I attended a church several weeks ago and the Pastor’s sermon was entitled “God’s Tattoos”. The message was not along this line of thinking but it sure got me going …

There is talk in the “church” about the increased amount of Christians getting tattoos. Is it right? Is it wrong? What’s the purpose?

I am NOT writing a treatise on the subject and you can use scripture and point out differing opinions.

Who said tattoos are wrong? Now I personally would not want one and I don’t really like them very much but I got to thinking … God Himself has a tattoo! Isaiah said in 49:16, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands … “ (ESV). If that’s not a “tattoo” I don’t know what is! (For you KJV fans the word is “graven”… AMP, “I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands …”)

Just think … every time He stretches out His hand to minister, to touch, to shelter, to hug, to hold … He sees MY name (and yours!) engraved in the palm of His hand. WOW!

That’s the good side, but there is also a bad side. Jeremiah 17:1 points out that the sin of Judah was so bad, their hearts were so hardened that it took a stylus of iron with the point of a diamond to engrave on the tablet of their heart. We can’t “see” the heart but their sin was engraved on its hard surface!

Genesis 4:15 tells us of another “mark” made upon man. God is punishing Cain for the murder of his brother, Abel. Cain was cursed from the ground (meaning he could no longer plant and harvest with ease), he would be a fugitive and a wanderer roaming the earth and feared he would be killed. God did not want him to be killed so “the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.” We don’t know the precise nature of the mark but it was something visible so that when others saw him they would not kill him. It was a mark of protection … even for the sinner for that time.

In Ezekiel 9:4 & 6 the angelic executioners are to kill all those who do not have “the mark on their foreheads”. One of those seven angels is assigned to protect the faithful by placing a defining mark on their foreheads. Again this shows that God’s “mark” will bring protection to the righteous.

Those of us who look forward to the future know that difficult times are ahead. During the time of the great tribulation there will be many who will take a mark on their foreheads which is called the mark of the beast. For them, their choice has been made for eternity, separation from God (Revelation 13 & 14). That could easily be called the “Tattoo of Eternal Death”.

I seriously doubt that I will ever get a tattoo (I saw a sign on Facebook: “Why don’t I have any tattoos?  For the same reason you don’t put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari.”  I like that!) but I am SO glad God has one with MY name and my face on His hand!

A clean house gives me great pleasure!  I love to have a clean house . . . everything in its place, dust gone, clean sheets – no clutter!  I can’t think of a time when it’s been that way.  That causes me problems . . . I put off things I WANT to do because I think I could concentrate better if my house was clean.

Then after the grandchildren leave I wonder why I cleaned in the first place!

This morning I was putting the Christmas decorations away thinking about having my house clean again when the Lord spoke to my heart about “is My house clean?”  I am the temple of the Holy Spirit and I can get so bogged down in clutter… spiritual clutter!  Wrong attitudes, gossip, resentment, anger, time management, priorities … my list could go on and on!

We recently sold a house and we had plenty of time in the escrow to go thru the “stuff” that gets collected over years.  Keep this, give that, thrift this pile, toss even more, do the kids want this?  And lastly … do I really need to keep this???  Sometimes it’s just plain difficult to let go of our stuff.  Seems so important at the time!

Sometimes I think it is easier to clean my physical house than my spiritual one.  Grab the vacuum and a dust cloth and work out my frustrations!  But grabbing the Bible and dusting out the cobwebs in my spirit takes a little more time and introspection!  And courage!  It’s hard to face the facts of my own sin.

Have you ever wished to be a Joan of Arc?  Helen of Troy? Golda Meier? Corrie Ten Boom?  Beverly LaHaye? A woman who did something to change the course of history?

An acclaimed artist, musician, doctor or scholar?  Perhaps someone who found the cure for cancer or diabetes?

I doubt that the ones mentioned above even thought their actions would make a lasting note in history, but they acted with courage and conviction.

The women above made a difference in their world but there are two women who changed the whole course of world history. We can’t duplicate what these two women did, but we can learn from their example and both teach important lessons.

Two women … Eve and Mary …
One was married to the first Adam and the other gave birth to the second Adam.
One changed a totally peacefully perfect world into a sinful place.
One gave birth to the perfect Son of God who came to bring peace to us.

