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And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:40) http://bibl.co/8146

You’ll Preserve Their Dignity and Self-Worth

“Be full of love for others.” Eph 5:2 TLB

Imagine how Joseph’s brothers felt when he said, “It was not you who sent me here, but God” (Ge 45:8 NKVJ). Is he serious? God did it? This is a new level of forgiveness! Preserving the dignity and self-worth of others—that’s what God does with us! With full knowledge of our sinful past, He covers us with the garment of grace. And He expects us to do the same for others. As you read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter one, you might think the sin of adultery between David and Bathsheba was part of the divine strategy all along. No, sin never is, and David paid a high price. Yet the Bible records these events as though they were supposed to have happened in just that way. The Bible says, “Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased.” When you truly forgive there’s no place for self-righteousness. You’re able to forgive because: (1) you remember what you yourself have been forgiven of; (2) you acknowledge what you’re capable of; (3) you see God’s hand at work in the bigger picture. Joseph wasn’t being condescending or patronizing, nor was he thinking, “I’ll be admired for being so gracious.” No, during his years in prison God had moved on his heart and changed his attitude. So when Joseph said, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Ge 50:20 NKJV) he really meant it! That kind of response takes forgiveness to a whole new level!

Mark 4:36 There were also with Him other little ships.

Jesus was the Lord High Admiral of the sea that night, and His presence preserved the whole convoy. It is well to sail with Jesus, even though it be in a little ship. When we sail in Christ’s company, we may not make sure of fair weather, for great storms may toss the vessel which carries the Lord Himself, and we must not expect to find the sea less boisterous around our little boat. If we go with Jesus we must be content to fare as He fares; and when the waves are rough to Him, they will be rough to us. It is by tempest and tossing that we shall come to land, as He did before us. When the storm swept over Galilee’s dark lake all faces gathered blackness, and all hearts dreaded shipwreck. When all creature help was useless, the slumbering Saviour arose, and with a word, transformed the riot of the tempest into the deep quiet of a calm; then were the little vessels at rest as well as that which carried the Lord. Jesus is the star of the sea; and though there be sorrow upon the sea, when Jesus is on it there is joy too. May our hearts make Jesus their anchor, their rudder, their lighthouse, their life-boat, and their harbour. His Church is the Admiral’s flagship, let us attend her movements, and cheer her officers with our presence. He Himself is the great attraction; let us follow ever in His wake, mark His signals, steer by His chart, and never fear while He is within hail. Not one ship in the convoy shall suffer wreck; the great Commodore will steer every barque in safety to the desired haven. By faith we will slip our cable for another day’s cruise, and sail forth with Jesus into a sea of tribulation. Winds and waves will not spare us, but they all obey Him; and, therefore, whatever squalls may occur without, faith shall feel a blessed calm within. He is ever in the centre of the weather-beaten company: let us rejoice in Him. His vessel has reached the haven, and so shall ours.

Break Free of Jealousy

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, You shall not cross the Jordan.” — Deuteronomy 31:1–2

A note to our readers: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is observed today and tomorrow. Because it is a non-working holiday, these devotions were prepared for you in advance.

The portion for this week is which means “and he went,” from Deuteronomy 31:1–30, and the is from Hosea 14:2

In this week’s Torah portion, Moses continued his final farewell address to the children of Israel as they were poised to enter the Promised Land. At this juncture he let the people know that he would no longer be their leader. Rather, Joshua would take over and lead the people into their new homeland.

According to Judaism’s Oral Tradition, while Moses fully intended to cease being the leader of Israel, he had not intended on dying that day. Instead, Moses figured that while Joshua was leading the people, he would busy himself with studying God’s Word, which surely would have protected him from death. However, something happened that made Moses change his mind and choose to die, as he later did that day.

Moses and Joshua had entered the Tent of Meeting together; however, this time, God communicated only with Joshua and not with Moses. As the pair left, Moses asked Joshua what God had told him. Respectfully, Joshua explained that just as Moses hadn’t shared the details of his own communications with God, he, too, was not able to share the details of his exchange with the Lord.

Moses experienced an emotion that he had never had before — jealousy. Until that point Moses never had a reason to be jealous. He grew up a prince of Egypt and then became the great leader of Israel. He alone carried down the Ten Commandments and God’s Word. He enjoyed a unique relationship with God — until now. The Jewish sages teach that upon realizing his feelings of jealousy, Moses said, “It is better to die a hundred deaths than one moment of jealousy.”

Moses realized that the trait of jealousy stirring in him could undo all the good he had done over his lifetime, and so he chose death.

We can learn two important lessons from this story. The first is that we all struggle with jealousy — even Moses. We need to accept our shortcomings even as we strive to improve them. If we get too down on ourselves, we can lose all motivation to work on ourselves altogether. Knowing that even the great Moses struggled with feelings of jealousy should inspire us that we, too, can be as great as Moses, even with all our human imperfections.

The second message is to recognize the importance of not being jealous. We need to remember that it is one of the Ten Commandments and not just some small flaw to ignore. Try devoting time each week to work on mastering this characteristic for which we all struggle. Notice in what areas of your life jealousy may come into play, and then work to eliminate those feelings, having faith that God gives each of us exactly what we need to live our best life.