What's In Your Heart?

"So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?" Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found." But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father." Genesis 44:14-17

What kind of response do you think Joseph was looking for? He placed his cup into the pouch of his brother, Benjamin (the only brother that had the same mother). Did Joseph want to reveal his identity to Benjamin alone or was he testing the hearts of the brothers to see if they had changed after all of these years? Both Joseph and Benjamin were their father’s favorite children because they were born by the mother Jacob loved most. Favoritism does bring about jealousy, resentment and bitterness but the brothers were still responsible for their own behavior before God. After all these years, Joseph probably wondered what his other brothers thought of their actions in selling him. Did they regret it? Would they do it again? Were they treating Benjamin the same way? Now, that God had given Joseph the upper hand, Joseph patiently and wisely tested his brothers to discern what was in their hearts. Judah said, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants.” In other words, he was acknowledging that the brothers deserve to be treated as slaves for the sin they had been hiding all these years in selling Joseph as a slave.
Because God exists and He is just, what goes around, comes around. We truly do reap what we sow and these boys knew it firsthand. God is willing to forgive and we find Joseph acting like the God he trusts in.

I pray that we all may have the heart of both types of men:

Joseph – being willing to forgive
The brothers – being willing to openly and honestly confess and repent for wrongdoing against God and others.

God tests our hearts because He wants us to know what is in them. He already knows and He is so gracious to forgive as soon as we are willing to confess.

Signs of the Times

I can't believe what I am seeing here. What Pastor in their right mind would put this up on the church sign. Perhaps the Pastor of this church should try correcting this sign and re-wording this phrase. Let's hope so. God bless you today.

Obama Makes History As First Black President

Today we witnessed the peaceful transition of power here in the United States as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. President Obama made history by becoming the first African-Amercian, Multi-racial President in our nation. While I didn't vote for President Obama, I will pray for him and his family and I along with millions of Americans will do my best to support him when I think he is right and voice my disagreement and dissent when I feel he is wrong. Either way, Barack Obama is my president and I'll be praying for him as he assumes the office of President. God bless you today and God bless America.

New Era Begins With The Rams

Today the St. Louis Rams introduced their new head coach Steve Spagnoulo who was formerly the Defensive Coordinator of the New York Giants. Spagnoulo takes over the Rams after Scott Linehan was fired and intereim coach Jim Haslett wasn't retained. I am very excited about this hire and I am looking forward to a new era in Rams football. What is like about "Spags" as he is called, is that he is a Christian man who believes in God and he was quoted as saying these words, “As a head coach, I will be committed to doing everything possible to bring success to this franchise,” Spagnuolo said. “I’m not about predictions, I’m not about bold statements, but we hope that we’re going to be about faith, character, core values and team first those will be the four pillars that we will hang our hat on.” I like what I am hearing so far and I look forward to 2009 and the rebirth of the Rams. GO RAMS!

Kurt Warner Leads the Big Red To the Super Bowl

I can't believe I am saying this.....the Arizona Cardinals, long a joke in the NFL are going to the Super Bowl, and the man who led them to the NFC title over the Philadelphia Eagles is my favorite quarterback of all time: Kurt Warner. I was sad to see him leave St. Louis in 2003 because his life and testimony were a tribute to faith in Christ and hard work and just like with the Rams, he has led the Big Red to the Super Bowl. I have to admit that this is bittersweet for me. Like many people from St. Louis, I was devastated when Bill Bidwill decided to move the team and the Cardinals left town in 1988 and to this day, I still cannot bring myself to root for them. Especially when they are playing my beloved Rams. However, with Kurt Warner leading the way, I am so happy to see that they have finally made it to the Super Bowl and #13 has once again shown he is one of the great quarterbacks of all time and I congratulate him on this great achievment. I hope that Kurt Warner and the Cardinals win the Super Bowl in two weeks because it couldn't happen to a better person. GO BIG RED...

God's Blessings

If you are like me, sometimes you get so caught up on what is going on "now," on school assignments, work deadlines, past hurts, etc. that you lose focus of the fact that God blesses us SO much every day. I once read a quote by an unknown author who wrote, "What a wonderful world this would be if we could forget our problems and easily as we do our blessings." We should never forget or fail to remember all the blessings that God had given us in our lives. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:8-9 (NIV) So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, That everything that He provides on top of salvation is a bonus, and even if God never did anything else for me," the gift of salvation is so incredible and undeserved! But indeed, not only has God provided a means to satisfy His necessary justness--by giving His Son in our place, but He also gives us blessings everyday. He gives us family and friends. He gives us roofs over our heads. He gives us abilities. He gives us food. He gives us in this country, freedom of worship. He gives us good local churches to provide the opportunties for worship, fellowship and service that we all need:

Ephesians 5:19 (NIV) Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

I hope that you will join with me today, in a concerted effort to be more thankful to God. No matter what our situation, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. There are things we take for granted every day, like a roof over our heads, food on our tables, employment and a source of income, our health and yes, even a government that is not a dictatorship....Things that people in some countries do not have....And we can be thankful that even in difficult situations, God can work for His glory and our good, and can bless others and teach us in those difficulties. Let's render to God more of the praise He deserves:

Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.

It's COLD Again!

It's freezing here in Indiana today. The temperature right now is a -4 degrees below zero and it's only getting colder. Hopefully this arctic weather will move out by this weekend. I wonder where all those "Global Warming" people are right about now. This is the coldest winter on record in decades. I hope you are staying warm and have a blessed day and God bless.