Let’s look at their choices …

First, Eve. Everything was perfect.  It didn’t just look perfect, it was perfect!  You can’t improve on perfect!  She had a smart, articulate, handsome attentive, yes PERFECT husband.  No children to run after, didn’t have to cook or clean or sew and she was probably a perfect “10”!  Human life was perfect and all plant life was perfect.  It is hard for me to imagine perfection!

Then Satan came in the form of a serpent.  He must have been a beautiful creature and telling her half-truths (which then IS a lie) began to tempt her with the ONE thing she didn’t have.  And with that discontent entered her heart.  Perfection was simply not good enough for her! Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it …”  That was it, just that one thing.  She had EVERYTHING but THAT ONE THING and now she wanted that one thing!

DISCONTENT!  Webster’s dictionary defines it as “dissatisfaction”.

Have you ever been discontented?  We are so blessed here in America and to most of the world even the poor among us are rich.  And yet we long for more. We want more.  We can’t even go to the mall without bringing something back whether we need it or not.

The challenge was presented to her and she failed!  And with her failing and succumbing to temptation, perfection was lost, sin and death entered the world and we today deal with the consequences of that one fateful decision.

Perfection, purity, innocence … all was gone in that instant.

What decisions have you made that have affected your life and your family’s life in a negative way?  I’m certainly not going to have a confessional here today but you can answer that in your heart.

ALL of us are tempted and tested.  We have questions, we have doubts, we have desires.  Satan knows that and he makes it his mission to “get” us.

What do you do when tempted by the devil?

It is not sin when Satan tempts us. The sin comes in when we listen to him!  We begin to entertain his questions, propositions, hesitations. If we give him our attention then we become inclined to DO and ACT on his suggestions.

The Word of God says to “submit to God and resist the enemy” (James 4:7)!  We cannot do it in ourselves … we need to KNOW the Word and to act of it.

We can be saved a lot of trouble if we obey God and not Satan!

Now Mary. Whereas Eve’s world was perfect, Mary’s world was far from perfect.
Her people were under oppression and ruled by Rome.  Women were looked upon as not as equal with men and the outlook was not good.

And into this far from perfect world an angel appeared to Mary with startling news.  Remember “someone” came to Eve also!  “Someone” in the form of another, Satan in the form of a serpent who came to plant seeds of doubt resulting in sin.  The “someone” appearing to Mary came with an announcement of good news but that which would have life-changing consequences for her and for the world!

“Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”.  WOW, that is surprising enough, an angel appearing to a woman! Good news (favored one the Lord is with you), and a blessing!  But what did it mean???

Then the angel tells her that she is going to be with child and lets her know THIS CHILD that she will carry IS the Messiah of the world!

At this point Mary is faced with a decision.  She can either recoil and say “Oh, no, not me! You’ve got the wrong girl!  I’ll lose my husband to be, my reputation, etc.” OR she can submit herself to the will of the Father.

We know the rest of the story. She submitted to Father with this incredible statement, “Let it be to me according to your word.” Utter, total, unconditional complete surrender to the will of God.  And what was the result?  We are given the opportunity to KNOW Jesus, to be His child, to accept His sacrifice for us on Calvary, to spend eternity with Him in heaven FOREVER!

As I said previously, you and I will never be in the same position as either Eve or Mary.  Yet we WILL face decisions that will altar our own life and that of our descendants after us.

Decisions such as “whom should I marry?”, “am I committed to this marriage even when problems arise?”, what do you do when faced with a compromising decision as to infidelity, drugs, etc.

We all face decisions everyday, not all are of great consequence, but many are and we are responsible for those that affect our relationship with God and those decisions WILL hurt or help our children after us.

We face decisions between faith or fear, obedience or disobedience, trust or run.  And the greatest decision of all is “what do I do with Christ and His sacrifice for me on the cross?”

At the very beginning I mentioned that the two women I would be talking about had something in common. One was married to the first Adam and the other gave birth to the second Adam. What does that mean?

Romans 5 gives us the answer. Death came by one and LIFE came by the other!

