You've seen posts warning us to not tell God's dreams for our life.
The posts use Joseph like a (p)roverb!
Women, men, any race, titled, no title, spiritual leaders or just people who think they have learned their lesson have made posters, videos, jokes or comments insisting, "Don't tell God's plans for your life. Remember what happened to Joseph!"
 
I've wondered:
 
If Joseph wasn't supposed to tell, God still worked all that out and fulfilled the dreams He gave Joseph.
 
OR
 
In telling the dreams, all that happened to Joseph was supposed to happen (like Jesus's crucifixion was supposed to happen), so Joseph did right by telling his dreams, even though he may not have known the drama that would ensue.    
 
Whenever I read or listen to people warn that haters will fight and block the plans God has for our life,  
I think to myself  that God is not weak. God is not going to let a hater block the plans He has for us. If the plans fail, the only one we have to blame is ourselves for not following through, especially if it's because of hate we get from others.”
 
I noted all that to point out this:
 
Earlier this year, when I saw on my Facebook feed (for the umpteenth time), one of those general warnings to not tell anyone God's plans for my life, the Lord spoke to me "It's not who you think it is."
 
The Lord explained that when we see posts or are warned in some other way, we automatically think of the people we already know are against, jealous, or hate us, and will attempt to cause trouble or tear down whatever we do. God said those people are obvious. We automatically try to avoid giving them information.
 
God said to think of the people close by - friends, family, co-workers, co-laborers, social club buddies, study groups, co-bosses  -  people we spend time with and get along with but can look back and see an underlying string of hate that we ignore because of who they are to us - in circles in different areas of our lives, that we spend a lot of time with and consider them close because of the relationships/partnerships  that make us spend a lot of time with them. So we brush off 'little' differences but underneath the smiles, is deep and serious hate.  We brush off the funny looks, whispers, the 'Oh, I forgot about you, again. I'm sorry. I was rushing" or “I went ahead and did it for you, but I didn’t take the credit. Really, I didn’t take the credit for it.” That  type stuff that gives you a little feeling that’s so little that you’ve brushed it off many times… because everyone is 'close'. 
See what I mean?
 
That's the one God said the Joseph posts should be applied to. Not that ANYbody can stop God and us from doing what God has for us to do, but, there will be less mess to trudge through if that ONE doesn't know what you're working on.

Got it?


​

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At some point, we will know who, what, when, why, and how to tell it. (I did and I’m glad.)

Otherwise, if you do any or all of these too soon, you’ll get guesses.

You don’t want discouragement or guesses. 


Example: 
Remember when the medical professional asked you what you eat?
You gave a long list of things. THEN, you said salads.
What did the medical professional say?
“It’s the salad dressing that’s making you fat.”
Really?!? All that stuff I listed and they jump on the salad dressing?
They didn’t know. No harm done. No harm intended. They're not nutritionists. 
They were guessing.
 
Remember when the Tech asked you what you did the day before?
You said you watched TV, ran to the mailbox, walked the dog, and enjoyed some YouTube videos.
What did the Tech say was the reason for your pain?
The walk to the mailbox?
Really?!? What did that have to do with your neck?!?
They didn’t know. They didn't get the final report yet.
No harm done. No harm intended. They were not neck-ologists (?) LOL).
They were guessing.
 
When we finally get to present a testimony, we breathe a sigh of relief.
 
If presented too soon, we might get guesses:
It was the movie you watched yesterday, the place you went last month, the person you met a year ago, or the food you ate in 2013,… when the issue was present before yesterday, last month, or a year ago.
They didn't know. They didn't know or understand all the details.
No harm done. No harm intended. We all like to help. 
 
The wait was looooong, but I’m glad I presented a particular testimony (to a friend a couple of years ago who gave a certain amount of information) and to a friend just last week after I spent some time meditating  on great  information I received several weeks ago.

Last week, the telling of my testimony was easy and I am better for it. Whew!

To give a testimony that may involve other people's lives, personal situations, and time, can be tricky.

