Joseph's Way

Genesis 37: 26-28

Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed. 28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Forgiveness is not blind. It's does not happen at the spur of the moment. It's a process. Let us take example and inspiration from Joseph. Why and how did he forgive his brothers?

His brothers had sinned against Joseph and God. But God had a different plan. He wanted to use Joseph for ensuring continuity of his family. Think about this: If Joseph had been left alone to be a shepherd, would he have ever become the Egyptian second in command? Probably not. Would the race have survived? Probably not. But God does not work on probabilities. Thats not his way. 

Joseph forgave his brothers, after their true repentance. The Agape Bible study explains this so well and the following points are taken from here https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/Genesis/Lesson_18.htm

"Joseph put his brothers through three tests -

"The first test was the brothers' three-day imprisonment which was intended to cause them to come to terms with their sin against him.

The second was a test of their willingness to rescue their brother Simeon by bringing their brother Benjamin to Egypt and retuning the money Joseph put in the sacks of their pack animals.

The third was a test of their willingness to sacrifice their freedom for the life of their youngest brother, Benjamin".

Only after these were successfully completed, did real forgiveness set in because Joseph was sure that true repentance had set in.

That was Josephs way. 

Forgiveness, while being at the core of the Christian faith, is not to be given away like bread. It is to be nurtured so that all ill feeling is got rid of completely, from both sides. 

Evil will happen. But if we look, and ask for Gods help, we can find good in evil. And when we do that, we can either continue to hate the perpetuator of that evil or choose to find the good, praise God and forgive, after we are sure that there is true repentance and sorrow. If we don't find repentance, it is still possible not to hate since we derived good from their evil act.

Pride and Prejudice: Pastor Rajiv's Mid-week message

 

Diligent Planning

                                          

One of the four pillars of management is planning. It is also a natural outcome of living - we make plans for every minute of our day. For our careers, our families for every aspect of our life, we have a plan. We, each also have a certain vision for our life as well, which we plan to achieve.

Some plans fructify into the desired result, some don't and some actually have the opposite effect. Then we quickly alter our plan to cater to the new realities we face.

What we don't realize is that God, our creator, also has a plan for us and one which does not change (that's the scary part). Therefore, the degree of success of our plan lies in its proximity to Gods plan because we all have a God given purpose and which needs to be fulfilled. End of the day, God is NOT a rubber stamp! 

Incidentally, the word “plan” appears 205 times throughout the books of the Bible. It begins with and concludes with Revelation; such is the importance accorded to that word. 

Proverbs 21:5 says - 

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

So what is this diligence it talks about? 

When we make our plans, we ought to avail ourselves of His wisdom and seek His purpose. It may be a good idea to seek His guidance and help through prayer. For sure He will let us know whether our intended plan is in sync with His will for our life.

The big question is this: How do I know God's will? Well for starters, we need to build a relationship with Him. Christianity is all about relationship rather than just religion.

Secondly we must learn to be observant. We are not animals who go through life either wild or being led. We are humans, with a free will and a mind of our own. The power of observation is one of God's gifts to us and we must use it. God often clearly demonstrates His plan for our lives by lining up circumstances in obvious ways. And He also shows us what His will is NOT for us to do in that same way.

Lastly, God's plans maybe and probably will be tough, but they are never evil. If we believe in Him, and have faith, we must remember that. Its easy to trust when the going is good, the real rest comes when things get tough. Yet, for us to be successful, we must trust! 

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

A SIMPLE REQUEST

 

Starting with 12 followers 2000 years ago, Christ has a following of more than 3 billion people today. This is unprecedented growth.

So how did it happen?

The simple answer is sharing. Sharing the spiritual and the physical blessings, sharing Gods word and sharing strife.

And that is our mandate even today.

Sharing God's word doesn't always mean evangelizing to people who don't believe in Him. Sometimes, it means getting together with other believers and strengthening each other as well. 