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned — for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the trespass.  For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.  And the free gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin.  For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.  For if, because of one man’s trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.  Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.  For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.  Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12-21 ESV).

My husband loves to teach Romans and could expound on this passage much more eloquently than me but let me at least share this. The disobedient act of one man (woman) brought sin and its penalty of death upon the human race.  Just as the disobedient act of one man brought sin into the world, the obedient act of one man (and the woman who made it possible) counteracted this deed and made righteousness and eternal life available for humankind.

(1) Adam’s act was an offense, a deliberate going astray; Christ’s deed was one of grace.
(2) Adam’s sin resulted in condemnation, whereas Christ’s deed of grace brought justification and life.
(3) Adam is characterized by disobedience, while Christ is characterized by obedience.

We are in Adam by birth but in Christ by faith.  In Adam by birth we are condemned and die, but because of Christ’s redemptive work we can be justified and live if we are in Him by faith.

The first decision you must make is “what do I do with Christ?” and then “how do I live my life?”  In disobedience by following what I want to do, or living and making decision by what HE wants of me?

In the first garden man said, “not Thy will be done but my will be done” but in the second garden Jesus said, “not My will but Thy will be done”.  It’s the age long battle of our will verses God’s will. All of life is either “Thine” or “mine.” How are you going to live? Bad choices or right choices may not have immediate results, but results WILL follow.

You may not be a WORLD changer but you will affect the lives (your world) of those around you, your spouse, your children, your neighborhood, your church and who knows, your life may affect a life that WILL be a world changer.

… the mother of an evangelist
… the father of one who finds a cure for cancer
… the prayer warrior who leads a child to Christ

Let me close with this story. Nearly 70 years ago the father of a dear friend of ours pastored a church in Pennsylvania.  He would go door to door telling people about Jesus and inviting them to church.  One day he visited a couple and the next Sunday the couple came to church and in the Sunday School class this couple was saved.  The next Sunday they brought their children and they were saved, five boys and three girls.  As a result ALL five boys became ministers and all three girls married ministers.  Two of the boys were Bible College Presidents.  Many of the grandchildren are in ministry today.

All this was the result of people who were willing to take risks, to knock on doors, to invite people to church, to pray with those people to accept Christ.

Did they change their world?  You betcha’! So can you!

I will admit here and now that I like maps!  When I was young, daddy brought us home from South America via Miami and bought a car just so we could drive to California!  Oh joy!   Up the east coast through Washington, D.C., New York City and across America driving a car. My brother and I had a map that we used to mark out the trip!  We unfolded and refolded that crazy paper map so many times that it finally tore.

Since then, whenever we went on a trip I wanted a map.  Paper maps were free and we loaded up on them.  Now my favorite app on my iPad is my map app.  I will even turn it on when I know where I’m going because it will give me traffic, accident reports, construction zones and even show me what detour to take.  It’s GREAT!  I love it!  (Well, I know “love” is an overused word here.) However, my map app is not infallible. Sometimes it shows traffic that’s not there, the “accident” sign is still on but the accident has been removed, or it won’t show the weaving police car that is holding back traffic.

I can enlarge my map app so it even shows me street names, restaurants, coffee stops, gas stations and I guess if I was smart enough it could show me a lot more if I knew how to ask.

Recently  I was praying over some things that are concerning this mother/grandma’s heart, pondering the life of my grandchildren particularly and praying for them.  In moments like this, my map app that I turn to is the Bible.  It shows me first of all how to turn off the “worry” (I think I need to work on that one more) and then pray in the Spirit.

This Map App gives directions that NEVER fail.  “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” Psalm 119:105.

God’s Word IS my life map app!  Have I always followed it?  Sadly, no, but when I run into a detour, having chosen my own way, I can go back to the Bible as my Map App and get my directions straightened out!

I can TRUST my Map App.  I can remember the time when I believe I “heard” God’s voice.  It was one word.  It was around 1984 and I was beside myself with concerns.  We had started the television ministry and it was overwhelming to me. I was taking a Sunday afternoon nap on the sofa when I suddenly was wide awake because I “heard” the word TRUST and immediately the rest of the verse ran through my mind, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5 & 6.

