Chapter 6: Reflection

Wandering

At the end of Chapter 5, we read that “God taught them who he was and what he required of them,” (pg. 70) yet a number of times in chapter 6, God calls the Israelites a “stiff-necked people.”  

Why?  Because they believed…and then they didn’t….and then they did….and then they didn’t….(you get the picture!)  

God guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  He rescued them from slavery.  He performed miracles in their presence.  He was with them on their journey.

So they worshiped and celebrated all the time because God was with them, right?  NOT!  

Instead, they complained about their hardships.  They were hungry; they were thirsty.  They wanted food, so God gave them manna to eat. Were they grateful for that gift?  Sure, for like a minute!  Then they got sick of it and wanted meat to eat.  Don’t ya just love God’s response:  “Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it.  You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month – until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it.”  That ought to fix them!

No wonder God called them “stiff-necked” people.  

I (Tina) got to thinking about what God might call us today.  How about “wishy-washy”?  We are all about being grateful for what God is doing in our lives….until we, or someone in our family, get sick.  “Why me, God?”  We are all about singing praises to God and worshiping Him….and then we leave church and get back to “the real world.”  

Our culture has taken prayer out of schools, God out of our justice system and Jesus out of the center of our lives.  Do you stand up for your faith in the midst of these circumstances? 

Well, do you?  

Many times it’s much easier to go with the flow, isn’t it?  It’s much easier not to rock the boat, isn’t it?  Go ahead, be honest. 

Wishy-washy. 

We know what we’re supposed to do and not do.  We know what God expects of us.  And yet when we ask ourselves the question:  “Why do we still do those stupid things?”  we respond like Aaron in the cartoon above:  “I dunno.” 

Friends, let’s take from this chapter the challenge to step up our Christian game.  I challenge you to think of 3 ways that you can stand up for your faith this week; ways that you can take a stand for Jesus.  

I know you can do it!

REFLECTION: Chapter 4

It seems like when I (Allison) sit down to write one these little reflections (and sermons), I can't manage to get past first page of each chapter before I find a phrase that captures my imagination.

Last week, I was caught up in the story of Abraham and Sarah and the idea of God blessing them (and us) in order that they (and we) may be a blessing to others. [In fact, if you want to see just how stuck on that I got, check this out.]

THIS week, I didn't make it past this sentence (in "The Story," page 43):

"Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt." 

There's something very powerful about this sentence--something about a loss of perspective that makes my heart ache a little bit.

Somehow, history was lost. Memory was lost. Identity was lost.

In the middle of the muddle of everyday things, over the course of years and years, God's people drifted and drifted and drifted. And suddenly they found themselves being ruled by someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing."

The power of Joseph's story meant nothing now. The idea of "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" meant nothing ("The Story," page 42, Genesis 50:15-20).

Perhaps what makes my heart ache the most is that this happens so easily. Time and again we read about the Israelites forgetting about God and all He had done for them. They get so wrapped up in their individual lower stories that they forget all about God's upper story: how God is faithful and loving and chasing after them to bring them closer to His side.

They forget.

And we forget too.

We get wrapped around the axle of our lower stories and lose sight of God's upper story just as easily. (It's that whole darn sin thing again.) We forget who we are (beloved children of God) and to whom we belong (the Creator and Sustainer of the universe) and how we are to live (loving God and loving neighbor).

You know what we need to remember? Not to forget. Not to forget who we are and whose we are and how to live.

I can't say it any better than Deuteronomy 6 says it:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 

7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Don't forget. Teach your children and grandchildren and the children at your church and in your neighborhood to love the Lord with all their heart and soul and strength. Talk about it at home; talk about it in public; think about it before you go to sleep and when you wake up.

Model it for others.

Whatever you do, don't forget. Please don't forget.

Don't forget the power of Joseph's story--don't forget the power of God using the bad guys for good purposes. Don't forget the amazing story of God delivering his people from the hands of a king "to whom Joseph meant nothing."

Our prayer for you is that these 31 weeks with God and His "Story" will be a time of permanently imprinting His love for you on your heart. Of sealing these words of love inescapably on your soul. Like a tattoo, on the inside.

Enduring words, for all times.

Remember who you are, Whose you are, and how to live.  


TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER
So, what's one thing you can do today to make sure you don't forget and become someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing??"

REFLECTION: Chapter 3

Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh



"Jacob had 12 sons. But Joseph was his favorite." 

Right there.
Those two little sentences sure don't bode well for Joseph.

Favored as he was by his father, his "lower story" life was decidedly UNfavorable ...

Beaten up by his brothers.
Thrown into a hole by his brothers.
Left for dead, again, by his brothers.
Oops, wait, sold into slavery instead. (Brothers again.)
Thrown into jail.
Framed for rape.
Thrown in jail. Again. 

After reading that list, you might think the moral of the story is: "Don't mess with your brothers." (My brothers would probably give that a hearty, "Amen!") 

But Joseph's story isn't really about them. His brothers are just the minor characters in his story. They're bad guys God uses for GOOD in his "upper story." 

From our perspective (lower story), Joseph is in the very worst place--far from home, abandoned by family, stuck in jail. But from a divine perspective (upper story), he was in the very BEST place--right where God wants him to be.

