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Always Close By

3/22/2014

Over 700 days had passed since Joseph's hopes had been lifted, making him think he would leave the Egyptian dungeon. So on this particular morning he could have had no idea of the luxury he would enjoy that very night. Whatever the prisoner's thoughts had been, the good God was just as close to him in his cell as He would so obviously be that evening before Pharoah.

If we are trusting God with our lives today, whether the situation is nice or not, He is no farther from us than He was from Joseph in his prison. The nature of our circumstances is irrelevant to the fact of His presence. We may not see Him or even sense Him, but He is right there with us. And if He wants to, everything around us can change in a blink.

Genesis 41:14/50:20 (Then Pharoah sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon . . . God meant it unto good)

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Satan's Goal for Us

3/19/2014

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Job 1:11. We can understand Satan's goal for us by what we hear from his mouth in this verse. He wants us to curse our Creator. The natural man walks right along the devil's path, hardly needing any demonic encouragement and oblivious to the battle that is raging.

For us who believe, the serpent's design is much the same. Our adversary will throw at us anything within his limits, in an attempt to turn our minds against the Lord. May God help us walk carefully today, alert to the spiritual war we are in.

(But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.)

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The Spouse Chooser, JAM#150

3/7/2014

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And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought he unto the man . . . (Genesis 2:22)
Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter . . . then will I do the part of the kinsman to thee, as the lord liveth. (Boaz, in Ruth 3:10, 13)

It was no ordinary man God chose to be king David's ancestor.

He was rich. He was powerful. He was respected.

But more importantly, Boaz was godly.

He ran his business with a spiritual atmosphere, so much so that when he arrived to check out the progress at his fields, the opening conversation with his workers went as follows: "Hey men, may Jehovah be with you today!" To this they would heartily answer, "And God bless you too, Sir!"

Wow!

But it appears there were a couple more interesting things about him.

He was patient. He was single.

Maybe he had not read Genesis 1 & 2, but it is pretty clear he understood the concepts taught there.

In the beginning God gave an unbeatable model for choosing a spouse. First He set the scene by having Adam name the animals. As the man thought over each species in that peculiar zoo at Eden, one thing became painfully clear. Every creature on earth had a mate, except him. He was all alone and soon was longing for company.

So God performed surgery on him.

When Adam woke up from his deep sleep, the Lord walked over to him with His beautiful surprise. The Creator must have enjoyed this moment more than any other in the six days of creation. What a scene! Surely it brought a special delight to His heart. It was so sacred, so pure, so right.

Thousands of years later Boaz was looking to the very same God to choose a wife for him too, and his desire was honored. His wealth and influence would have provided numerous opportunities for finding a female companion, but that was not the way this man understood things. He knew the best way to find exactly the right lady was to let the Lord bring her to him, even if it took years.

And that is precisely what happened.

Faith and patience paid off, as they always do.

May we encourage the younger generation to not get swept up in the mood of the age, or the vanity of youth, or the pressure of culture, or whatever else goes against pure and simple Biblical sense. Our world seems to take for granted that young people need to go off in search of their mates, that they are automatically wise enough to discern what is true love. Sadly, some do just that, forsaking the teaching of Scripture and the advice of parents and pastors.

What follows is usually not a pretty sight.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God . . ." and "Honor your father and your mother" and "Wait on the Lord" may be old phrases, but they are truth as relevant as this morning's sun. They are the only way to find God's perfect choice of spouse, if He wants one to be found.

Dear Father, protect our young people from the pull of the age, from following the world's manual. Help us teach by example, not rushing into the future with personal strategies and agendas, but waiting, trusting, and letting You bring the best our way. Amen.

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Always Close By

Satan's Goal for Us

The Spouse Chooser, JAM#150

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