IF (how can such a little word be so big?) I could always only do that I am well advised.

But life throws curves.  I’ve had them.  You’ve had them.  Not all detours are made of our own wrong choices.  Probably most are, but not all.  They can be route changing detours.  Death, divorce, affairs, job loss, getting fired, unexpected moves, problems with children, accidents, unplanned pregnancies, illness, not getting the promised promotion … fill in any blank.

Do we let the detours derail us, or do we go to our Map App, the Word of God, tears and all, lay it out before Him (He knows all about it anyway!) and get back on track?  What you thought your life would look like has altered.  Change happens.  Don’t let the detours change your end goal.  It may become a little curvy and crooked but get straightened out and keep your goal in sight.

Pleasing Jesus is my goal first and foremost!  Obeying His directions, following His commands.  Heaven in my goal!  I want to see Jesus and I want ALL my children and grandchildren coming along with me.

OK … I just don’t get it that some folks don’t like to ask directions!  Now, I’m not giving any names 🙂 but how in the world can you get someplace you’ve never been without asking how to get there?  Or get sketchy directions and try to find where you are?  Or getting lost and then not asking directions?

The BIBLE is the ONLY trustworthy, never fail, always right direction giver on how to get to heaven!

Get out your official Map App … read it, study it, apply it.

DO while WAITING?  That seems contradictory!  I think that most people assume while “waiting” they do nothing!  Well, not exactly!

Most people do not like to wait.  We don’t like waiting at stop lights, in bank lines, in doctor’s offices and especially at the Department of Motor Vehicles!  We are an impatient and restless lot!

Several times this week I have reread the story of Elijah in I Kings 17-19.  Have you ever wondered what Elijah “did” while at the brook Cherith?  God told him to go hide himself by the brook and the ravens would feed him (quite a miracle in itself as ravens usually do the scavenging and eating!).  Let’s see … no internet, no radio, no friends, not even a book!  How did he pass his days?  Maybe thinking? Pondering? Praying? (I’m sure!) Contemplating? Planning? Sleeping? Maybe he even used rocks as weights and exercised!

It got me to thinking … how can I effectively use my waiting time.  After all waiting can be an action word.  Waiting is not simply sitting on our hands and waiting for something to happen!

The Bible encourages us to “wait” on the Lord and there are promises that follow but how do you put your wait to good use?

Here are a few things that popped into my mind that can “redeem the time” while we are waiting …

give thanks
be expectant
sing songs, hymns & spiritual songs
rejoice in the Lord
trust in God
live in faith
stay confident
look to Jesus
glorify Him
walk in the Spirit
don’t grow weary
don’t lose heart
choose love
walk in peace
listen to His voice
submit to God
resist the devil
put on God’s armor
take up God’s armor
hope in God
extend His grace
stand fast for truth
know HIM
be patient
do not fret
feed on His Word
delight yourself in the Lord
commit your ways to the Lord
don’t be anxious
think on Him
be encouraged
be vigilant

Oh my … I think you can add a lot more to that list!  Waiting is NOT passive … waiting is ACTIVE!

Many in the Bible had to use their wait time effectively also …
Joseph had to wait 17 years
Moses had to wait 40 years
Children of Israel had to wait 40 years
Daniel had to wait 21 days
Some waited so long they died before receiving their promise (Hebrews 11)

Don’t grow weary waiting for God’s promises!  A favorite verse of mine is Habakkuk 2:2 & 3, “But these things I plan won’t happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass.  Just be patient!  They will not be overdue a single day!” (Living Bible).

What has God told you to do? Has He given you a promise?  Are you in a “waiting” mode?  Don’t despair!  Use the above list to make your waiting time productive and then as Habakkuk says … slowly, steadily, surely … it will come to pass!

So what comes to your mind?  Someone peeking over your shoulder or smothering you by their closeness?

The other night I was reading in Philippians and came across this statement in 4:5, “The Lord is at hand” (KJV).  Some say that refers to future events but I say, THE LORD IS AT HAND!  That means He is here, NOW, with me, watching over me, reaching out to me!

