January 2023 – Sonshine's Journal

January 31, 2023January 31, 2023

A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

Exodus 4-6 God takes what is imperfect (in our eyes) and uses it for His glory. He wants us to see that it is His glory, not ours. And so we meet Moses as a shepherd who, like many of us, feels like they have failed in this life. They are not waiting for the wonders of God to be revealed; instead, there is no hope for me, a man of uncircumcised lips. We say I am not worthy, just as Isaiah said, and that is true, but God is the potter, and we are the clay to be molded to be used for His glory. Will we let Him mold us?

God is a promise keeper. He made a promise to Abraham, and now it is time to keep that promise. So, God says: I have established my covenant, I have heard, I have remembered (Does God forget?? Unlike us, God does not forget. Go read Isaiah 49:14-16), I will rescue you; I will redeem you, I will take you as My people. Yet, like Moses, we begin “suppose…suppose” with excuse after excuse. No wonder God gets impatient with us!

Where am I/ are you making excuses today? Time to say: No more Moses! No more excuses. Maybe your last week was a week of excuses, but the calendar is changing this week, and we should too. So use us, Lord, in whatever way You desire that Your promises may be revealed.

Photo Credit: Bryan Goff on Unsplash – Author notes

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023

Encountering God in the Wilderness

Exodus 1-3 Moses shares his journey from unbelief to belief through the chronicles of those who knew him best. One particular trait stands out: The fear of man is a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” [Prov 29:25]

Now a new Pharaoh arose, and his racial bias surfaced. He was fearful of the increasing number of Israelites. Instead of thanking God for them, he shrewdly plans to destroy the next generation but keep this generation for his own purposes. Hitler, Stalin, and others like him tried the same tactic, but ultimately they all failed because of this truth: “For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it?” [Is 14:27] The truth of Joseph’s words comes again: you thought to do harm, but God intended it for good. [Gen 50:20]

In contrast are the two midwives. Did they help Jochabed birth Moses? Hmm, I wonder. One thing is clear; they didn’t lie, but because they feared God, they chose to shrewdly respond about how quickly the Hebrew women birthed their children. Then there is Moses’ murder of the Egyptian. Fearing reprisal led him to escape to the wilderness. God uses all of these experiences to teach Moses and us about Himself because it is in the wilderness that we encounter God.

We can be fearful of men, or we can be fearful of God. One leads to snares, and one leads to blessing. Which will we choose?

Which kind of fear do I have? Which kind of fear leads me to the wilderness where I can have an encounter with God?

January 29, 2023January 29, 2023

Last Words

Genesis 48 to 50 The covenantal blessing precedes the deaths of Jacob and Joseph, as well as their last words. Abraham blessed Isaac and Ishmael, and now Jacob follows that tradition by blessing his 12 sons. In forward sight, Jacob blessed Judah, noting that the Lion of Judah/the Messiah would come from his line. Judah’s is the longest, followed by Joseph’s. Moses continued that tradition in Deut 33 for all the tribes of Israel,

As Jacob was nearing death, he blessed Joseph’s sons by placing his hands on their heads and symbolically passed on the gifts of heritage and inheritance. Jacob blessed the younger over the eldest, just as it has been seen throughout the book of Genesis: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and Ephraim over Manasseh. Later Moses would continue that. Jacob thus passed on the privileges and blessings of land and people to Joseph’s sons just as he had received.

Jacob’s and Joseph’s last words are like the finishing threads of a tapestry. The underside threads may be scattered, but the top reveals God’s hand upon their life. Truly “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them,” [Eph 2:10]. What will your tapestry reveal? What are you passing on to your children and your children’s children?

January 28, 2023January 28, 2023

You can trust God!

Gen 46-47 The brothers return after their shopping trip to Egypt with news that Joseph is alive! Imagine Jacob hearing this news! Because of their past, Jacob was stunned, and it took some convincing before Jacob could believe them. He might have tossed that invite back in their faces if they had not returned with the wagons. They had much to atone for, and it was hard for Jacob to trust them. Would this be just another of their ploys to gain his permission? Is it hard for you to believe someone who has broken your trust? Perhaps that is why God spoke to Jacob in a vision during their stop in Beersheba and said: Do not be afraid.

When God renewed His covenant with Abram, He added some extra details about his descendants. [Gen 15] They would be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they would end up being enslaved for 400 yrs. We wonder if Abraham ever shared about their pending slavery, and perhaps it could be why God spoke to him in a vision to say: “do not be afraid to go down to Egypt.”

Like many of us, the brothers have been untrustworthy, but God’s Word can be trusted even if men cannot.

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023

Forgiveness – Man’s Greatest Need

Gen 41-42 God can and will use many things to bring about His plan, even a famine. Yet, in all that, we see God’s grace behind the scenes. Even today, we see the effect of sin in the lives of many, yet God’s grace and His forgiveness are revealed as His Word is presented so that they may repent and be restored.