WAIT! God may have you wait many years before he gives the go-ahead to tell 
what, when, why,  and how to tell it and especially who to tell.  The wait will be worth it.

​




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• People do not know why God tells us what He tells us.  

They will try to re-explain what God has told us.
They'll get it wrong. When their motivation is wrong, they'll get it wrong.
Why? They don't know our whole story and how His ways with us work.
Like God, they haven't searched us and known us.
They don't know our downsitting and our uprising. 
They don't understand us like God does.
They don't know our thoughts before we think them.
They don't know where we go or where we've been - literally, emotionally, or spiritually.
They don't know everything we do and why.
They didn't know us before we were formed in our Mother's belly.
They didn't have plans for our life since before the beginning of beginnings.

Ahem...
I ended something a few years ago.
Someone, who had nothing to do with the project, said I lost it. They said it was my fault.
I didn't lose it.  I dropped it! For good reasons. It was time. 
I could have pursued. God would have obliged, permissibly, until time to put His foot down. 
But it was time. 
Heaven knows. Heaven knows.

As I think back on it NOW, I realize that had I continued, the ones who had an opinion would have hurt themselves and neglected the needs of others in an effort to contradict every airing!
Every!

They would have listened, studied to contradict and presented contradictions,  wasting my and everyone else's time, and upset themselves trying to find ways to contradict everything I would have said in airings.
​

So, People, at times ending a project/place/person, for God's sake, also works out for the sake of others.

What have you or do you need to let go for God's sake/His instructions to you, that will also help others?

A job that leaves out family?
A significant other that the kids fear terribly and have pleaded with you to leave them alone?
A friend who's always clawing at you for money, attention, favors, or a shoulder to DUMP (not just cry) on?
A pet that's become too much to handle, causing everyone to have to schedule their life/money around it?
A project that just isn't working well, except for working on the nerves of everyone you have involved in it?
A lease that came with a horrible landlord/neighbors/issues that upset your peace in every way?
A hobby that takes too much time with no reward?
etc...

Let it go.

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​


​This morning, I had a very interesting dream.

In the dream, I was watching a person back away from me.  The person backed away in fear (good fear; respect; reverence) as far as possible.  The person stopped when they got stopped by the corner of a parked van. Immediately after, I watched myself interact with a group of people. I was 'housed' on one side of the street. The people invited me to be part of something they were doing across the street. I crossed, walked up the long stairs on the side of the bank/hill, and went in. After a while, I rushed back out because they asked me to bring something.  I watched myself rush out the door, back down the hill, across the street, and enter the dwelling space. I came out of the dwelling space with something red in my hand. I crossed the street and climbed the stairs but they were no longer lined up with the entrance onto the veranda of the building. They stood on the veranda insisting that I come and simultaneously ignoring me and carrying on fun, funny conversations with each other. I very easily made my way across the ledge with my hands, having arm strength to hold my whole self up with no problem or fear of losing my grip and dropping down the bank.  It was a 'Come. We want you here so badly, but we're not going to help you get here."  I realized what was going on and woke up. I know the group the people represented, although I'd not met any of them. The building was a nice, old home with a veranda. End of Dream.


Later, as I drove to work, God reminded me of experiences I had while doing data-entry work for a temp company several summers ago. Some companies would choose me and others, but would not give us a key fob to enter the building.  Each day we had to be let in the building. They called for us, wanted us, but made us wait outside the building. Other companies gave key fobs immediately upon our first arrival because they wanted us there to do the work! 

At one point, a couple of companies were just too hintzy about letting us in and out. I decided...

See https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.c.clark.79?mibextid=ZbWKwL  for the conclusion of this blog.




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People who do you wrong out loud, and are willing to talk about it with you, usually want to talk about it in private.

They can be loud doing you wrong, but ask you to be quiet completely or discuss it with them privately.

Now, when they're loud, believe that others know it.  That's the kick they get out of saying or doing things against you aloud...so their friends and cohorts can witness, giggle, brag and high-five the perpetrator.

