lessons from Joseph
When I'm not busy with work, I'm currently reading 2 books that refer to Joseph. One is totally about Joseph "God Meant it for good" by R.T. Kendall and "Under Cover" by John Bevere mentioned him in what I read yesterday.
John was talking about how people sometimes say things happen because of disobedience and not because God planned it that way, but because people made wrong choices that's the way things turned out. And that might be true to some degree, but he mentions that when Abraham was obedient to God, God cut a covenant with Abraham that promised that he would be a great nation and that his descendants would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years(Gen 15:13). Not exactly a promise to get excited about!
John also mentions the fact that God could easily have made Israel the provider during the famine that Joseph got them through (on behalf of Egypt) but He didn't.
The reason is clear: God wanted them under Pharaoh. He planned it. You may say 'But Pharoah was like an ancient Hitler. He murdered thousands of them and afflicted God's people with great hardship'. Yes, it is true, but we must remember God's priority is not for us to have the comforts and enjoyments of this world- His priority is redemption! (p.93 Under Cover)
That God's plan is for the whole world to know him. That we don't even almost get it on our own!
I am excited about tomorrow's baptism service. I find them very 'refreshing' even if I'm not the one getting wet :)
Always
The boys are at the Frontenacs game, so I am having a relaxed time updating my blogs. I had a very interesting dream last night about Church and I am looking forward to posting that on my dream blog. Todays posting may be a bit more jumbled because normally I plan out my post but todays is not planned, it just comes as it is.
I thought my post yesterday was pretty in line with Al's sermon today!
Yesterday, I read something that seemed to follow up the My Way/God's Way post. It is from the book
Under Cover by John Bevere:
Do any of us know more than God? Of course we don't! But when we disobey, that is the message we communicate to God and those around us.
Today in Church, I was thinking about something that was frustrating me and it was like I saw two ropes intertwined. The total combination was what was frustrating me, but one of the ropes was white and that part of the rope was from God, but the other rope was dark and that part was not from God. But how do I get rid of the 'not from God' part when it's all intertwined with the 'from God' part?
Brandon made a powerpoint meditation on U2's 40. The first time (at the start of church) I watched it. The second time, I closed my eyes and listened and it was like I could hear God say "I will be with you, always". Through the crap and the mud and the grime and the twistedness and untwistedness, He's there for everyone.
I am excited that next week is a baptism service. I have never been to a baptism service that was not amazing and touched by God. I think it is so precious and so blessed to see people give an outward sign of commitment to Christ in this way. I already wish it was next Sunday!
What He's doing now
I have gone to a number of Churches that get very excited about what God is going to do (in the future). I think it's good to be excited about the future, but not if it makes you feel that the present isn't good enough. He is working now and He has done great things in the past. There is plenty to be thankful for now!
My way versus God's way
This is kinda dumb but anytime my way and God's way clash (which happens more frequently than I would like!)- I spend a lot of time arguing with Him. Normally, He has to get an earful before I obey! I think I would save a lot of energy if I didn't argue. I think that when James argues with me over things - he would be done the task I asked him to if he hadn't spent all that time arguing! I don't think God minds too much if I've got a lot to say - He's a big God - He can handle it!
Familiar
One of my students looked really familiar today. He had talked with us on the Monday session last week, but there were quite a few that did that.
After the class was done, he asked some questions and from that I learned somehow that he lives in Kingston and he goes to Church. So it's quite possible that I have met him before. I am always so happy to learn that my students are Christians! With all the craziness at university, sometimes I wonder!
Confusing kindness with weakness
In the Book "Once upon a Day" by Lisa Tucker one of the characters says something to the effect that society tends to confuse kindness with weakness. And it is why he would not want to seem kind, because it would make him look weak. Sometime I think my kindness is weakness though. I had a big meeting about restructuring my course yesterday and all these administrators with big salaries trying to restructure it without thinking about the effect on me. It sometimes makes me fume when they don't pay close enough attention to my emails or to what our course needs. They make the big $ and yet I do all the work. But I also know that they think I am dispensible and that is why they do not raise my salary. The course would run without me. Not as well, I would think, but it would go. The only reason I do the job is because I love the course. If it weren't for that I'd be gone.
Letting go
2008 feels like it is going to be about letting go. I am trying to encourage James in doing more independant things. I meet with some resistance. He feels safe as long as there is a parent or teacher nearby (that's what he told me). Not such a bad thing, but still. Working on things to give him confidence on his own. He likes to be babied in some ways, but then who doesn't?
Rustle is also moving away from Next as planned. More independance.
I read a couple of books over the holidays about parents and letting go. How too much insulating can suffocate them, but not enough insulating can damage them. It's a fine line.
The most recent book I am in is "Under Cover" by John Bevere. He talks about how democratic nations like N.America and Europe can have a hard time accepting Christianity because Christianity is not a democracy. That we get used to having a voice and being able to argue things out, that we forget that it's about the He wants, not what the majority want, not what we feel. It's about Him.
