Brought To Fullness

The first drawing in my journal

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio


Colossians 2:9-10(NIV)
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

Colossians 2:9-10 (MSG)
8-10 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Painted on a day that I felt adrift and directionless

Jesus modeled kingdom life for us. He lived openly, he was not some cloistered mystic teacher hidden away for only those who have the bucks to experience his wisdom. I don't know about not needing a telescope or a microscope we have both and they make it possible to see very small things and very far away things. They don't really help you to see God, although they do make it possible to see the wonders and the vastness of His creation. Which is pretty cool. Horoscopes I could do with out. I have no need to consult the stars about my future even when it is un clear. 

I do think there is need in all of our lives for positive prophecy and blessings. We need to be people who see the divine spark in others and encourage them. Most of us walk around with so much self doubt that it is difficult for us to even see our own potential. We need life giving leaders who will say like my own pastor did. "Margot, I believe by September you will have a whole new life." At the time he said that to me all I could see was that my life was in a state of change. Things that I had been doing had come to an end. During the time that I just felt lost and like a boat adrift with out a paddle, but I held on to that word. I tried to focus on the possibilities rather than the disappointment and the uncomfortable feelings being like a baby bird pushed from the safe nest of my familiar comfort zone.  My point here is that we need people to speak hope, and to see the gifts, to recognize that spark. We need people who will come along side of us and affirm and encourage steps of faith towards who God has created us uniquely to become. We also need to be that kind of person for others. 

Drawn in early May

"When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything." I could see many possibile directions to go. You might think, just pick one. I have experienced being out of step with God so I did not want to just head off in any direction. So I waited, prayed, journaled, read books, often felt like throwing those books against the walls. I did notice in looking back that I kept drawing mountains and hands on things. 

I have noticed with the Lord that you can feel like you are walking along blindly with no clue of how to change or solve an issue you are facing and then suddenly you turn some corner and everything starts to make sense. His provision may have even been there all along, you just could not see it. I think of Hagar in the desert, terribly distraught because she had been sent away from her life with Abraham into the desert wilderness. Her fear of having to watch her son die of thirst so consumed her that she could not see the nearby well. Then suddenly God helped her to see it. 

You may feel like you are out of step but this part of todays verse really jumps out for me. "When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything."

When you come to him. He needs to be your first rather than your last resort. Whatever you are facing today, top and take some time to come to Him. Lift up your concerns to Him, but also take some time to just wait and listen. He longs to walk beside you and to guide you. He does have the map and the plan ... you think we might want to consult Him. He wants to help you but waits to be invited. 

Too often we want God to bless our plans rather than fit into His plans. He wants to bring you to that centered place of fullness in Him. He want's to be your "All in All". Its easy to get distracted by things that don't matter. We can be so busy doing "stuff" that we don't have time to do what He has really created for us. Then we get mad when he strips away some of that unnecessary stuff. When all the people we generally run to are not available we want to shake our fist and cry out why me. When we really just need to go to the Lord. He is our comforter, our friend, our guide, our lover, our teacher, the one who picks us up when we fall and dusts us off and says try again, you'll get it. 

 

I think it is interesting when I drew this drawing of possible directions back on 4/27/12 I did not put them in any particular order. Look what one is on the top... Massage Therapy.  As I took little steps in this direction doors just kept opening. I had the interest and inspiration to even take those initial steps and to visit the various training programs available in my area. At this point the finances needed have been provided and am just waiting to do the final paper work with the school I want to attend. (They are on summer break).  I've re-organized my schedule to make it work with the new school schedule in the fall. Not much left to do but enjoy the summer and to be very thankful that God has given me a new dream and new direction. Well... I still need to order my books and supplies. 

Prayer:

I want to pray for those of you who feel stuck and need to make some changes in your life. That God will help you to get un stuck. That He will give you new vision, and purpose. That He will give you the courage to leave the comfortable to move towards that new dream. For all of you I pray that you will know the fullness of Christ in your life. That you will allow him into your difficult and your secret places. That He will beging a transforming work in your life. Stripping away the stuff that is no longer needed and making room for wonderful new things that He has for you. 

This is the way; walk in it

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, 

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

So my job at the church ended at the end of May. Even good change is always uncomfortable and takes adjusting to get used to. I love my church family and will simply be doing other things that better fit my spiritual gifts. I got to let go of the office busy work and most of the tech stuff at this point and am focusing on creating a team of prayer warriors and creative people who will help with future prayer lofts and various service elements.

What it did mean was that I needed to re-think my job possibilities and where I was spending time and energy that might be better used. I needed to discover who exactly God has created me to be. I have done a lot of things, and gained a lot of skills just because things needed done. I have approached ministry from a stand point of being available to do what ever God needed done. So after years and years of doing things that way- you can't just take a spiritual gifts test to figure it out  - because you've become good at a lot of things.  I did feel pretty strongly that God was calling me to something out side of the church.

Much of the month I felt like I was just drifting with no clue where I might be headed next. I thought about lots of different occupations. Honestly most of the time it felt like there was a big wheel with a spinner  - pick a job any job. Butcher, Baker and Candlestick maker are not in really in demand these days. I thought about nursing and counseling and art therapy all of which would mean a lot of school. At age almost 52 the thought of a lot of school, even with grants and scholarships I'd be looking at loans to then pay off for a career that I might not even be able to begin working in for four maybe even six years.

