminished. Help me be more like Joseph and remember not only my gifts but the SOURCE of my gifts as well - that I may again feel your leading and your prompting.

In Genesis 47 during the famine that struck Egypt and the surrounding area I received a warning about helping people in crisis while helping them realize the source of their blessing. Many people were coming to Joseph to purchase grain from the Egyptian storehouse. When their money ran out they begged for more food. Joseph told them that he would sell the grain to them in exchange for their livestock. When the livestock ran out, Joseph told them he would sell them the grain for their land. Then in exchange for seeds Joseph contracted the people to return 1/5 of their crop to Pharaoh. How easy it would have been for Joseph to give the people exactly what they asked for? They wanted a handout. He could have simply provided them with the grain out of mercy. It seems almost cruel, but Joseph made them pay for the handout despite their dire circumstances. Yet he did it in a way that helped them maintain their dignity AND caused the to continually recognize the source of the blessing. I as God's child must realize the SOURCE of a blessing as well as the blessing itself. If I do not, the blessing becomes an entitlement and soon my pride creeps back in. Look at our world around us today. How many people have forgotten the SOURCE of our blessings. The government provides us with many benefits as citizens. God provides us with many benefits as citizens of Earth. Yet on both accounts we are guilty of usurping the glory intended by these blessings because we fail to acknowledge the source and view them as an entitlement. Who am I that I should be called both a citizen of this great nation as well as a child of God? Help me always acknowledge YOU as the SOURCE of my blessings.

Genesis 50:19 - After the death of Jacob, Joseph's brothers were afraid that he would exact revenge on them for their harmful acts against him. They pleaded for mercy and fell down before him offering to be his slaves. I extracted two learnings from this example. The first is that God's Word always comes true. In Joseph's early life he had a dream that showed him that his brothers would kneel before him. And here it is that the dream has come true. How easily it would have been for Joseph to say "I told you so." And in my humanness, this is probably what I would have said. Instead, I gained a second application... how Joseph chose to respond. Instead of revenge or anger, Joseph recognized His calling and Who had called him. His response was "Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." In challenges or frustrations of this life, I all too often look for how to get even or how to get back at those who've hurt me. I rarely look for the opportunity to bring Glory to God by recognizing WHOSE I am first and WHAT God may have called me to accomplish by allowing me to go through this specific trial or frustration. Lord, Help me apply this to every aspect of my life. . . That I may have eternal eyes to see things in lieu of your plan and not my momentary frustrations.