God uses the sins of others to prepare Joesph for something very, very good: to be second in command to the Pharaoh, a place of power and influence that God can use for his purposes.

It doesn't mean it wasn't painful. It doesn't mean it wasn't scary and awful and probably something Joseph never would have volunteered for. But it was all a part of his story. And the bad part is not the end of his story.

If his brothers hadn't sold him into slavery and if Potiphar's wife hadn't gotten him thrown in jail, he would have never met the king's servant who needed someone to interpret a dream, which was his ticket out of jail. All the bad guys in this story had a purpose and a role: to put Joseph right where God wanted him to be.

God can do amazing things with sin and terrible situations because God is sovereign. He is in control when life feels out of control; he gives meaning to things which seem purposeless.


DO IT
Think about a difficult time in your life and how God used the bad to make something good. Think about a time in your "lower story" where God's "upper story" broke in and gave you hope and the strength to persevere.

Fill in this sentence: "If I had not gone through _____________________________, then I never would have learned _____________________________." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Reflection: Chapter 2 ... SOVEREIGN

Have you ever wanted something (or someone) so much that you were willing to go to crazy lengths to get what/who you wanted?

If so, you're not alone. Let me introduce you to Abraham and Sarah, an octogenarian couple who really, really wanted to have a child.

In fact, God told them they would have a child. Not only that, but also that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. They were ecstatic. And a little bit incredulous.

But because they wanted the child so darn much, it was pretty hard to continue to believe God's promise since no child appeared on the scene. Not that day. Nor the next. Or the next. (You get the picture.)

With each passing day, as they waited for God to deliver on His promise, they got a little older and incredulous-er. Thinking Sarah's elderly body might be the problem, they took matters into their own hands to help God out. Remember last week when we talked about how God's image in us is blurry? Here's a good example--they knew that God would keep His promise but they just couldn't wait.

(If you haven't yet, read how well their Plan B worked out here HERE.  PS It didn't.) 

It turns out Sarah wasn't the problem, not really. And Abraham wasn't the problem either. SIN was the problem--impatience and envy and thinking they knew better than God.

Fortunately for them, their God--and OUR God--is sovereign.
God is in complete control.
Of everything.
Of His promises and the ways He keeps His promises.

And even when we try to help things along--or rather, HURRY things along--we will never ruin God's plan.

Complicate it, yes. But ruin it? Not in a million years.
Thank God.

QUESTIONS--feel free to leave your answers in the comment! 
Time to 'fess up: when have you tried to "help" God out by hurrying things up? What was the result?

SERMON: Chapter 1 (Allison)

Introduction

Imagine a beautiful place. But not just any beautiful place … imagine the MOST beautiful place on

earth. Maybe it’s the most beautiful place you've ever been. Or maybe it’s a beautiful place that’s on your bucket list to visit one day.

Maybe the beauty of this place isn't so much about what it looks like physically but maybe it’s more about how it makes you feel when you’re there: calm, peaceful, content, rested, full of energy, happy.

Take a moment and imagine this beautiful place—the one place where, if you were able, you would stay forever.  

If you wouldn't mind sharing your answer with the rest of us, where do YOU think is the most beautiful place? And why?

(wait for answers)

Imagine what it would be like if you actually COULD stay in that place forever on one condition. You could stay in this beautiful place FOREVER and EVER … if you only could do this one thin. And that one thing is … to resist your greatest temptation.

Would you be able to resist your greatest temptation in order to stay in the most beautiful place in the world?

Reflection: Chapter 1 ... SIN

"sin" (noun)  1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam

Beautiful place to live? 

CHECK.  

Food on the table? 

CHECK.

Work to keep them busy during the day? 

CHECK. 

A helpmate to keep them warm at night? 

CHECK.

A God who walks with them and talks with them? CHECK. 

Adam and Eve were so stinkin' blessed -- they lived in paradise in perfect fellowship with God. So why in the world would they want anything else? Why in the world would they give in to the serpent's temptation? 

Why bite the forbidden fruit? 

For that matter ... why do WE want something other than what we have? Why do we look around and long for a nicer car or a bigger house or a better paying job? 

In a word? One little, ugly word? SIN.

We humans are made in God's image ... but we are not God. The image of God can be seen in us, but it's like looking in a foggy bathroom mirror--it's there and we can sorta see it, but it's blurry and distorted. 

We are created to be like Him--but our sin distorts God's image and makes it blurry. And that blurriness means we are given the choice of how what to say and do. And that 7 times out of 10 ... OK, 9 times out of 10, we choose to disobey God.  

This blurry image makes our eyes rove and our hearts wander, coveting the house, spouse, servant, and ass of our neighbor. (See?) And it makes us want something other than what God has given to us and provided for us in our lives. 

Why would Adam and Eve want anything other than the paradise they had? Because they were broken bearers of a blurry image of God ... and in this event we call "the Fall," they passed that sin down to the rest of the race. (#thankyouverymuch)  

And now, we all live as exiles from Eden, longing for the day when, like the thief, we will be with God in paradise. 

QUESTIONS--feel free to leave your answer in the comments! 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a problem is sin in your life? How often do you think about your sins? 

Do you feel like an exile from Eden because of sin?  What exactly does that feel like?