So I have spent the month reading books like the Path, Jesus Career Counselor, and The Power of Positive Prophecy all by one of my favorite writer coaches, Laurie Beth Jones. My dad sent me a wonderful book called What Should I do with My Life by Po Bronson that was filled with short stories of people who had decided it was time to follow their dreams or do something completely different with their lives. Actually my favorite quote came from that book. "Here's my point" all we get is a glimmer. A story we read or someone we briefly met. A curiosity, a meek voice inside, whispering. Its up to us to hammer out the rest." So I have spent the month thinking about the common threads, the glimmers and the things I locked away because at various points because I just couldn't deal with them. One day I felt like the Lord said to me "Margot go back and visit your granola bar roots." So in my young pre Christian life I was into alternative everything. I had a lot of new age ideas, and a lot of interest in all things wellness. The problem was that when I became a Christian, I was not able to sort out what was good and what was junk from my old life so I pretty much left it behind. Not to mention there was some heart break that I didn't want to think about so I locked it away and just kept moving forward. I was a new creature in Christ after all so I found new things to do. Music and art never got completely locked up but I rarely sang old pre-Christian songs, and my art ventured into more of the graphic design side of things or production work. I really didn't paint much anymore. So parts were locked up and left behind and some things found their way into my new life as a believer.

A few years ago all that locked up stuff started to rattle their chains. I really did not even know what all was there anymore. I had come across some verses that talked about the secret place. I had always read those verses and  thought that God had secret places where He wanted to meet us. One day I looked at them from another angle. What if I had secret places and the Lord wanted me to invite Him into them. Thus began a very long journey of uncovering layers and layers of painful stuff. I had spent much of my life avoiding anything painful.  I found out that as I invited the Lord into some of those dark, broken, wounded, damaged places that He did not condem me or shake His almighty finger at me and say "I told you, that was a bad choice..." He met me with compassion and understanding. He took the time to clean my wounds and allowed me to see where I needed to repent and where I needed to forgive. Sometimes he would want to deal with an area and I would tell Him I will, but I can't do it yet. He was wonderfully patient. I would think I had gotten through everything and He would give me a season of rest. Then we would start again and I would find out that there was more stuff I had not even looked at. Honestly even now I am still sorting somethings out.

Anyway about half way through the month of June, I started to notice a glimmer. As I have thought about my strongest spiritual gift it has to do with intercession and prayer and laying hands on people. I can't always explain it but when I lay hands on people to pray for them God shows me stuff. Over the years I have learned to go with those nudges from the Holy Spirit, little words of wisdom or knowledge. Most of the time it ends with the person crying and saying how did you know. Or I pray for them and they would say after wards that was exactly what I was struggling with - how did you know. So I started to follow the bread crumbs and little clues along the path that the Lord seemed to be dropping for me. I knew the next step was something outside of the church. How could I use my gifts in a way that would not freak people out, in a secular setting? Where might I use pastoring gifts and encouragement outside of the church. Coaching makes sense so I will continue to build on that but I knew there was more. I started to think about the possibility of Massage Therapy - now there's a way to lay hands on people.

I have visited several schools and found one that I really like. I have talked to some of the people closest to me to to see if they felt I was moving in the right direction. All have been very positive and felt it would be a good fit for me.  Then I have kind of let it sit and rest. There is the initial excitement over a new idea and I have kind of wanted to let it rest and wear the idea for a bit. I've been reading books and visiting various websites. At this point I am working through how to pay for it so I can start in September. I am working on picking up new guitar students, and coaching clients during the times I won't have classes or need to be studying and I have family who has offered to help once I figure out what I want to do, that I still need to talk to. So little by little I keep taking  steps of faith. I had asked the Lord to give me a new dream and I am starting to see one along with a direction move in to get there.

The journey toward your Big Dream changes you. In fact, the journey itself is what prepares you to succeed at what you were born to do.
And until you decide to pursue your Dream, you are never going to love life the way you were meant to.     ~ Bruce Wilkinson

So to sum this all up I've had to sift through a lot of stuff, believing that the Lord would lead me and help me to figure out and answer the question, What Should I Do With My Life? I'm sure there is still a lot of refining and greater understanding that I will gain as I go along. For now I have this glimmer and I am working to hammer out the details.

Prayer: I pray that the Lord will help you to uncover what needs to be uncovered in your own life. That you will find that glimmer of hope to move towards. That you will hear His voice behind you saying "this is the way, walk in it." I pray you will have the courage to let go of things you no longer need, and even good things so that you can reach for His best for you.

F is for Faith the Canaanite Woman

Faith by Margot Cioccio 

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

There are no F names for women in the Bible. There are only a couple of  mens names Felix and Festus. So for letter F,  I tried to dig for a bit. I looked for names that meant faith or faithful and came up with an interesting person who's name ment faithful, who traveled with the apostle Paul. You probably missed him, I did. His name is Tychicus. I had hoped he was a woman listed with her husband Trophimus from the province of Asia. Turned out as I kept digging that she was clearly a man. Oh well, let me briefly introduce you to him anyway.