Today, we have one simple request to make of you, our reader: participate with us and share these posts in your Christian friends circles. 

“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.”

Someone, somewhere needs to hear God so please help us to spread the word as far and wide as possible.

God Bless you. 

On Decision Making

 

Decision making is a much debated and much learnt subject with courses and books to guide us in our professional development. We are told there are multiple building blocks to this Decision making process, and which qualify the quality of our decisions.

But one building block no one really talks about is the state of our mind when we are taking decisions. If we do so in a state of panic and fear, we are bound to make mistakes as our analytical abilities goes down.

Psalm 37 verse 5 gives us the key to making good decisions when it says Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. In addition to committing, we also are given multiple resources, like wisdom, peace and understanding.

James 1:5, says If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Proverbs 1:5, NIV let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.

Proverbs 11:14, NKJV Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Success or failure usually depend on the choices we make in life. And the importance of correct decision making is something we can’t underestimate, since finally, we all have to live with the choices we made. So better make the right one and the wise one.

Today if you are facing a crucial decision, why not ask God for advice and counsel and the wisdom to understand your choices and choose the right one.

Bloom & Grow where you are Planted

 

Flowers bring beauty and serenity to our lives. On every occasion we present flowers to our friends and family, to bring cheer to the day. Think about how a flower, becomes a flower and presents its beauty to the world and there is so much we can learn from it.

Think about the dandelion. Dandelions are both fast growing and incredibly hardy. It can spread both by seeds and by new shoots from roots or root segments. The seeds are easily blown around by wind and will quickly spread into adjoining downwind areas. It needs no special treatment yet produces 13 benefits for humans. 

But what is more important is this:  a flower blooms where it grows. The dandelion does not say I will grow here but bloom there. It does not put conditions to its blooming. It simply shares its beauty and its scent, wherever it is, and goes wherever the wind takes it. It does not put-up conditions for sharing its goodness.

But we people do, don't we? "I wish I had more money so I could feed the hungry". "I wish I had more time, to visit the sick, or the widows, or lonely people around me". Or simply, "I can't come to Church because I don't have my car this Sunday". 

Sounds familiar? Sure, it does, we do it all the time! 

 Let us remember some key instructions - 

..... ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

The Challenge of Agape

*Image taken from Wikipedia

Adapted from the KJV devotional.

"But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you"; Matthew 5:44 KJV

Easier said than done! What does it take to forgive someone and love them despite of what they have done to us? 

The answer lies in Agape, Greek agapē, in the New Testament, which is the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. In Scripture, the transcendent agape love is the highest form of love and is contrasted with eros, or erotic love, and philia, or brotherly love. How do we apply agape in our lives? 

"When Jesus says to love your enemies, does that mean allowing them to continually abuse you, maltreat you, or claim access to your life? Jesus Christ specifically gave us healthy tips on how to show God’s agape love to our enemies: to speak blessing upon them when they curse us, to pray for them that use us and persecute us, and to do a good thing for them when they are in need, even if they hate us.

We can powerfully show God’s love with healthy boundaries toward our enemies. Loving them doesn’t mean allowing them to step all over us or abuse us. (But it also means we do not retaliate)." 

Sometimes saying “no” and setting boundaries is a struggle because we feel guilty of being unloving towards others. But boundaries often equal agape love and we must find the courage to set such boundaries. Agape also sets up a boundary to their negativity to us and opens a channel of our love to them. Thats the only way one can overlook hurt or insults thrown at us and continue to love. 

"But, when your enemy is in need, don’t hesitate to offer help. When your enemy is troubled, offer a prayer and sympathize with their pain. And continue to speak good things about them even if they curse you and say all kinds of negative things. By doing this, it shows that you are truly God’s child! Let God’s agape love saturate you today!" 

"Prayer point: Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me how to love. Thank You for Your words that have so much wisdom in application. As I grow to walk in God’s agape love, especially for my enemies, may my life bring You glory and honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen".