Mystery Solved

 Happy Sunday!

"They left Egypt and went back to their father Jacob in Canaan. When they told him, “Joseph is still alive—and he’s the ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” he went numb; he couldn’t BELIEVE his ears. But the more they talked, telling him everything that Joseph had told them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the blood started to flow again—their father Jacob’s spirit revived. Israel said, “I’ve heard enough—my son Joseph is still alive. I’ve got to go and see him before I die.”(Genesis 45:26-28 Message).

I love a good mystery.  This is likely because the little bit of television we were able to enjoy as children involved mysteries, courtroom dramas, and police shows.  My mother always said the television was the "Idiot Box".  So our TV viewing was limited.  She was so on point with this.  If she were still here with us, I know she'd be amazed to see the idiots are not only binge watching television shows, they are even on the television shows.  But I digress.  We watched Barnaby Jones, Columbo, Kojak, and Perry Mason just to name a few.  Each of these characters had their own unique way of solving crimes.

When I was reading the scripture above I imagined how things would have gone differently for Jacob if he'd had a detective on the case.  He loved Joseph more than his other sons, and showed favoritism toward him.  He was human and his humanity caused his other sons to hate their brother.  They hated him so much that they were willing to kill him, or leave him in the pit for a wild animal to find him.  So they had motive.  One day Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers and that gave them the means.  His older brother, Reuben went along with them in regards to putting Joseph in the pit, but he had plans to come back later and set him free.  Another older brother, Judah saw an opportunity to save him and make a bit of money by selling him to a traveling group of merchants.  But even these two brothers agreed to lie to their father.  How cruel!

"Joseph’s brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph’s fancy coat in its blood.  After this, they took the coat to their father and said, “We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to YOUR son.”  Jacob knew it was Joseph’s coat and said, “It’s my son’s coat! Joseph has been torn to pieces and eaten by some wild animal.”(Genesis 37:31-33 CEV).  They thought their "Daddy Issues" would be solved by getting rid of Joseph, but it backfired.  Jacob was inconsolable and his spirit was not revived until years later when he believed their stories about Joseph still being alive.  Now if this had occurred in 2021 we would surely have had DNA evidence checked and we would have known quickly that the blood on the coat was not human blood.  A forensics group would return to the scene of the crime to search for bones, teeth, or fibers that may shed more light on what actually happened.  Witnesses would be questioned about the timing and his whereabouts.  Because the scriptures say that Joseph did speak to other shepherds while he was looking for his brothers.

I know what you are thinking.  How in the world does this have anything to do with me?  I'm so glad you asked. John 10:10 says, "The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance."(Voice).  The enemy has been telling lies about our lives, our dreams, our health, and our relationships.  He's been using FEAR(False Evidence Appearing Real) to fool us into thinking it's too late or impossible.  He wants us to give up, give in, or throw in the towel.  But we must, "Trust God from the bottom of your heart;  don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!"(Proverbs 3:5-8 Message).

Joseph wasn't dead!  His dreams became a reality and he was able to save his entire family in the end.  He told his brothers, "You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened."*Genesis 50:20 GNT).  Mystery solved.

Love and prayers, Cynthia

GOOD News!

 Happy Sunday!

"Like a drink of cool water refreshes a weary, thirsty soul, so hearing good news revives the spirit."(Proverbs 25:25 Passion).

Have you ever looked at your phone to see whose calling, and dreaded answering?  You don't have to tell me, I already know the answer.  There are some people that are always bringing "bad news".  If something horrendous has occurred they will be the first to try to inform poor uninformed you.  They thrive on spreading the grim, and gory.  The scripture above vividly describes the opposite, the effect of "good news" on the recipient.  Good news is refreshing, good news is encouraging, and good news brings life to the hearers. 

Jesus proclaimed what the prophet had already written, "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound]."(Luke 4:18-19 Amplified).

I can hear you now, "Cynthia, I can't even think of anything good happening right now in my life!"  Sure, I get it!  I live in the real world too, but I also live in the Word of God.  It may take longer to think of the good in any given situation, but rest assured there is some good news.  Good News is God can be trusted, he's never caught off guard as we can be.  Psalm 121:3-4 says, "He holds you firmly in place; He will not let you fall. He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep. What a relief! The One who watches over Israel never leaves for rest or sleep."(Voice). 