Why would the perpetrator expect you to help them deal, lie, apologize in private...or at least in front of their friend-group that helps them celebrate after they mistreat you?

Like, "Okay, I'm doing this to you, but can you keep it a secret for me?" 

Who?

Teacher won't give you the A you earned until you do another project that the other A students don't have to do and can't be told about...perhaps, because weirdo, racists, sexists, religious, non-religious, or ageist  Teacher doesn't want them to stand up for you.

Pedophile.

Auto Repairman overcharging you, not according to the job but according to what they need to pay their next bill and they think you can afford to overpay better than his other customers.

Him. Yes. Him.

Her. 

The neighbor sneaks their trash in your dumpster so they don't have to pay a waste removal bill, leaving you to deal with notes from the company that your dumpster is overflowing past capacity too many times.

The bully.

Abusive parents, significant others, siblings, classmates, teammates, or offspring.

Your marketing company project manager boss that takes your ideas as their own because they don't have a clue, and they want you to hide their cluelessness.

The office or break room refrigerator thief.


What do you get out of it? Taken advantage of, maltreatment or mistreatment.
You don't even get paid big money to keep their secrets!!! 


​Seek God to know the limit, when to stop taking, when or if to tell, and if to tell it loudly or have mercy this time so He can do His will with them if they do it a next time.  Then, don't be afraid to do what God says.


Search your Bible for 'God sees' scriptures






 
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​Dream this morning:

I was standing in a line.

The people in line were being very mean, pushing me and poking my shoulder with their finger.
I got the hint and stepped out of the line, feeling better and free. I didn't even know why we were in line. 
They were angry that I got out of line! 
Someone took me by the shoulders and put me back in the line. I was put in the FRONT!  ???
The meanness commenced again!
Their desire for me to be in the line was not so I could participate, but so they could be mean to me.
End of dream.

Lessons from dream:
People want you around just to be mean to you. 
Sometimes, step away and stay away.
Other times, stay. Let them keep bothering you and rack up bad behavior with the Lord or whoever is in charge if that person in charge cares at all. You don't have to answer for their bad behavior. They have to answer for it.

I was put in the front by the mean ones, because they believed I was the best or most trusted of all the other people for whatever we were in the line for, but they didn't want me to enjoy being in the front of the line.  The mindset was, "Let's keep her because we might need her to get us out of here or rescue us or give us help, because she has what it takes to figure things out. In the meantime, let's make sure she knows we don't like her." (Maybe kind of like the OT prophets who heard God for the Kings, but the Kings didn't like what the prophets said...even though they kept the prophets around to hear from them JUST IN CASE the prophets said something they liked or needed.)    

People, they see you and what you are capable of. They may give you bad reviews, bad grades, bad criticism, BUT they keep you. Why? It's hard to believe they have compassion on you the one they've labeled dumb or not enough or pitiful. They keep you because they know they need you because they see what you do for the company even if you think you're just being your typical average self.  They see that you are great.   Enjoy it. Giggle to yourself that they don't want to live without you. Seek God on whether to stay or go.


​ 



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Recently, I saw a car parked over the line.
Yep. One of those.  Luxury car. One and a half spaces for one car.

​Before I got my present car, every time I saw situations like that, I would slide my smaller cars right into the space they were half-way overtaking. I made sure to leave enough room for the doors on both cars to open without touching the other car (which was their goal).  I also made sure to be the one who had to do the most squeezing to exit the car.  My goal was to let them see that someone was going to park in the space anyway, no matter how hard they tried to take more than one space. If they don't want their car dinged, then park at the end of the lot, so far away that no one will want to park beside them!

Note: Yes, I had a goal just like they had a goal.  I don't want to hear it about it from you! (Take that in a nice way, but for real!)

When I returned to my car, I approached the lane from behind. The luxury car was still there and I saw that the back of the car was very damaged.  Old damage. Rust on the spots where the paint was knocked off. The trunk was so bashed that surely it wasn't able to open.

I stood there wondering how the driver had the nerve to give that 'look' when we were getting out our cars, as if their car was more precious and better than others, yet it had all that damage on the back that had not been fixed.   
Protecting the smooth side, while ignoring the damaged back end.