Acts 20:4 (GNT)
4 Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea, went with him; so did Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Tychicus and Trophimus, from the province of Asia; and Timothy.They traveled with Paul from Macedonia to Jerusalem and may have been with him in Rome.

Hippolytus of Rome say that Tychicus was one of the 70 who followed Jesus and was also later the bishop of Colophonia. Paul calls him a faithful brother in Ephesians 6:21 " Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing." So I guess that settles that - he's a guy. You may not have know that he is one of the men who penned and delivered letters for Paul from Rome.

Here's what All The Men in the Bible has to say about him. Tychicus [Tĭch'ĭcŭs]—fortunateor fortuitous. A Christian in Asia Minor, who traveled in advance of Paul as well as with him at times (Acts 20:4). Paul sent him to Ephesus where he delivered, and likely read, the circular letter, the Epistle to the Ephesians, to the Church there (Eph. 6:21). Then he went to Colosse and did the same with Colossians (Col. 4:7). He also had a mission to fulfill in Crete (2 Tim. 4:12; Titus 3:12). Paul speaks of him in affectionate terms—“A brother beloved and faithful minister in the Lord,” and able to “comfort your hearts.”

Here's a guy who gets mentioned 7 time and you probably have never even noticed him in your Bible. Here's where you can find him, Acts 20:4, Eph 6:21, Col 4:7 and 18, 2 Tim 4:12 and Titus 3:12 His name means faithful and it is pretty evident that he lived up to his name.

So its back to the drawing board. Next stop was to look for someone that Jesus called faithful. Ta da! We don't know this Canaanite woman's name from Matthew 15, but Jesus says “Woman, you have great faith! so we are going to call her Faith for today's post.

Here's her story from Matthew 15:21-28

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman or Faith the Canaanite Woman

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Emma the Miracle Child

I have a few friends who are mothers of very high needs children. My friend Leah has a beautiful daughter Emma who is quite a miracle. Leah called me during her pregnancy when doctors had told her that the baby had something called Turners Syndrom and would not likely even live at birth. If the baby did live they would probably have to heart surgery and the baby could have any number of things wrong because the x chromosome would be missing. To make a long story short we began to pray. I had friends from my church and the Spokane Healing rooms praying with us. Leah had everyone she knew praying. When baby Emma was born she was healthy and strong and the doctors said she had something called Mosaic Turner's syndrom. I think God has a sense of humor me being a mosaic artist and having stood in prayer for them.

Emma helping decorate the tree

"A woman with Turner syndrome will have one of three possible X chromosome problems, one of which is called mosaic Turner syndrome, or the absence of the X chromosome in some cells. This type of Turner syndrome may result milder symptoms than other types of the disorder" according to emedtv. 
Yes she still had Turners syndrom but the mildest kind, and even with that who knows what x's are missing. 

Emma has turned out to be pretty normal she has some Turner symptoms, the most noticeable is her ears are curled in a cute way. She is closely monitored by the doctors and has had to have painful growth hormone shots, Turners kids can be midgets with out them. She has had some issues with her immune system and has had to have some extensive treatments to build it up, for the most part she is a beautiful healthy child.

 

Leah with my Tree of Life mosaic

My friend Leah is like this Canannite woman, who would not take "No" for an answer in regards to her sick child.  Everytime the doctors presented her with horrible news regarding this child she has taken it to the Lord and believed that God would heal, protect and deliver them. Even now my friend Leah is facing some pretty frightening health concerns of her own that could potentially lead to blindness. Still she is choosing to stand on the word of God and is praying for God's healing power in her life. 

I'd love it if you would be lifting them both up in prayer as you remember this post. With Emma its hard to know when those missing x's will show up as she develops, so far we have seen them to be in relatively minor things. Leah is a single mom, facing lots of tests, and possible surgery. She trying to figure out how she will manage and take care of her kids should surgery be necessary. 

Prayer: Lord I lift up Leah and Emma before you and ask that you would continue to heal and restore them both. Thank you for the the people we each know who do not give up trusting you in-spite of sometimes terrifying obstacles and reports. Thank you for the people who model for us what it is to be an overcomer. 

It's Just One Ant

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Proverbs 6:6-8

6Go to the ant, you sluggard;

consider its ways and be wise!

7It has no commander,

no overseer or ruler,

8yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

I think we often feel powerless as if the little we could give or contribute would not really be enough to make a difference. I believe the powers of darkness work over time to keep us thinking that way. What we don't realize is that if a lot of us did just a little, big things could happen. 

Click Photo To Visit and Listen to Healing Stream Stations

I hear my friend Mark Kenny of Healing Stream Media inviting people to help with launching another station or to support the 6 that already exist. Sometimes I am able to help and other times I'm frustrated because I'm not sure how I am going to keep gas in the cars or food on the table. Sometimes I allow that feeling of powerlessness to sink in and hold me back when I should take a step of faith even if its a very little one. What if you and I decided that we wanted to stand up and resist those feelings of lack and powerlessness. What if we heard those appeals and we decided that we would do something.