Meditating on that I thought back to Genesis 1:2 (NLT), “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

When I first read that I thought, hmmmm … “hover” … and I pictured a helicopter hovering over a building or over a chasm with big, black billowing clouds.  A helicopter can hover over an injured hiker on a mountainside waiting for the right moment to sweep in and pick up the injured.  A helicopter can hover over a heaving, rolling storm tossed sea to rescue passengers.  A hovering helicopter means rescue is at hand!

The dictionary definition  … “hover” … “to hang fluttering or suspended in the air; to keep lingering about, wait near at hand.”  A helicopter has the ability to stay in one place suspended in air for a period of time.

What happens when a helicopter “hovers”?  The wind kicks up, waves get higher, future passengers can panic and rather than following advice they can get in the way and delay rescue.  Deep breathe, stay calm.

How does that apply to me?  Oh my!  There have been times I’ve felt to be in the stormy sea WAITING for rescue!  I’ve been the injured on the floor waiting to be picked up! All the while the “Lord was at hand”.  The Spirit of God was hovering over me … watching, waiting, eager for the right time to swoop down and rescue me.  Trouble is … His timing is rarely my timing.  I want rescue NOW or better yet … yesterday!

I felt the waves washing over me.  I felt death near (maybe not physically but emotionally!).  I felt the dark clouds of depression swirling over me.  In my heart I knew God was there but why wasn’t He picking me up yet??

This verse gives me assurance!  The Lord IS at hand.  The Spirit of God knows where I am.  He WILL rescue me … when His timing is right!

In the meantime I wait.  I meditate on His Word.  I listen for His instructions.  I occupy my time.  I try not to panic when the wind kicks up.  I like to think that the wind of His Spirit assures me that HE IS NEAR!

One word, NO!  A lady came to me one day in church complaining about how unhappy her husband was making her and she thought she should divorce him because “God doesn’t want me to be this unhappy”.  She had been talking to me for several minutes about how bad he was to her before she made that statement.  Her comment undid me and I looked at her and said, “God doesn’t care a hoot about your happiness … He cares about your holiness!”

I look around at so many today who seem to think only about their happiness.  What can they do that will make themselves happy.  I would like us to begin to think, “What can I do to make Jesus happy?”

We are saved by grace … no doubt about it!  None of us are good enough to save ourselves.  None of us can become good enough to save ourselves.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith …” (Ephesians 2:8).

However, once we are saved what do we do then?  When a baby comes into this world we feed the baby, we cloth the baby, we watch the baby grow.  Probably every parent has hugged their sweet little one and wished, “Oh, if only I could keep you this tiny!” And yet if that truly happened our hearts would break because our child wasn’t growing, wasn’t becoming what should be happening in a life.

What does God think when He looks at us as new children of His or even “long term” Christians but sees no growth?  We remain infants.

There are so many things to learn, to grow, to study … to BECOME in Him.  One thing He has commanded us is to “be holy even as I am holy”.  For many years “holiness” got a bad wrap.  Meant no fun, can’t do this, can’t do that, don’t go there, must do this, guys don’t wear ties and girls long dresses and hair in buns.  This is NOT holiness.

Many today say, “Oh you don’t have to do anything once you come to Christ. You are now in Him and you are safe.”  That’s rubbish!  To be holy like Jesus, to become what He wants us to be … takes effort … takes time … takes growth … we must daily crucify our evil natures and desires, to put them down … means we feed on His Word, find out what He wants us to be and becoming like Him means to become holy as He is holy.

Holiness … being set apart, consecrated, dedicated, separated in a spiritual way is the essence of holiness.  Set apart from the world and unto God.  We are still a part of the world but we are on our way to becoming like Him.  Thoughts, actions, likes and dislikes, emotions … We don’t think like the world, we don’t act like the world, we don’t talk like the ungodly we think “How would Jesus react?”

The Word of God, the Bible is our standard. It’s our measuring stick.  It is truth.  It’s His holiness in me that makes Him happy.