Maybe this is a stretch but it's what came to my mind:  
Revelations 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Revelations 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, ad miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Humans that make comparisons, can look down on others as if they own thing/life is better than someone else's, yet also knowing they have huge issues on the backside of their life. 
Luxury car. Beautiful finish on the driver's side. Back end smashed in. I wouldn't have seen the smashed backside if I hadn't walked past the row I parked on and approached the cars from behind.

Let's not be smug about anything in our life. It's right to try to keep what is good, good. It's also important to try to fix/heal the damage that isn't easily visible.  




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The link is DEEP!!! 

We know we are responsible for our actions, reactions, and pro-actions (the work it takes to not let someone else's mess towards us make us become a monster). Yet, we fail and become monsters sometimes. 

You don't?!? Well, what about that time so-and-so posted something you didn't like, so you got at them the next time you were in their presence? It wasn't even about you.  It was not even your business. A monster...even if only for a moment.


​https://www.facebook.com/share/p/7z9xhJYY1TN4z7jG/

Some have the burden of being expected to fulfill the ideas of someone else's desires.

They want you to be an accountant, lawyer, mechanic, flight attendant, usher, tour guide, trustee, doctor, professor, plumber, or politician. Why? Because they are, their Mom was, or the neighbors need to be impressed. 

You have other plans. You have knowledge that your path is supposed to be different. Pressure. Issues. Arguments. Fights. Frustrations. 

You may even know they're right about your future, but you want to get there by the route prepared specifically for you. You may agree, but don't want to hear "I told you so" once you understand they are right. You certainly do not want to deal with them taking off at the speed of lightning giving you instructions on how to get where you both agreed you're supposed to go/be/do. 

The problem? You feel/believe/KNOW that if you allow them to drag/drive you NOW, they will be dragging/driving you for the rest of your life! They'll think everything they think you should do is right since they were right about that one thing!  When do you get to breathe? When do you get to live without them breathing down your neck about it? People are so determined to make their life your life...and do it their way...that even if you agree, you dread the coming 'ride'!

There's also the self-imposed guilt. You care. You go and do their desires for you because you don't want them to be hurt or disappointed, and all the while going, you're trying to figure out how to 'cut through the bushes' and get off the track to have a moment to yourself and your own thoughts.


The solution:  

Be honest with God. Be determined to do things God's way, no matter what happens. If you're hated, uninvited, constantly reminded that you 'are going the wrong way', be determined to go alone without their encouragement, money, support, presence, time, etc.

When we DETERMINE to do things God's way, God comes ready to work with us. 

WHAT IF God agrees with them about you going the route in life that follows their route? You'll accept it because you've already determined and concluded that you will follow God. God will be there to take you on the route and will inform others that he, not they, chose the route (even if it's the same as theirs) because God is not going to let them take credit for you being who you're supposed to be.  God will be there to block/run interference for you, fight them in a way that keeps you out of the hot seat, back you up with what you told them God told you to do, and make them apologize to you for being wrong about the whole thing or about little things they disagree with along your path that God is taking you.

Determine you will go God's way. Period! Be willing to take the rejection and the angry arrows. You'll get the blessings and those trying to mold you into what they want will fail and will know they failed and won't be blaming you because they will know God led you.

I remember someone telling the story about how he tried to tell his little boy what to do on the football field. His son said to him, "I have a coach." Parents would yell instructions at their kids during the games, practices or at home when studying their sport.  The coaches were frustrated.  Kids were trying to figure out who to obey, even as they played on the field and heard their parents' voices giving instructions. That little boy's coach (and I'm sure many others, as well) taught his team of little players,  
"Listen to me. Tell your parents you have a coach."

Son, Daughter, Person - Whether you are called to do something different from everyone else or from what is expected or if called to do the same thing, those who have gone before and think they get a say in your future profession, first remember to LISTEN TO THE COACH aka GOD.