There is a different radio station my church supports in Alaska that reaches out to the Soviet Union it is supported by everyone, in every Covenant Church, giving one dollar, on one Sunday of the Year. There is power that is released when we decide to push past those feelings of lack and powerlessness  to stand together in unity to do something.  

Do you remember the scene in the movie A Bugs Life. The Bad Boss grasshopper is trying to impress on his minions that if one ant stands up, others might also and before you know it there goes their way of life. Its a powerful little clip. If you are getting this in your e-mail you will have to click on the post title to get back the main site to see it, or here's the YouTube Link http://youtu.be/VLbWnJGlyMU

I have been writing this week about God's heart towards the poor and the need for Mission Churches in America. We have churches that are thriving and others like my own that is made up of 3/4's homeless and poor people each Sunday that are not really able to support themselves. The question our staff and board wrestles with is how do you do church in America if most of your congregation lives under the bridge, or in shelters or subsidized housing? We pray and God has supplied in amazing ways to keep the doors open so we can continue to minister to our very poor neighbors.  It is however a constant struggle that we wrestle with and continually lift before the Lord. In most places it is enough to pass the plate on a Sunday. I sometimes ask God why there is such inequity with in His "Church".  Often we think we are doing great things for God by building cushy buildings for our people or erecting giant Jesus statues that eventually get struck by lightening and putting resources to building another.

Source: grist.org via Margot on Pinterest

Maybe rebuilding statues is a great testimony of faith but I have to think it is yet another thing that the languishing world around us mocks and laughs at particularly when our streets are filled with homeless people. We have a society of Christians who for the most part think their Christian duty is fulfilled simply by attending church services. So as I wrestle with the inequities, I find God saying to me "Who can I send, who will go for me." I realize that I am to be a voice for change. A voice that causes people to examine their priorities. 

I contend that if you are spending time in God's presence and enjoying amazing times of worship or in the word that you should get filled up and then go out and pour it out to those who are hungry or thirsty.  Perhaps you experienced personal healing and being set free from the things that have held you in bondage - that is great. That is certainly wonderful but you can't just stay there. You have to take that new found healing and freedom in Christ and do something with it. You have to come off the dang mountain and use what you have received to minister to a broken, lost and hurting world. Too often we are spending the anointing of God on our own pleasure and comfort. Isaiah had an incredible experience in the Lord's presence but he did not remain there. He heard God's call to "go" and he responded as should you and I.

Isaiah 6:7-9

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, 

“See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

⁹ He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’    

I'm pretty sure it was a frusting call to be sent to people who would not hear, or understand. He was sent to people who had hard hearts toward God despite the fact that God had done countless miracles in their midst. Difficulty is not necessarily a sign that God is not working in something. His blessings often come in unlikely packages, that are harder than we might expect. It is because we need to learn dependance on Him.

Source: missionsplace.com via Margot on Pinterest

This picture is depicting a powerful article by William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army is forever etched in my mind. Look at the people on the bridge who have been saved from the sea. They have completely forgotten the sea full of perishing people from which they came.

It's easy to think the problems in our world will be solved by someone else. That it's not our problem that people live under the bridge, or are held in bondage to poverty or addiction. That people are still in our century sold in to slavery. Sometimes our attitude is they made their bed - now they can lie in it. I'm not convinced that is the heart of God. 

Blessed is he who is poor in spirit....(Matthew 5:3)...for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Most of us are not farmers and our's is not an agricultural society, but I think we have to think how this verse fits and apply in our technological world of today.  Leviticus 23:22
“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

Deuteronomy 15:11
“There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.”

Proverbs 14:31
“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Proverbs 21:13
“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”

Isaiah 58:6-7
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.”

I've only chose a few of the many verses one can find on this subject - and lest you think it all old testament here are more expressing the same heart of God toward the poor in the New Testament. 

Luke 3:11
“John replied, ‘If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.’”

Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.”

There are a lot of places where one can help to advance God's kingdom. My friends at the Healing Stream have 6 wonderful and very different stations that will bless and encourage you. Take a listen and then visit the donation page and help keep them on the air. Click the line of photos to get to their site they have easy secure online donation buttons all set up under the donate tab.

My own little church could use your help consider giving to a mission church that is regularly feeding and ministering to the homeless and poor. Our seats are filled with poor people and our offering plates are filled with change. I don't think its God's intention for them to stay poor and homeless but it is a considerable journey that requires a lot of love, patience support and prayer. Please pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send workers into this harvest field. I invite you to be part of what God is doing, it is a work of transformation and hope. If you can't go to such a mission field - than give.

There are two places on our web site http://www.fccspokane.org/ 

where you can give an online donation. 

1. If you want to help support a church for the homeless and poor pull down the "About" tab an at the bottom you will find Tithes and Offerings and that will take you to a paypal donation page.

2. If you would like to help pay to feed the homeless a hot meal each week you would use the "Streetwise" tab and donate though paypal to Streetwise.

                                               Thanks, Margot 

By Faith...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Hebrews 11 By Faith...

I was wanting to look at some of the attitudes that we as believers are encouraged to adopt towards God. Faith seemed a good place to start.  I plan to also look at Hope, Love, Holiness, Awesome Respect, Trust, Repentance, Humility, Self-Denial, Submission, Thankfulness, Praise, Prayerfulness, Reverence, and Watchfulness. Not sure what order yet but these topics should take us easily through the rest of this month.

