Joseph, A Man with Wood-shavings at His Feet:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT I feel a certain kinship with Joseph.  From time to time I make things with wood.  Wood has a character of it's own.  Everyone who has worked with wood knows that pine is much softer than oak.  Since I don't know how long ago, tool makers have realized that the long, straight, strong fibers that make up the "grain" in hickory make it ideal for tool handles.  With the power tools that I From an article by Rev. Jack Barr use, I can make a cut, or drill a hole, in less than a minute that would have taken Joseph hours to accomplish.  Even with modern tools, though, one must respect the wood.  I can think of a few projects I've worked on, where I was not merely working on the wood but with it.  There is a sense of partnering with God.  God made that tree.  He created its kind.  He is the giver and sustainer of the life that allowed the seed to become the log.  The marks of falleness--the universal condition in this world-are embedded in the wood.  Drought effected the rate of growth and therefore the pattern of the grain, rot leaves its mark, and the tunnels of invading insects reminds the worker that life is not safe.  Evil is not only out there; through Adam it invaded us all.  Now it is my privilege--it's not to much to say it is my responsibility to take this which my Lord has provided and make something useful of it.  Joseph had to be a man of great patience.  A beam for the flat roof of a house had to be formed from a tree that he might cut down himself.  His handsaw was likely not as sharp as mine.  Converting round to square was accomplished by muscle and skill.  To make a yoke that is easy (pleasant or comfortable) requires that one not only consider the nature of the wood, but the needs of the one who would bear the yoke.   We often speak of reading between the lines.  In the case of Joseph, there is a lot of space between the few lines that are written about him.  I'm not sure we can fill those spaces--certainly not with the kind of authoritative words that are in the lines themselves--but it is worth some time spent thinking. On the Sunday before Christmas we'll be looking at Joseph.  I hope you'll join us, if not in person then by recording.   With a wish for the best of Christmases, it's Something To Think About, from the Covington Bible Church.

A Heritage Worth Inheriting:

It's early morning.  I'm sitting in the room that used to be the sanctuary of Covington Bible Church.  It has been otherwise for so long, now--about thirty years--that only a few of us can still picture our fellowship hall with pews--I remember when we painted and padded those pews--and pulpit.  As I sit here in the morning quiet I think of Maxine Kouns, George and Ava Reynolds, Berlin and Alma Sizemore, Guy and Eleanor Brown, and others.  All of those I named are folk who worshiped with us in this building and have since gone to heaven.  They are names that mean little to most of those who come here for Sunday School, Prayer Meeting or Sunday morning breakfast, but they left their mark.  In some cases this room is part of the mark they left.
Last Sunday, here at CBC, I asked myself and ourcongregation, "How can we leave behind a worthwhile heritage that lasts?
Joseph certainly accomplished that.  His lasting impact is summarized in the deathbed words of his dad, Jacob.
I won't re-preach the message here.  (If you check at ourwebsite you'll find how to access a recording of it.)  A couple thoughts, though, to keep in mind:

• Building a positive heritage usually takes a long time.  That is certainly true about Joseph.  His young adulthood was spent in obscurity--slavery and prison--preparing him for his public impact.  Moses spent eighty years preparing for the last forty years of his life.  Most of us will not do any one outstanding thing.  If our life is to have lasting impact, it will be because we have taken a great many baby steps in the right direction.
• What would otherwise be a solid heritage can be torn down.  Maybe it is one of life's "unfairnesses," but it can be ruined much quicker than it can be built.  Both Saul, the King of Israel, and Benedict Arnold, of colonial American fame, had  sterling qualities.  They were eclipsed by their failures.
• Heritage building is one of those pursuits that is self-defeating.  It must be a by-product of Godly, obedient living.  If it is our main goal we will fail at it.  It is clearly one of those "He that tries to keep it will lose it" concepts.

My grandfather used to say, "You pay for your raisin' when you raise your own."  The same can be said for heritage, as a member of family, a member of THE church, and my church, as well as a member of my community and nation, I am greatly privileged by the heritage others have left.

Lord, may live so that I will leaves something for others.  Amen. 

 It's STTA. 

A Remarkable Man:

I have come to appreciate Joseph, the Old Testament patriarch, all over again.  Over the past couple of months it has been my privilege to hang out with Joseph, as I've prepared and shared several messages about his remarkable life.  

One the traits of Joseph's life that I find remarkable is his acknowledgement of God's sovereignty.  At the end of his story there are some clear statements about God's ways.  

In Genesis 45:5-7 Joseph says that it was God Who sent him to Egypt.  Remarkable because Joseph was talking to the very people who had seized and sold him into slavery--the means by which he came to Egypt.

Later he said, " . . .am I in God's place?  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. . . ."  (Genesis 50:19-20)

Psalm 105 gives some further information about Joseph's treatment. "Joseph . . . was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;"  (17-18)

For thirteen years of his life Joseph was either a slave or a prisoner, yet as he looked back he could see God's hand in what had happened.  God was/is bigger than the petty jealousy and cruelty of his brothers, the conniving ways of a wicked woman, and the forgetfulness of a fellow-prisoner who could have helped prisoner number J-O-S-E-P-H.

I know God is certainly bigger than the petty offenses that come into my life.  I'm praying for the grace to acknowledge that even though others might mean it for evil, God in His sovereignty not only intends it for good, but actually brings good to reality.

Lord, make me like Joseph.  Amen.

 It's STTA. 

Life's Unfairness, #3:

"It's always darkest just before the dawn." 

Really?

Lot's of people would argue with that, with good reason, I might add.  The experience of many is, "It's always darkest just before the lights go totally out."

Eleven of Joseph's 28 years had been spent as a slave or in jail.  Even if Joseph had done something worthy of incarceration back in Israel, he would have been tried as juvenile--by today's standards.  The fact is, other than, perhaps, getting caught being stupid and having a penchant for self-importance--a tendency, which was fed by his father's foolish behavior--Joseph was innocent.  But it's LIFE that appears to be wearing the black robe, sitting behind the big desk and life isn't fair.  

Even in jail, Joseph's abilities were clear, those and the blessing of his God.  Even though Joseph in essence ran the jail, I am sure he wanted out.  He was about 28 years old when an opportunity presented itself.  Joseph successfully interpreted the king's cupbearer's dream.  Sure enough, just like the dream said, the high-ranking servant was restored to his position.  Surely his gratitude would cause him to remember Joseph, his jailhouse buddy, the one who first broke the good news.

How many mornings did Joseph get up thinking, "It will probably be today.  Pharaoh will send guards to get me, and few minutes examination will reveal that I was thrown in this place because of lies."?  How many nights did he go to bed thinking, "Maybe tomorrow."?  

I don't know, but I have to believe that on one of those 730+ days the bottom fell out.  "He's not going to remember me."  Or worse, "He did remember me and Pharaoh didn't listen."  

That was the day hope came crashing down.  

Perhaps life's greatest unfairness is to allow us to think it is going to get better, so that when the realization comes that it is going to stay bad, our disappointment will be all the worse.  The words of the Sawi, a cannibalistic stone age tribe in New Guinea, "To fatten him with kindness for the slaughter," certainly apply.  It seems that life is like a hog farm--lotta weight being put on to a deadly end.  

It is clear to me that part--a big part--of God's purpose for letting this world be the way it is, is to keep us from loving it.  If we love it with all its unfairness, just think how much we would if skies were always blue, and cupbearers always remembered their buddies back in jail.  

Again I encourage you to readRomans 8.  

If you put your ultimate hope in anything in this world, look out.  All bottoms are subject to falling out without warning.

It's STTA. 

You'll find some resources that explains the true hope here.