​

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Genesis 37 -Joseph, Son #11, was hated by his brothers.
Why?
Jealousy.
Jacob's favorite son.
Jacob made him a coat of many colors, showing favoritism and that Joseph would be a great leader.
Joseph had two dreams interpreted as confirmation that he would be a great leader over his family.
Joseph's brothers planned to kill him, put his body in a pit, and tell Dad that a beast ate him. 
Reuben talked them out of killing him, but agreed to placing him in a pit so he could save him later.
Later, Judah suggested they sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites.
Genesis 37:36 - And the Midianites [used interchangeably with the Ishmaelites; half siblings; same Dad Abraham]; sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. 
Genesis 39:1-4 - Joseph was taken to Egypt. His master saw that the Lord was with him. The Lord made all in Joseph's hands prosper. Joseph was made overseer over all his master's house.
Genesis 41:39-41 -  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.


Hated Brother. Put in a Pit. Twice Sold. The Lord was with him.
No weapon formed against him prospered. Gift made room for him.
He was promoted to be second only to the Pharaoh.


We've all been a Joseph or Josephine before. Whether a 3yo in day care who was hated because she dressed like a princess every day, a college student who started a small business claiming she or he would one day have one of the biggest companies in the country, a Gospel singer who became known all over the world as the greatest, or a Youth who knew he would rise to be the Lead Usher at church. If we did not let the dream go, we stayed the course and went on to be victorious.


We've all been in a group who recognized and targeted a Joseph or Josephine - that one person who stood out, for no reason of their own, by no calling of their own, but by God's doings.


Joseph/Josephine:  
Called to be the best and brightest in the group.
Unctioned by God to walk in the door that no one on the other side expected or wanted them to walk in.
Called to be the best golfer.
Thrust into the role of Club President.
Gifted to be the anointed singer.
Setup to be the Valedictorian.
Selected to be the right hand of the leader.
Wearer of the most beautiful natural crown of glory.
Winner an expensive car.
Offspring of the richest in the land.
Anything others deemed glorious that one did not choose for themselves.


The characters in Joseph's story:
They.
Reuben.
Judah.
The Ishmaelites/Midianites.
Potiphar.


Question: Of those characters, who have I/you/we chosen to be to the Joseph/Josephine we've met?


They hated Joeand wanted to kill Jo with words, accusations, false stories, snubs, misinformation, deceptions, and detours leading them in the wrong direction.
Reuben sought to spare Joe's life, rescue him, refute the lies, and restore Joe's character to the lead on the job, department, business, group, teacher, coach, etc. 
Judah wanted to keep his hands clean but also wanted to be rid of Joe. So, Judah passed the bad words, accusations and lies on to the next group so that group would carry out the hate and he kept blood off his hands. 
The Ishmaelites/Midianites were fine with purchasing Jo and treating him badly because they believed all the things they were told about Joe.
Potiphar comes along and decides to take Joe off the Ish/Mid's hands and treat him like the pleasantly appealing person God has put in his heart that Jo is since the Ish/Mids seem to have had bad intentions for Joe. Apparently, the Ish/Mids decided they didn't have the time/it wasn't in their plan to take on another person to enjoy mistreating at that particular time.


Will we be a 'they' and try to kill Joseph's/Josephine's reputation in the office, school, family, social club, study group, college class, Senior Living tower, warehouse, salon, basketball/golf/running/exercise/friend group?
Will we be a 'Reuben' and attempt to save Joe's reputation and livelihood?
Will we be a 'Judah' and send Jo to someone else to be mistreated?
Will we be a Ishmaelite/Midianite and offer to be the bad guy so a Judah won't have to be to one of his own?
Will we be a 'Potiphar' who will gather Joe up, with the purpose of making Joe who Jo is destined to be by the company owner, the boss, the manager, the teacher, the Professor, the club President, the community, and God?


When encountering a Joseph/Josephine, which character have you been or will you be?






