(January 6, 2011)
Prayer House News!
Tonight the Mighty Men will be meeting at the church at 6:30pm. There will be food! Following that will be RPM with it's new time frame of 8:00pm. It's open to everyone. I hope a number of you who have never been able to come before will now be able to come.
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Prayer Request: Tia Hernandez is asking for special prayer for her mom, Berta. She got a very bad report that her kidneys are shutting down.
Please pray for her.
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Devotional!
The Love of the Father
Joseph
I want us to consider Joseph. As you all know, Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. He is eventually purchased by Potiphar. Potiphar was an important man who had a wife that did not love him. Whenever he was out of town she would try to seduce Joseph. After attempting to get him in her bed he responds in Genesis 39:9.
Genesis 39:9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?"
Don’t you find it interesting that Joseph says, “I don’t want to sin against God.” Why didn’t he say, “I don’t want to sin against your husband?” Joseph was a godly man who understood authority, but more than that, he had a love for his heavenly father. His love for his father created in him a whole different set of values. He was able to deny himself. The things of this world did not have a great influence on him. If he had loved his own life more than his father then he could have easily justified his actions. Joseph was basically an innocent man. His own brothers sell him into slavery, not because he did anything wrong, but because they were jealous of him.
He is first purchased by some Midianites and then sold to Potiphar. He is being bought and sold like a piece of merchandise. If he had clung to a love for this world he could have easily justified being with Potiphar’s wife. He could have easily rationalized any action with the full understanding of many of those around him. Instead, Joseph refuses Potiphar’s wife and says, “I cannot do this great sin against my God.”
King David
Now lets go to Psalms 51. King David did not quite have the same level of integrity as Joseph but he had a similar heart. His love for his heavenly father ultimately determined the outcome of his life.
Pslams 51:1-4 For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. (4) Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight.
Here is another case of recognizing that all sin is ultimately against God. David could have easily said, “I have sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, that David basically had killed.” For that matter he could have said, “I have sinned against Bathsheba,” but he didn’t. He said, “Against thee only have I sinned.”
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Speeding Juggler
A young man was pulled over by the Mississippi State Police
for speeding. The officer stepped out of his patrol car,
adjusted his sunglasses, and swaggered up to the young man's
window. "What chew driving so fast for, boy? You going to a
fahhr? Let me see your license, boy." The young man handed
over his license.
Then the officer noticed that the back seat of the car was
full of large knives. The officer said, "Tell me, boy, why
you got them knives on that there back seat?"
The young man replied, "Well, sir, I'm a juggler."
The officer spat some tobacco juice and then said, "A
juggler; well, you don't say. Boy, put cha hands on the
trunk of yer car; you going to jail!"
The young man pleaded with the officer not to take him to
jail. He offered to prove to the officer that he was a
juggler by way of demonstration. He said, "You can even hold
me at gunpoint while I juggle for you." The officer
reluctantly allowed him to prove his juggling ability while
he held him at gunpoint.
Two miles down the road at Joe's Tavern, Billy Bub was
drinking it up with Jerry Lee Jones. Billy Bub soon left and
got into his old, rusty pickup truck. He proceeded down the
road trying his best to stay on the right side. All of a
sudden, Billy Bub spotted the most unbelievable sight of his
life! He drove to the nearest phone booth and dialed the
number for Joe's Tavern and asked for his buddy, Jerry Lee.
When Jerry Lee got on the phone, Billy Bub said, "Whatever
you do when you leave that tavern, don't go north on Route
109. The state police are giving a sobriety test that nobody
can pass!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer Request: Tia Hernandez is asking for special prayer for her mom, Berta. She got a very bad report that her kidneys are shutting down.
Please pray for her.
===============================================
Devotional!
The Love of the Father
Joseph
I want us to consider Joseph. As you all know, Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. He is eventually purchased by Potiphar. Potiphar was an important man who had a wife that did not love him. Whenever he was out of town she would try to seduce Joseph. After attempting to get him in her bed he responds in Genesis 39:9.
Genesis 39:9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?"
Don’t you find it interesting that Joseph says, “I don’t want to sin against God.” Why didn’t he say, “I don’t want to sin against your husband?” Joseph was a godly man who understood authority, but more than that, he had a love for his heavenly father. His love for his father created in him a whole different set of values. He was able to deny himself. The things of this world did not have a great influence on him. If he had loved his own life more than his father then he could have easily justified his actions. Joseph was basically an innocent man. His own brothers sell him into slavery, not because he did anything wrong, but because they were jealous of him.
He is first purchased by some Midianites and then sold to Potiphar. He is being bought and sold like a piece of merchandise. If he had clung to a love for this world he could have easily justified being with Potiphar’s wife. He could have easily rationalized any action with the full understanding of many of those around him. Instead, Joseph refuses Potiphar’s wife and says, “I cannot do this great sin against my God.”
King David
Now lets go to Psalms 51. King David did not quite have the same level of integrity as Joseph but he had a similar heart. His love for his heavenly father ultimately determined the outcome of his life.
Pslams 51:1-4 For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. (4) Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight.
Here is another case of recognizing that all sin is ultimately against God. David could have easily said, “I have sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, that David basically had killed.” For that matter he could have said, “I have sinned against Bathsheba,” but he didn’t. He said, “Against thee only have I sinned.”
=====================================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Speeding Juggler
A young man was pulled over by the Mississippi State Police
for speeding. The officer stepped out of his patrol car,
adjusted his sunglasses, and swaggered up to the young man's
window. "What chew driving so fast for, boy? You going to a
fahhr? Let me see your license, boy." The young man handed
over his license.
Then the officer noticed that the back seat of the car was
full of large knives. The officer said, "Tell me, boy, why
you got them knives on that there back seat?"
The young man replied, "Well, sir, I'm a juggler."
The officer spat some tobacco juice and then said, "A
juggler; well, you don't say. Boy, put cha hands on the
trunk of yer car; you going to jail!"
The young man pleaded with the officer not to take him to
jail. He offered to prove to the officer that he was a
juggler by way of demonstration. He said, "You can even hold
me at gunpoint while I juggle for you." The officer
reluctantly allowed him to prove his juggling ability while
he held him at gunpoint.
Two miles down the road at Joe's Tavern, Billy Bub was
drinking it up with Jerry Lee Jones. Billy Bub soon left and
got into his old, rusty pickup truck. He proceeded down the
road trying his best to stay on the right side. All of a
sudden, Billy Bub spotted the most unbelievable sight of his
life! He drove to the nearest phone booth and dialed the
number for Joe's Tavern and asked for his buddy, Jerry Lee.
When Jerry Lee got on the phone, Billy Bub said, "Whatever
you do when you leave that tavern, don't go north on Route
109. The state police are giving a sobriety test that nobody
can pass!"