Hebrews 11

11 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Right off the bat we have to understand that the universe was formed by God's command. There are all kinds of theories out there. It requires faith to believe that by God's command the universe was formed and not just some random accident.  
Sometimes God gives us personal promises and they are as crazy as young Josephs dreams and seemingly as impossible as 80 year olds Abraham and Sarah having a promised kid in their senior years.  Geesh you talk about hope deferred, I'm betting Sarah had a lot to say on that subject. I think it is not so much knowing how or when God will deliver on such promises but more of believing that He is able and you are not crazy to believe in spite of what everyone else says or though the circumstances would appear as impossible.   Say it with me God is able. Then I think of Larry the Cucumber saying something to the effect of "Oh Great Bob, does that mean God can make me a cow?" He did part seas and rivers and do a lot of seemly crazy stuff.  I expect I've made my point. 
It seems if God says he's going to do something in your life - hang on cause its usually not in the next snap of the fingers - its a journey and a process.

⁴ By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 

Both brought offerings. Able brought the best of what he had to give to God and Cain brought what he was willing to part with. Our attitude of faith as we bring not only our offerings but our lives before God should be to bring him our best. Not our left overs.


⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  

Faith is a pretty big deal, to the point of without faith we can't please God. These are all great stories if you don't know them go back to Genesis and check them out - a lot of them can be found there. Can you imagine walking so closely with God that one day you just walked into heaven with out dying. 


⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
 Then there's Noah most folks know that story. I think it tries our scientific age minds to figure out how world wide flood could be possible. Interestingly just about every culture has some sort of ancient flood story. Do you know I've read accounts that in every culture there are flood stories that have incredible similarities. 


⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  Let me point out that Abraham had great faith but he did some really stupid stuff. Lying that his wife was his sister to an area big shot king. Then the whole deal with his wife's maid - yeah that one got messy. We can be really strong in one area and lacking in another. We are all broken but even in our brokenness we can have faith. Its good to keep in mind that God is still working on all of us. So put down your stones.


¹¹ By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.  I already mentioned this one. Back in that day it was a terribly shameful thing to not be able to produce an heir for your husband.  The story of Hannah is another woman who cried out to God for a son, even promising to give him to God to serve in the temple once he was weened. I was married 15 year before God gave me my son Niah. I had pretty much given up on having children. I was at a church service and I felt like God spoke to me that I was pregnant. I told Him I can't do this - If I am you tell me the child's name and what it means. If it turns out to be correct - I'll take a pregnancy test. The next thing I heard was  - His name is Hananiah and it means Gods gracious gift.  I had to go searching to even find who Hananiah was in the bible. Turns out it was Shadrack from the firey furnace story. Shadrack was the name given to Hananiah in captivity. When I looked up the meaning of the name it was God gracious gift. At that point I was willing to believe I had heard God and took a pregnancy test. Niah, short for Hananiah is now almost 15 he has been a gift from God.


¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. There are some great stories of faith and courage if you take the time to read your bible. Are you looking for a better heavenly country. I think of the Narnia books when I think about heaven and how in The Final Battle when they think everything has been lost but they have stood firm to the end. They find themselves on the other side of a barn door and in a new and better country. "“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!”
― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle  I never feel like I really fit in here. I always feel kind of like the odd, different one. I've grown to accept it as part of that inner longing for my home in heaven. 

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.  Isaac's faith is never mentioned here but you got an old man and a strapping young teen age boy. If he had not trusted his dad and God he would not have had to submit to that sacrifice situation.  Can you imagine dad standing over you with a knife " It will be ok Son, God has a plan." Geesh I sure hope so.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. These blessing stories are all intriguing. The hands of blessing are switched in the last moments and the younger gets the blessing. I first will be last kind of illustration for us. 
I'm telling you there are treasures to be found in the pages of your bible. If all you do is live on refrigerators verses that people post on Facebook - you are missing out. Read, learn, study ask the Holy Spirit to lead you - he says he will. Take him up on that promise - exercise a little faith that even if you feel dumb as a stump biblically that God is willing and able to lead you and help you to understand his word.  


²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.  Some say that Israel did not leave Egypt for another 215 years, others say it was 400, and others still 430 years. In any case it was a long time for dead Josephs bones to be remembered.


²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.  So then you get the whole Moses story and journey - read it for yourself don't rely on some old Charlton Heston movie or any other for that matter. If the last time you read that story was as a child in Sunday school its time to re-visit it - Not to ruin the story for you but O'l "Let my people Go", Moses does not even get to go into the promised land - He gets to only see it from a distance. Go read the story and see if you can figure out why?

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Then you get the Joshua stories and if you like military battles and strategy Joshua will stretch you a bit. I have to say that I have read many of these stories many times and God will show me some new thing that I had not seen previously.  With out faith it doesn't make a lot of sense - you need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you.

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
Most of the stories in this list are found in other places in the bible beyond Genesis. I'm going to have to look up the one about Jephthah - oh yeah that weird story in Judges about the guy who lead Israel in battle and mad a rash vow to kill what ever walked out of the door of his house to greet him. I think he was expecting the dog but it was his daughter. There are some stories like this one that I don't really understand. I just kind of let them stew and maybe the next time I read it I will have a bit more incite. Sometimes if you are new to the bible you will have a lot that you don't understand. The more of the bible that you read the more the pieces of the puzzle and the larger story start to fit together.