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9-22-24  I'd rather be outside the box than in the box.  Inside the box has privileges that God does not agree with. I'd rather have fewer or no manmade privileges and be right, than have lots of manmade privileges and be wrong.  When the box catches fire, I'll be outside the box away from the fire.  Those in the box will have to deal with the fire (hope for a way of escape or burrn). Scripture: 

9-21-24 Matthew 18:20 The three:  Me seeking the job, the job seeking me, God motivating me to apply and leading them to accept. Three.

9-21-24 Give Thanks in all things. What it is doesn't matter - What do those who were hit by a tornado feel about this? Are the ones not hit by the tornado supposed  to rejoice in the face of those who were hit? Are they better than the ones who were hit?  The scripture doesn't answer if someone is better than another in that situation.  It answers only this: Give thanks (regardless of what happens.)

9-19-24  Suffer What (remember - red or pink). I tell the truth and the other truth seekers (Christians) bash me more than 'sinners' do. Christians say their mistreatment of others is necessary to fulfill the scripture to help Christians suffer. SO what is their end? Do they get rewarded for being mean and hateful so other Christians can experience suffering or do they get rewarded with punishment for being mean and hateful because the scriptures do not schizophrenically order us to mistreat each other for suffering for the cause of Christ? Find Scripture: God sicced people (who were not a part of His Children of Israel) after Israel, then punished those people for going after Israel.

9-19-24  YES. Yes, to be in OR out, to be good OR bad...

​9-12-24 Scripture about condescending, confounding, condemning those that plot against us.

9-12-24 People are supposed to meet their match in us or show agreement.  Greater is  in us.  People should meet their match not matter their size, status, education, intelligence, finances, etc  'above' us because God is in us (Greater). Even those who are supposedly 'higher' than us in the Christian 'world' can meet their match in us because God can cause them to be humbled by the way they mis-treat us especially if they think they are better than us or God can teach them through us because God knows all and uses all/any - He does know go by title or status when choosing who to use to teach/enlighten another.

9-8-24 Sunday God said (in a dream) that I WAS what my bank password says.  How, Lord? I don't want to miss the blessing I had.

2024
Job didn't open portals to the devil.  Job was minding his business. 
Children who seek peace through drugs and alcohol didn't open those portals of demons they're dealing with.
Some children given drugs or alcohol by parents who wanted to laugh at their kids' reactions to the substances or wanted to shut their kids up from crying of hunger, so the parents could continue enjoying their drug and alcohol high.
Some children  were molested or raped and left with spirits of homosexuality or promiscuity on them. Many years ago, I remember seeing picture of Satan, in a hospital room,  waiting for a baby to come out of the birth canal. 
Not everyone is guilty of opening a portal for Satan to come in.
For some, the portals were opened for them or not at all. Maybe Satan was given permission to bother them. Maybe, Satan wants to hinder or kill some persons and chooses for  himself who to attack.
Not all are guilty of purposely or mistakenly opening portals to Satan.

*****
9-9-2024
​I Kings 17 and II Kings 4 - Both women had OIL in their house. 
What do we/I have in hand? What do we/I have in the house? What do we/I have that will help  financially/vision-arily?

Remember Beauty Shop? The blonde lady got angry and refused to take Monica's hair product to a potential marketer.  Later, Monica's shop did a favor for a new client who turned out to be a popular radio host who gave a shout out to Monica's hair product.  Monica did her clients well and got free marketing she didn't even ask for that was heard by more people than the blonde lady would have reached.

Why did Adam let Satan get near his woman? Where was Adam?

Why didn't Abraham say No, Sarah. Let's wait on God?"  I wonder how many other things Sarah asked Abraham to do that he refused to do and labeled her a nagging wife, but jumped at the opportunity to get a baby with the maid.

Isaiah 54 - Instead of single parents and grandparents/other guardians being stressed, bitter, angry and feeling abandoned; they should tap into the favor God has provided for their children orphaned by their rejecting/non-participating parent. God has a heart for the children, not a hand against the children or parents.

Why do you hide from me?  Thanks for the respect. Thanks (maybe) for the fear/reverence.  Just remember, I am not the one holding the Lambs Book of Life.  Even when you hide from me, God still sees you.  Instead of hiding from me, make your life right with God.

