Pharaoh swept his hand out wide, so as to include all that vast land of Egypt, and said, “It’s all yours, Joseph.” Then he took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph’s hand. You know what that ring signified, don’t you?
Read MoreCategory Archives: Bible Characters
Humility When Promoted
There stood Joseph right before him, meeting all the requirements. But even then, when it seemed appropriate for Joseph to volunteer, he restrained. The king, however, knew Joseph was the man for the job.
Read MoreLessons in Adversity
This is a good time to call to mind several lessons we can learn from Jacob’s family and Joseph’s adversity. The first is obvious. No enemy is more subtle than passivity. When parents are passive, they may eventually discipline . . .
Read MoreGod’s Training Manual
Before we get better acquainted with Joseph, let’s take a quick glance at some background information. It will help if you remember that his biography falls neatly into three distinct segments.
Read MoreNever the Same
“Nathan then said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, “It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master’s house . . .”‘”
Read MoreLive Like It Today
When I think of fallen people, my mind returns to an ancient example, King Saul, the tall, dark, handsome monarch of the Hebrews. What an impressive specimen of humanity!
Read MoreTemporal Rewards for Those Who Serve God
I’ll be candid with you. I have never read anywhere else in the Bible what God revealed to me in 2 Corinthians: “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
Read MorePar for the Servanthood Course
Paul was no criminal. The man was innocent of wrong . . . yet he was misunderstood, mistreated, hunted like a wounded deer, and hated by those who once respected him. In 2 Corinthians 4:9, Paul states we are “struck down.”
Read MoreDealing with Physical and Emotional Pain
It’s hard for me to read Paul’s words without wincing: “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.”
Read MorePaul Was Normal, Like Us
Funny, we seldom think that a great apostle like Paul ever suffered from insomnia, but he did. He couldn’t sleep sometimes because of acute deprivations, like hunger, cold, and exposure.
Read More