There is an old illustration that my daddy used to give in one of his sermons and I’ve heard it in others … a lady wanted to hire a new chauffeur so she placed an ad in the local paper.  Several applied for the position so she asked each one to take her for a ride up into the mountains.  She told each one to see how close they could get to the edge of the cliff without going over!  One got about a foot away from the edge, another six inches and the last applicant stopped the car, turned around and said, “Ma’am, I don’t want to see how close to the edge I can get, I want to stay as far away as possible from the edge!”  He got the job.

That is the way we must live … not how close we can live to the edge of sin but how far away can we stay from sin and grow in likeness of Him.

We will not always be happy … but we can be joyful!  Holiness trumps happiness any day!

“To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask is to be like Him.  All through life’s journey from earth to glory.  All I ask, to be like Him”.

This morning I was meditating on Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet …”  Made me think of my closet!  Not a good thing to do when I am supposed to be “meditating on the Word”!

My closet is not a room, my closet has slider doors and is FULL.  I have often said to my husband, “I’ve GOT to find time to clean this closet out … donate, throw, whatever!”  There are clothes too big and clothes too small (well, you never know when you might gain or lose a few pounds!).  There are two many purses (but it goes so well with that outfit).  Shoes that don’t fit (thank you bunion!) and then there is my favorite flip-flops that should flip right into trash!  There is an old rule (and who follows this?) that if you buy something new then immediately when you get home take something out to donate.  I’d really like to know which of my friends do that! (Well, maybe I don’t want to know because then I might not like you so much!!)

Ouch, that made me think on my spiritual closet!  Ok, ok … I know we don’t have to pray in a closet … it can be anywhere that we can be alone with our Heavenly Father.  But what happens when we get alone with God?  I’m a list maker and I can almost be certain to think of something that needs to be written down before I forget it.  I remember a phone call that needs to be made to the east coast before they leave for work.  The oven needs to be turned on, get the laundry started, did I turn the eggs off on the stove?  The phone rings and it just might be important!

You get the idea … the closet is too full to pray!  We need to do some sorting and throwing out of the junk in our closet!

Jesus’ words continue in Matthew 6:6, “ … and when thou hast shut thy door …”  There is the clue … SHUT THE DOOR … to invading thoughts.  It takes discipline and believe me it is NOT easy!  How often I’ve had to claim the verse in II Corinthians 10:5, “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”  Note to Connie … keep my mind on Jesus!  Now that can be a good thing to do all day and not just in prayer time!

Jesus wants our full attention not just to listen to us … He wants to talk to us also!  And He won’t do it if we are not listening.  I know what it is like when talking to someone and I know I don’t have their full attention (and unfortunately there are times when I don’t give my full attention!) I can get a little upset to say the least.

Shut your closet door, turn your attention to Him, be still and know that He is God.

Please don’t anyone get a guilt trip from this … I KNOW there are emergencies and time crunches … babies crying, the sick child, the forgotten lunch to be made, the alarm that didn’t go off …  but don’t let failure to keep your time with God keep you from your time with God!

So now that I’ve written this I must go clean out my closet!

One morning I was praying for my children and grandchildren and part of that prayer was that they would be “conformed” to His image.  Then I got to thinking … do I really wish for them to be “conformed”.  That could hurt!

Conform:  to act in accordance or harmony; comply; to be or become similar in form, nature, or character.

Have you ever seen a square egg?  When my brother and I were young he went to a magic store and purchased a small box that you could use to put in a peeled hot hard boiled egg. Then you clamp the lid on and wait for the egg to cool.  When the egg cooled and you took it out of the box … walola … you had a square egg!  Why?  Because as the egg cooled it took on the form of the container in which it resided.

The same should be true of you and me … we are “in” Christ if we have accepted Him as our Savior.  We are like that egg … as we are “in Christ” we should be taking on His form as we continue in Him.  We should be “becoming similar in nature and character.” I don’t like to think we “cool off” and take on His image because we need to continue to be “hot” in our pursuit to take on His likeness!

It is not fun to be conformed.  It often means to be in the fire, to go through trials, to be in the pressure cooker of life.  But how do we handle the hard times?

Praise. Worship. Prayer. The Word … conforming our life to His. Dying daily.  Crucifying the flesh.  Living in the Spirit.

Romans 8:29, “… to be conformed to the image of His son …”

Philippians 3:21, “Who (the Lord Jesus Christ – parenthesis mine) will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body”.