My Blog Birthday Month gift for you today are some links to some great bible study tools. 
I probably use Bible Gateway almost every day. http://www.biblegateway.com/
This one also has some nice features. http://www.biblestudytools.com/
I'll tell you a little secret  - when I can't find a verse I type as much as I can remember into the google search and see if what comes up helps me find the verse. A lot of the time I get the verse I'm looking for. 



Prayer:Dear Lord,
Thank you for leading us in your Word today. I'm sure there is more treasure to be mined from it. We have just scratched the surface. Thank you for the things you helped us see today. Thank you for leading us. I pray that you would put a hunger for your Word into the readers of this blog. Help us move beyond milk and learn to pick up our forks and knives and rightly divide the meat.

 

The Substance of Faith

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

These gardens are a thing of faith hidden beneath the frozen ground.

Hebrews 11:1  
Now faith is the substance 
of things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen.


Romans 5:5  
Now this hope 
does not disappoint us, 
because God's love has been poured out into our hearts 
by the Holy Spirit, 
who has been given to us.





I'm not sure where I am going with these verses but they are what I wolk up with this morning and I have sat here thinking about them wondering what it is that I am to write.

Faith is an interesting thing there are times when I would like to have faith for something and I have done all kinds of things to try and bolster or drum up faith. Other times the faith that resides with in me is so present, even though the thing that is hoped for, is from every angle impossible. Yet it remains strong and steady with in me, a thing that I know, that I know that will come but has not yet.

In my art work there are times when I can so clearly see a project and I have done enough of them now to not stress over the process. They exist from the moment that I can see them in my mind. They go from there to become rough sketches and then drawings on a board and then glass laid and then the finished project. That process can happen very fast at times and other times it waits as it did with the Beloved Project.  There are some other big projects that I can see but they wait for something to unlock the next steps. That un locking process is something I can't fully explain. I think sometimes there is something in me that must be awakened or released. Sometimes I think God just breathes upon it - in His appointed time. Some times it is a word of encouragement in the right moment that some how turns a key and says, it is time to walk up to the next level. I think we are all formed in the image of God who spoke and made the world and everything in it. I think sometimes he waits for us to find the courage to speak what we believe. Sometimes he waits for us to stop speaking that which is undermining our progress forward. There is power of life and death in the tongue. Watch your words.

Faith, I have found requires action. One must find the courage to take the next step, and the next to get to the thing that one can see in the distance. Sometimes I am un clear what the next step is or I await the inspiration and in it all, in both my life and my art I have learned to trust that when the time is right, the things that I need to proceed will be there. It is a confidence that I walk in and rest in. There are steps of faith that I must stretch out my faith to accept. God will not push you to go one way or the other. He will not make you turn off the tv or walk away from that mind numbing game or activity. At some point I must - choose to be available and to be open for Him to take my willing hand and to hear Him say... Here is the way ...walk in it.  Can you hear him saying to you "are you ready - its time we move on from this dead thing - I have more - will you go with me into the unknown - will you trust me and will you go with me? Don't be afraid I am with you and I will never leave or forsake you."

Sometime I must first work through beliefs that are not quite right or wounds that must first be healed. Sometimes sometimes God must help me to find the courage and confidence to step from where I am at present into the next phase of his plans and purposes. Sometimes moving forward means letting go of good things to reach for God's best. Those are often hard choices to make and hard things to let go of. While sometimes I think we can stall things through disobedience, and we can miss opportunities, in the end Gods plans and purposes are accomplished, he may however pass us over and give the blessing of that thing to another who is ready and who responds to His calling.  Some things wait for God to move and arrange and bring people who are needed together. There is a synergy that happens when people of faith come together to do the will of God. It is a beautiful and a powerful thing. In such things the wills of people play into the equation. I have seen God move and shift circumstances and people at times suddenly and other times it seems we can wait a very long time for God to move. I am reminded of a suddenly verse in Malachi 3.

“Behold, I send My messenger,

And he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord, whom you seek,

Will suddenly come to His temple,

Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

I guess I have come to trust and accept Gods greater sovereignty. I am coming to accept that He accepts me where I am today but He calls me to come higher up and higher in as CS Lewis writes in the final chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia. When we come to the end of one adventure there is yet another that awaits us. In 30 some years of walking with the Lord, I have seen this to be true. There is always more of Him to discover. 


Prayer:
Dear Lord, 
Your timing and plans are wonderful and perfect and often far beyond our ability to fully comprehend. I am thankful that you generally show us things a little at a time so as to not overwhelm us. Lord today help us to see the next steps, help us to be available and open. Help us to be found in your presence so that when you speak a thing that we will be there to hear and respond. Thank you for the amazing journey called life.  Be with us in this day and reveal your glory in and through lives that are submitted to your will and your way. 