July
I had a feeling that someone was very sad because they had a plan but knew I wouldn't participate because of how they allowed someone else to encourage them to mistreat me after years and years of our friendship. I stood my ground/feelings/declarations/lessons learned from God about such types.  I did not participate and did not feel guilty about it.  Sometimes, people do you so wrong that they can't even approach you to ask for forgiveness or at least act like nothing happened (which is okay, too).  I had to let them stew in their feelings about mistreating me. I had to stand on what God taught me about not facilitating that type of treatment against me, especially at my age. I had to show God I learned the lesson of when to shake the dust, either physically/literally/emotionally and definitely spiritually in the sense of protecting myself.  This same thing happened again in August.  I could feel the person from three counties over.  I stood my ground.  Step on me once. That's enough at my age.

You can't tell the doctor your head hurts because you stumped your toe. Be honest about what you did so you can get the proper help.

​7-31-24  HUGELY imperfect people who require us to be perfect or else they reject us.  You want me to join that, but I'm not good enough.  Count up all the stuff they've done against me, yet I need to be perfect to join them???  

Coming Soon.

Society, community, government, family, and religion expect us to meet certain requirements at all ages in our lives, whether or not we have all that is needed to meet those requirements.

So, how do we meet those requirements?  God!

First, consider the Children of Israel (COI), other OT people, then us. 

Genesis 37 -50
The Children of Israel came to be citizens of Egypt through Joseph, the son of Jacob. 
You've heard the story: 
Joseph's hateful brothers put him in a pit. He was sold twice. The second transaction for his life revealed that the Lord was with him. Weapons were formed against him but they did not prosper. Joseph's gift made room for him. He was favored and made Governor of Egypt, the position that was second only to Pharaoh, King of Egypt. 

Famine hit the land. Governor Joseph, whose King had plenty of food, was glad to care for his brothers when they travelled to Egypt in search of food. His brothers did not know Joseph was Governor before they approached him. Joseph, holding no grudges against his brothers, commanded that his whole family (parents, eleven brothers, spouses, children, etc.) move to Egypt so they would be well during the famine. Joseph's family lived happily and gratefully in Egypt, prospering and growing.

THEN ...
Exodus 1 -
Joseph, his brethren, and all that generation died.
The children of Israel had been fruitful, increased abundantly, multiplied, and were exceeding mighty. The land was full of them! 
A new Pharaoh arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. He was intimidated by the multitude of the Children of Israel, who were just happily living life with no plans to revolt.
The new King's fear led him to enslave them, put slave masters over them, and afflict them with the heavy burdens of building cities for him. 

In spite of the enslavement, the COI multiplied. Pharaoh became very afraid of the COI. 

*Does that sound familiar to you? People fear and hate you because you're too happy, peaceful, joyful, unwavered by life's problems or by their attacks against you, etc.

VS 14 - And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service wherein they made them serve, was with rigor (harshness, severity, cruelness).
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Exodus 5
New Pharaoh ordered the killing of all COI new baby boys, which led to the saving of Moses, who God eventually called to get COI released from Egyptian bondage.
When the time arrived for Moses to step into the shoes God formed for him, Moses asked Pharaoh to allow the COI to go into the wilderness to hold a feast unto God.
Pharaoh was furious, called them idle (lazy) and gave orders that they be given MORE work to do.

The caveat:  Pharaoh also took away the straw needed to make the bricks for all the buildings the COI had to construct for the new cities. In this one thing, The Children of Israel, failed. The search for straw (previously provided by Pharaoh) was time-consuming, futile and brought more punishment, YET, it was the catalyst that brought about their complete escape from Pharaoh through GOD!

TIDBITS of the lesson:

The world wants ... but will hold back the necessities to get it done.
 
The world wants ...but will vote against the necessities to get it done.

(Blog will be completed by December 31, 2024.  See the facebook page.)

But GOD! He came through for... 

I Kings 17
II Kings 4
Daniel 6
Acts 12

... To be continued. 

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