Good News is God is always prepared.  Just take a look at the creation story.  He created man last.  Not because he was less important, but because he wanted everything man could ever need to be ready and available when he arrived.  Can you imagine if God created man on day one?  Man would have had to tread water in the dark until light and land were created.  When God provided the ram in the bush, "Abraham named that place God-Yireh (God-Sees-to-It). That’s where we get the saying, “On the mountain of God, he sees to it.”(Genesis 22:14 Message).  Jehovah-Jireh is literally translated "God who sees before time and provides".  He cares enough about us to have everything we need ready.  No wonder the Apostle Paul could assure the Believers, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."(Philippians 4:19 KJV).

Good News is God always tells the truth!  Well, technically He is The Truth!  You never have to question or wonder when he tells you something.  He will keep his Word. Jesus said, "This, beloved, is the truth: until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter, not one pen stroke, will disappear from the sacred law—for everything, everything in the sacred law will be fulfilled and accomplished."(Matthew 5:18 Voice).  Don't miss this!  Nothing God has spoken will fail!  Isaiah 55:11 says, "so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it."(Living Bible).

Now that's some Good News!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Sustained

Happy Sunday!

Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall SUSTAIN thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."(KJV).

Webster's Dictionary 1828 defines the word "sustain" as "To support; to keep from sinking in despondence. The hope of a better life sustains the afflicted amidst all their sorrows.;  To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; as provisions to sustain a family or an army".  Don't miss this!  God supports us, and holds us up no matter what!  The Psalmist echoed this and confidently sang, "I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up, because the Lord covers and protects me."(Psalm 3:5 Easy-to-Read Version).  No insomnia here! 

Psalm 37:25 says, "Through my whole life (young and old), I have never witnessed God forsaking those who do right, nor have I seen their children begging for crumbs,"(Voice).  God has not changed.  His Word is Truth and remains the same.  He's not surprised by world events, he's not moved by the stock market,  and he's not impoverished by giving abundantly to us all.  He is the God of More Than Enough.  Ephesians 3:20 says, "Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you."(Passion Translation).

Psalm 46:1-3 says, "God is our shelter and our strength.  When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help.  So why run and hide? No FEAR, no pacing, no biting fingernails.  When the earth spins out of control, we are sure and fearless.  When mountains crumble and the waters run wild, we are sure and fearless.  Even in heavy winds and huge waves, or as mountains shake, we are sure and fearless."(Voice).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Invited

 Happy Sunday!

"We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan."(Romans 8:28 Voice).

I love the Word.  It's a pleasure reading well known scriptures in other translations and seeing them even more clearly.  I like how the Voice translation says, "accept His invitation".  God has invited us to live the good life with Him through Jesus Christ.  He doesn't force us to do it, or mandate that we must do it.  He simply invites us.  Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."(Revelation 3:20 KJV).  What a gentleman!  Standing there knocking and not breaking down the door, or blowing his car horn from the street.  LOL.

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 22 about the Kingdom of Heaven.  He compared it to a king inviting guests to his son's wedding.  The original guests on the guest list ignored the invitation, disregarded the announcements and even roughed up the messengers.  "The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill those who murdered his servants. And the army burned their city."(Matthew 22:7 Easy-to-Read Version).  Then the king said, "The wedding feast is quite ready, but those who were invited were not good enough for it. So go off now to all the street corners and invite everyone you find there to the feast.’ So the servants went out on to the streets and collected together all those whom they found, bad and good alike. And the hall became filled with guests."(verses 8-10 Phillips).  Can't you just hear the deacons in the old church saying, "whosoever will, let him come"?   

But wait, there's more.  “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to Hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in."(verses 11-13 Message).  The Voice Translation verbalizes what you might be thinking right now..."The man was speechless. He had been invited in off the street, after all!"  Right, he was invited just as he was, but he was expected to change.  God loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us as we are.  

Brother Andrew Wommack explained it like this, "God calls everyone to salvation but that doesn’t mean His standards are low. He calls and equips, furnishing all that we need to be in right standing with Him. But those who don’t put on that robe of righteousness by faith will be eternally separated from Him, regardless of whether they were in church among the true believers or not."  Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are invited, but few are chosen."(Voice).

Love and prayers, Cynthia