Hezekiah’s Prayer

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

2 Kings 19

 ¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

 ¹⁷ “It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. ¹⁹ Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” 

There are so many great stories in the Bibles. I'm sure you know the big ones like Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joshua and Noah but there are so many others and perhaps you've heard it but maybe were not able to connect the dots to how it might be relevant and how to apply the truths found in it to your life. So todays post is that - one of those lesser known stories from the bible but full of treasures to inspire us to a closer walk with the Lord.

This is a great story of trust. You need to go back a chapter to read this story but I will tell you the Margot version. So Hezekiah is in his 14th year as king of Judah. Keep in mind that the kingdom of Israel shortly after David split. The majority left and were called Israel and were pretty much led by one wicked king after another till finally God allows them to be scattered to the winds. Heziekiah is the 13th king since the kigdoms have split. He is part of the side that remains loyal to David lineage of kings. He is one of the good kings and is credited with restoring the temple and he puts a stop to a lot of the idol worship that was happening in the land. He is quite a man of faith and trust in God.
So in this story Hezekiah is having to deal with Assyria who has pretty much swept thorough the surrounding area and taken over.  They have already demanded tribute from Hezekiah which he does pay at one point having to take and strip the gold off the doors of the temple to pay. So at this point there I'm not sure if Judah has just run out of funds to pay or if Hezekiah has simply had enough.  
So the king of Assyria has captured all of Judah's fortified cities and now stands out side of the walls of Jerusalem yelling in effect. "Dude you are next. Who are you trusting to save you. Certainly not in Egypt or in your God - look at all the other gods the surrounding kingdoms have trusted - we've piled them in a heap and burned them. Here are his exact words which he speaks in the language of the people so that everyone hears his threats.

 ¹⁹ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:
   “‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? ²⁰ You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ²² And if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

There is another story of a Giant who yells insults and taunts the people of God. In that story a shepherd boy takes him down with a river rock and a sling.  I have to wonder if Hezekiah might have remembered that story.  He hears these taunts and the way that Assyria is blaspheming God. I love the part of our verse today where he is praying and he say it is true what they are saying. "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands." But I love it that he does not stop there. You know we have circumstances around us and the facts may clearly point to death or defeat. The kid from "The Boy who went to Heaven" he should have died. When his mom walked into that trauma center - everything the doctors were saying was true. Like her and Hezikiah and David the shepherd boy we can look at those things and we don't have to go in and pretend that the circumstances are not what they are. The question is what will we do. What will we speak who will we align our selves with. In the case of the three stories I just mentioned they chose to look beyond the facts to the Lord and to believe in spite of the facts that God is able to save, heal, and deliver.  So Hezikiah continues his prayer. ¹⁹ "Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God

Sennecherib shouts to the people standing on the walls - Don't listen to Hezikiah and his stories that the Lord is going to deliver you. Make a deal with me now and I will be nice and deport you to a land like your own.   Who in all the land has been able to stand against Assyria. Who the heck do you people think you are to trust your God to save you. This is of course my version of the story and I would encourage you to read it for your self in 2 Kings 18 and 19.   I love it that the people were silent and obeyed their king who told them don't answer him.

So when Hezikiah first hears of the threat he tears his clothes and goes to the temple to seek the Lord.
Good response to trouble. We should also be quick to turn to the Lord.  So from that place he sends a delegation of priests to the Prophet Isaiah with the following message.

“This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.

Hezekiah realizes that they are pretty much goners unless the Lord delivers them. He does not just give up and walk out with the white flag of surrender. Nor does he mount up his little army. He goes to God and he sends out word to the leading prophet of the day, Isaish to pray and get direction from the Lord.

So the message he gets back from Isaiah. Pretty much God says don't worry - I've got you covered some of it is kind of humorous. Its a great response and too long to put in this post - I hope you will go in your quiet time and read the story and enjoy some of the richness of it. He says things like....
"The Daughter of Jerusalem
   tosses her head as you flee.
²² Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?
   Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
   Against the Holy One of Israel!

If God is for us... who can stand against us.
The end to this story is that in the night God sends an angel who puts to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. No fighting, no arrows, no siege ramps... just a lot of dead bodies. Just for a point of reference Yankee Stadium holds 52,325 people. A bit more than 3 stadiums full of dead soldiers. Thats a lot of dead guys.  So Sennacherib gets up that morning to find his army dead so he leaves and goes to Nineveh. Before you think that he does not get his just desserts here is what happens to him.
 ³⁷ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

So today no matter what you are facing, rather than taking things into your own hands to solve, or sinking down in to depression and fear - turn instead to God. Yes the circumstances are what they are but God is bigger than those things. You have to make a choice - who's report are you going to believe? Who are you going to align yourself with? I hope you will turn to God and draw near to Him to hear his wisdom and council to you. That you would have courage to stand your ground and to obey him. That you would not give up but would trust Him when every thing points to doom and failure that you will turn your eyes and ears and heart to heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You know the taunts of the enemy in each of our lives. No matter if it coming from the voice of loved ones, or just the battle ground of the mind. Help us to look to you. Help us to be quick to acknowledge or helplessness and our great need for you. We are so arrogant to think we can find a solution to deliver our selves. I echo this prayer from the Covenant Hymnal "Gracious God, Our sins are to heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, and what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set is free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen"

Seek Good and Not Evil

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

“Seek good and not evil, 

That you may live; 

So the LORD God of hosts 

will be with you, 

As you have spoken. 

