"The Lord watches over the lives of the whole-hearted; their inheritance lasts forever." Psalm 37:18
Whole-hearted. Other versions say blameless, upright, innocent, undefiled, perfect. The way I see it, I can't ever be blameless, upright, innocent, undefiled, much less perfect. The minute I get up in the morning, I'm already breathing the
adulterated air of the ungrateful! The day goes on, I am impatient, irritated, insensitive and fail to trust in God. So is my inheritance lost to me forever?
Not likely!!! "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."(Romans 8:17).
We receive the promise of our inheritance by hearing the word of truth and believing in Christ as it says in Ephesians 1:11-14 - "In him we have obtained an inheritance...In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."
"He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives." Genesis 45:5
Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave. After a long incarceration, Joseph was able to correctly interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and he was made the Prime Minister of Egypt. He was second in command, in charge of all the food during a time of famine. Joseph's brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain not knowing that they would encounter the brother they had wronged.
When Joseph revealed himself to them, he said, "Do not be distressed. I am Joseph. God sent me ahead of you to save your lives." In the devotional book, The Anawim Way, it reads, "These words of Joseph capture one of the essential lessons that every missionary must learn. We are all sent by God into the world, for the sake of saving lives."
Yes we are all missionaries, disciples on mission. And we must see, like Joseph, that the challenges of our lives, the lessons we have learned, are food for a hungry world.
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patsy
I love how you use art to express scripture you are reading! I wish I could draw!
ReplyDeleteI often think of Joseph's response to his brothers whenever I am given the choice to forgive an injustice. God will turn my ashes into beauty if I choose to release them into his hands.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your honest but uplifting thoughts and the beautiful art that pours forth because of them.
Hugs,
Teresa