Genesis 39

Look at these verses in chapter 39:

2The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.

21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

Do you suppose the Lord is trying to make a point to us here? The phrase is repeated four times. Do you ever think:

Excuse me, The Lord was with him? Joseph was almost killed by his brothers; he is sold into slavery; he is falsely accused of rape; he imprisoned without hope of parole because of the false accusation. You are telling me that the Lord was with him? I’d hate to think what the Lord does for people whom He hates.

Yes, the Lord was with Him, and it seems that Joseph realized it. Perhaps for Joseph, the mere knowledge of the presence of the Lord was worthy compensation for the crummy circumstances. I have had times when I have been falsely accused. I have had things done to me that I would rather not have had done. I have had the rug pulled out from underneath me. But in those times I can say that I have experienced the presence of the Lord in ways that I did not experience Him in the good times. That presence is so sweet that if He required it, I would choose the bad times again just to experience His sweet presence. You see, that is the glory of His presence. It far exceeds the worst circumstance. He is the One who is there, and His presence is our exceeding great reward. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

Matthew 23:23-39
From time to time, I come across a street preacher who constantly denounces the sin of people. I guess there is a place for that kind of ministry. My sons tell me of the activity of Preacher Bob at the campus of OSU. He apparently can get pretty caustic with the students in condemning their sin. One difference is that Preacher Bob seems to be addressing the wickedness of those who do not even seem to be attempting to meet the righteous standard of God. Another difference is that he seems to delight in the condemnation of other people. These woes in Matthew 23 at times rub me the wrong way. Part of the reason is they remind me of street preachers like Preacher Bob. I don’t want to think of Jesus like that.
But then I must remember, Jesus was denouncing a false self-righteousness. The scribes and Pharisees really thought they could make themselves righteous by doing the law. They refused to see their need for Jesus to make them able to meet the law. Jesus can and will forgive any sin, if we are willing to recognize our need and come to Him in repentance and receiving His forgiveness. Another thing I see here is that when Jesus was done denouncing them, He wept over their unwillingness to return to Him. He wanted them to come to Him. He compares His love for them to that of mother hen for her chicks. It was not a problem of His unwillingness to receive them but rather, their unwillingness to come. I have never seen a street preacher weeping over the stiff-necked unrepentance of his audience. But Jesus did.
Now that’s glory. He holds a high standard and lowers it for no one. He dies in our place when we cannot make the standard. He comes to live in us to enable us to meet the standard. He weeps over those who will not come to Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John