Hate evil, love good; 

Establish justice in the gate. 

It may be that 

the LORD God of hosts 

Will be gracious to the 

remnant of Joseph.”

 

Amos 5:14-15

So a remnant of Joseph... He is that guy with 12 brothers from 4 mothers. He was the favorite of His father and the other brothers were a bit jealous. It's a pretty dysfunctional family. Dad had 4 wives, the one he really loved has died, she was Josephs mom. So Joseph and little brother Ben have no mom to look out for them and Dad probably tries to pick up the slack - which makes the others envious. His father makes him a special coat of many colors that pretty much announces to the others that this is the son who Dad will make into the next leader of the family. 

That would have been plenty enough to make the brothers upset. Then Joseph starts having dreams about things bowing down to him. The brothers get some crazy idea that if they could just get rid of Joseph that everything would be better. Dad would look at them and see their value and worth. He would pay attention to them. The rightful oldest son would carry on the leadership. Everything would be so much better if they could just get rid of Joseph.

One day they are out taking care of sheep far from home and off in the distance they see Joseph coming to check up on them. The tattle tale will tell Dad they were not grazing where they were supposed to be.  So they gang up on him and put him in a dry well planning to kill him.  Along come some merchant slave traders and they decide to sell Joseph to them. Off Joseph goes betrayed by his brothers to Egypt.

You might think the brothers had solved their problems but when they told their dad that Joseph had been killed, that day they lost their Dad too. He was never the same after learning of Josephs death. His hopes, his dreams, his reason to get up in the morning all gone. The brothers spend the next 17 years with a depressed and dejected dad, who now clings to little Benjamin like he's the only thing left that is precious or good in the world.

Joseph spends the next 17 years first in slavery, where he learns many skills because everything he puts his hand to is blessed by God. So he is promoted up and up until he comes to the attention of the masters wife. She tries and tries to get an affair going with Joseph and at one point rips his clothes from him when he refuses her. She, then scornful and rejected sets him up as having molested her.  So off Joseph goes to prison. Even there he finds favor and while I'm sure it was not easy he is put in charge of things. A long time later two guys from the palace get tossed in prison and have dreams. Joseph is able to tell the meaning of the dreams and it turns out he was right. But the guy who he was right about gets busy and forgets about him until years later when the Pharoh starts having dreams and can't find anyone to make sense of them for him.  "Oh yeah - when I was in prison master there was a guy who told me what my dream ment and he was right". So they clean up Joseph and bring him in. He does bring Gods wisdom and warning and the Pharoh does heed it. Joseph says find someone wise to manage things in the 7 years of plenty. Well Pharoah picks Joseph. In an instant thing change for him. He goes from slave to second only to the Pharoh himself.  The story goes on and you can read it in Geneis 39 and on and you can go back a bit to catch some of the back story.

Joseph is one of my Bible favorites. His story of faith, trust and hope in God despite years of hardship and every circumstance in his life saying other wise.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. We all know how Joseph's story ends but he did not know other than those crazy dreams he had as a young man while still at home with Dad and the brothers. I know how those dreams must have challenged him. The Lord has shown me some things through the years and during the time of having to trust and believe in spite of everything that appears impossible in the road between here and there. There are days when I can think - I must just be nuts to believe for this impossible thing that God has shown me. It is in those times that I look back and remember other things that God has shown me that have happened. He reminds me of things he has told me to do and say and how my faith started a chain reaction in the lives of others. When the weight of trust and faith gets too heavy I stop and look back and remember the many things God has done. 

In those times when the weight of trust and faith becomes heavy and the logical thing to do is to sit down in dispair and in worry. I choose not to - I look for the things that I can do at present and I do those things. I find things to thank the Lord for in my present situation and circumstance.

I think the last part of our verse today speaks of keeping current with the Lord.  Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.  I don't think any of us can rest on our past successes. Today is the day we must choose to follow the Lord. We can think that our place in the family tree gives us a greater advantage.  Much of Israel and even Josephs family after him fell away from the Lord and turned to worshiping the gods of the surrounding regions.  God always has a remnant of the faithful who choose him today and will choose to walk with him tomorrow no matter what hardships they may face.  We are in good company when we follow the example of people like Joseph. Life gave him lemons and he made lemonaid. He he could have done the least to get by and exist as a slave. He was not that kind of a guy, he did his best in every situation. He learned and he became skilled and he grew in wisdom and favor.

 Who of us can say if our difficult circumstances are a tool in the hand of God to create in us the character, and the skills and the wisdom for some future use that we cannot even yet see.

The Prayer Loft at my church where my art is featured.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I pray that you will help us each to make the most of the circumstances that we find ourselves facing. How can I stop blaming the people around me and decide to be a better person. How can I change my attitude, and focus to make it more pleasing to you Lord. Help me to be thankful for even the difficulties that you allow in my life. Help me to not resist the wine press. I don't want to sit around and become spoiled fruit. I want to become fine wine that brings you glory and honor. So Lord I must submit not only to the wine press but to the time of waiting for the juice to ferment and become aged to become its most rich and full and flavorful wine to grace the table of the Lord of Lords.