There probably isn’t a person alive that hasn’t said at one time or another, “I’m going to do thus and so but in the meantime  I’ll do …”

Much of what we plan or want to do doesn’t happen right away but comes about after time.  It is what we do “in the meantime” that plays a large part in the future.

Look at the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-42).  I love this story because it shows us what God sees in us and not what others see.  God saw that Joseph had great potential but others saw a bratty, spoiled, tattletale, protected teenager.  He was much loved by his daddy, hated by his brothers, son of a beautiful but spoiled mother who died in his childhood.  His daddy was not a particularly good father and closed his eyes to a lot of the “in fighting” among his children.

But GOD.  God saw in Joseph what others did not see.  He “called” Joseph to a work for Him by giving him a dream of his future.  What is so true of youth is that they have little tact.  The dream was heady business to Joseph and probably confirmed to him what he already thought of himself … “I’m groomed for greatness!”  So he did what came naturally and told his brothers. Not a good idea!  They hated him even more after that because it was all about how he (Joseph) would rule over them.  Oh my!  How that angered them.

I believe that God instills in our children those abilities and talents that He will use later on in life. God also gives callings, dreams and visions to the young as well as the old.  Obviously children need to mature in their personalities, minds, attitudes and abilities to be effective and when dreams are shared too early with others our children can become discouraged.  Families, unfortunately, are some of the best at throwing cold water on each other to extinguish our dreams.

God didn’t want Joseph to become discouraged so He gave him a second dream to confirm his calling.  Some learn the hard way (or not at all!) and Joseph hadn’t learned!  This time he told his dream not only to his brothers but to dad also.  The reaction this time was that daddy rebuked him and his brothers envied him.  I guess the brothers figured there might be some truth in this after all!  Daddy Jacob, kept these things in his heart.

God DID have a plan for Joseph’s life but also knew Joseph wasn’t ready for the role planned for him. Joseph needed to be groomed, prepared and his talents needed development.

Ouch!  We like to think that when our “grooming” starts it will not involve undue pain or hardship. “Oh, God has called me to (fill in your own blank!) and yeah, I’m gonna’ do great things!” Everyone is going to like us and help us in our preparation!

Ooops … then comes the pits!  I don’t know about you but I sure don’t like the pits!  I don’t enjoy pain, hardship or difficult times but those are the places of refinement IF we keep God front and center, don’t forget our dreams and callings and realize that God is in control.

Poor Joseph.  He is only 17, had a cushy job and was eager to get away when dad told him to go find his brothers, find out how they were doing and report back to him.  Official tattling! Perfect setup for brother’s revenge!

The brothers see him coming with his colorful coat and see their chance to rid themselves of this family nuisance.  They plan to kill him and blame it on a wild animal.  At this point they are thinking only of themselves and certainly not of dad!

Thank goodness for one brother that decided this killing business was not a good idea and pleaded to save his life.  “Let’s throw him into this pit …” then Reuben was going to pull him out later and send him on home.

The brothers strip him of his identity (his coat), throw him into an empty pit without any water and sit down to eat while he is pleading for his life!  While eating another idea strikes them as they see a caravan of traders coming their way.  “Hey, let’s sell Joseph and then we won’t have to kill him!  After all, he is our brother and our flesh!”

So they sell him as a slave, Reuben comes to rescue him out of the pit (he must have not been around for supper), tears his clothes, asks his brothers about him and they come up with a story to tell dad … that wild animals killed him, sprinkled blood from a goat that they killed on the coat, returned to dad and asked him if this was “your son’s tunic” (not our brother’s tunic!) and embellished their lie.

Oh the guilt that must have settled over the brothers … the pain of bereavement that settled on Jacob … and the loneliness and puzzlement that must have descended on Joseph.

Joseph was in the pits, then sold, finally purchased as a slave.  Oh yes, he had a good boss but he was still a slave.  He was given a good job in his master’s household but he was still a slave.

I love the fact that Joseph did not despair.  We have no record of his complaining or cursing his brothers.  Jacob may not have been the best dad but he did do something right in that he must have taught Joseph a love for God and to stay true to Him!