In Joseph’s story, we can see the truth that God causes all things to happen to prove that He plans not to harm us but to give us a future filled with hope. [Jer 29:11] Imagine the brothers who stand before him, not knowing it was their long-lost brother. When questioned, they say, “we are honest men.” Ummm nope! 🙁 They are not, but God will use these circumstances to change them to be the men who will fulfill the promise of God to Abraham. “The families of the earth will receive a blessing through you.” [Gen 12:3]

When you look back over your life, can you see the hand of God testing and proving you? Can you give Him the glory that He chose you in eternity past and predestined you according to His good pleasure? [Eph 1:4]

January 26, 2023January 26, 2023

God is the Author of Dreams

Gen 41-42 The OT records two men, Joseph and Daniel, who were given the divine ability to interpret dreams. Both acknowledged that they alone could not interpret dreams but gave glory to God. Joseph wisely asked the butler and the baker, “Don’t interpretations belong to God?” [Gen 40:8] Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries…” [Dan 2:28] He further told the king that “no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.” [Dan 2:27] Are we so bold to speak for God when we are in the presence of earthly leaders or friends or acquaintances?

In both cases, the magicians, soothsayers, and wise men were powerless to understand the messages. But, God placed two men who trusted and believed in God Almighty to reveal His plan for one purpose: that they might know there is a God in heaven who is the interpreter of truth. How often does God place someone in our path seeking an answer from pagan sources, and God puts us before them to tell them the truth?

Joseph and Daniel were captives, yet God used them to reveal the needed interpretation to these pagan rulers so that they might be, as Paul said, “without excuse.” [Rom 1:20] Joseph and Daniel gave God honor and glory, and we should do the same.

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023

The Avoidance Technique

Gen 38 Jacob’s son Judah recalls his part in selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders, and every time he was in the presence of Jacob, he remembered his part but failed to acknowledge it. Unconfessed sin tears at our hearts, and if we fail to acknowledge it, we seek ways to avoid it, which is what Judah did.

He left home and family to stay with a pagan named Hirah. Hirah was no friend, but when we in sin, we are blind and deaf to God’s call. Unlike the Prodigal, who admitted, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you,” Judah became a master of the avoidance technique. [Luke 15:18]

He met a Canaanite daughter, married, and fathered three sons, two of whom God killed because of their wickedness. Avoiding confession of sin has its consequences. Stubborn Judah has yet to acknowledge his sin and, like us, seeks to cover it up with actions, deeds, and even self-justification. He had promised his third son to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, but failed to fulfill that promise. Instead of confession, he added to his grief through sexual solicitation with her. God has a way of revealing our sins, and even though God does not excuse her deceit of prostitution, He uses that to cause Judah to acknowledge that she was more righteous than he.

Where are you carrying a past sin and have failed to acknowledge it to God?

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023

Fathers Pray and Be an Example

Gen 35 to 37 “Even what God hates He can use for His purposes”

Abraham’s family tree reveals several sordid traits: favoritism, jealousy, envy, and hatred. It began with Abraham, who fathered Ishmael and begged God to make him his legacy, but God told him that Isaac would be the blessing. Isaac’s twin sons were a test from God. Would he remember God’s covenant? It seems not so. He sought to circumvent God’s plans as he tried to bless Esau, who, as we remember, sold his birthright for a pot of stew. Then we saw how Jacob chose to deceive his father. Later, Jacob’s sons were jealous and envious and hated their younger brother, Joseph. The apple falls not far from the tree, they say. 🙁

Take a page out of this diary to learn what the book of Proverbs says: God hates: haughty eyes, lying tongues, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members. [Prov 6:16-20].

Yet, even in that, God used Joseph to bless these men: “you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose so that he could preserve the lives of many people.” [Gen 50:20] Remember this: “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” [Rom 8:28]

Where have you seen this principle in your own life?

January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

Excuses we use…

Genesis 32 Feigned Love.

There is a little bit of Jacob in all of us. For example, you are invited to someone’s home or some fellowship outside but feign illness or busyness not to attend. That is where we find Jacob—and ourselves.

Again we return to the truth of Prov 29:25 “the fear of man is a snare..” Like Jacob, we are not willing to seek forgiveness; instead, we cover our behavior with excuses. So, when Jacob hears about Esau’s 400 men, he clearly thinks this is the end of his life and his family’s. Yet, the memories of his deception are still there. In his heart, he knows he was wrong, but he is still unwilling to confess to Esau his wrongful behavior, and so he fudges in his explanations—just like us.

In contrast, Esau has reconciled his past and is ready to move forward. Instead of being honest, Jacob dreams up excuses as to why he can’t accompany Esau to his home. The contrast is clear: the unrighteous often behave better than the righteous. We say we are righteous, but our behavior speaks of hypocrisy. This is a wake-up call for all who call themselves believers. Are you willing to be righteous before others?

January 22, 2023January 22, 2023

God loved…

Gen 32:10 Unworthiness except for God’s Love

Jacob has struggled since he left home. He has struggled with his uncle Laban and his wives in their childbearing years. He has struggled with his cousins over the sheep, and it goes on and on. He finally has had enough of Laban’s treachery and decides to leave. As he reaches the land of his father and the brother he deceived, he stops and, in his quiet time, comes to grips with who he really is. He acknowledges to God that He is the most unworthy of servants.

“I am not worthy of all the faithful love you have shown your servant.” [Gen 32:10]

One author noted that you cannot go back, what is done is done, BUT you can move forward. You can acknowledge that you are unworthy, but you can also look at what God decreed from eternity. God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.” [Eph 1:3] Why has God chosen to bless us when we are so unworthy? It is all because it is “according to the pleasure of His will.” [Eph 1:5] It is because of His love.

He loved; therefore, He gave. He loved; therefore, He chose. He loved; therefore, He predestined. He loved; therefore, He claimed. He loved; therefore, He marked. [Eph 1:1-14]

Month: January 2023