Here Joseph was in a foreign country, foreign culture, foreign language, no family, no friends, NOTHING that was familiar to him and yet he stayed true to God.  He not only excelled in his training in administration, accounting and organization but when confronted with evil and temptation he refused to become involved! Genesis 39:2, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man …”

Why Joseph must have won the “Best Slave” award!  That doesn’t figure with our sense of being “successful”!

But it didn’t end there … we know the story of how he was framed by his boss’s wife (Joseph was one handsome dude and she may have been a spoiled love-starved woman used to getting her own way).  Who would have known if he had acquiesced to her demands?

God!  Joseph’s answer clearly shows that he knew this would have been a sin against God.  So even though he must have known his job was on the line he continually stood for righteousness until the boss’s wife got so mad she framed him and off to prison he went.

Oh my … from the pits to slavery to prison.  “God, where are You?  I know You called me!  You showed me what my life was to become.  You confirmed it to me and then all hell broke loose in my life.  There is nothing here to let me see how You can use this!  I am alone, all have forsaken me and now THIS?  GOD, I DON’T DESERVE THIS! I am going to have one grand pity-party!”  Ok, I know this was NOT Joseph’s reaction but would it have been mine? Or yours?

How much worse can it get? Oh … it does!  But again verse 21 tells us that even in prison he excelled because God was with him.  God did NOT desert him!  “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”

I would hazard a guess that Joseph would have preferred to be OUT of prison to excel, to get on with life and to be about what God wanted to do with him but again he buckled down and did his best to serve.  In that place he was now voted “BEST PRISONER”.  Still not a fulfillment of the dream though!

Even in prison he used his abilities for the advantage of others. He is now considerate of the feelings of others and when he sees sadness on the faces of two of the new prisoners he goes to them.  They tell him of their dreams and now Joseph recognizes that GOD is the revealer of dreams … not himself.

Ahh … he has learned something else …  that not only did he have to use the skills God had gifted him with but also acknowledge that God gave them to him!

It is GOD who is the revealer of dreams!  Joseph’s interpretations come true and he has asked the cupbearer to “remember me” when he is returned to power.  Yes, we all want out of our trials as quickly as we can … but God was STILL in charge and God’s timing was not yet.

Oh how hard it is for us to wait!  It was hard for Joseph but he remained faithful.  Look what Psalm 105:17-19 says, “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: UNTIL (emphasis mine!) the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.”

I don’t like to think that I will be in God’s school for so many years and that the word He has given me will be so “trying” … but He is the schoolmaster and knows when graduation time is coming!

In a moment of time Joseph’s life turned totally around.  Pharaoh had a dream, which no one could interpret.  FINALLY the cupbearer remembers Joseph! Genesis 41:12, “There was there with us a young man … he interpreted to us our dreams …”

Pharaoh sent for Joseph.  I wonder what he thought.  “Oh-oh, I wonder what I’ve done now?  Am I going to receive my death sentence?”  I don’t think he had any idea it was promotion day!

I love the fact that the brashness of youth was gone.  The first thing Joseph says in answer to Pharaoh is “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer …”.

Joseph interprets the dream, Pharaoh knows the interpretation is right on; he elevates Joseph to a position of prominence just below himself in the kingdom.

WOW … from prisoner to position of power in less than a day!

How did it happen? Because Joseph was faithful “in the meantime”.  He didn’t give up when the going got rough!  He didn’t give up when he found himself in the pits, or as a slave or in prison.  But in each situation he excelled.  He honed his gifts, he stayed prepared even when there was no one to be accountable to.  He did not yield to sinful pleasures thinking no one was watching.  We have no record of his complaining or even sulking.  I’m sure there where times when he must have wondered “where are you God?” but he continued to do his best wherever he was.

Has God given you a dream?  Are you in a “meantime”? How are you handling your disappointments and difficult situations?  With complaining or usefulness?

If you don’t handle your pits correctly … you won’t be ready for your promotion!

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Thank you Barbara H for your thoughts on this topic years ago which spoke to me when I needed to hear it (I still do!!!).  You are a dear friend and mentor and I love you dearly!