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Kristen Davis is going to do a study of Stephen Charnock's collection of sermons entitled The Existence and Attributes of God. Who in Jacksonville wants to join? These are sermons given to every day people so don't be intimidated and the book only costs $0.99 on Amazon Kindle! If you want to join, sign up with the following link.
We'll be meeting at The Loop (8221 Southside Blvd), each Monday at 7pm, starting Feb 8th! We'd love for you to join us!
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Genesis 40:1-23
Have your ever felt like you were constantly giving your greatest efforts, only to have no recognition, or worse, false accusations against you? Many of us have experienced this at one time or another. Joseph’s example in this week’s passage is one that can provide us hope.
In this passage Joseph was wrongly imprisoned, yet he has maintained a stoic attitude and God continued to prosper him. Joseph found favor with the prison warden and was given charge over the ministrations of the jail. Joseph had endured betrayal by his brothers and betrayal by his employer’s wife, yet he continued to put forth his best efforts despite his circumstances. Joseph continued to be blessed by God in all of his tribulations, and Joseph continued to give glory to God for everything he received. When two of his cellmates were perplexed by dreams, Joseph offered God’s gift of dream interpretation.
Joseph was no stranger to dreams. Although his own prophetic visions had not yet come to fruition (confined to a dungeon seems a far cry from a dream where Joseph’s brothers were bowing down to him!), he was nevertheless still willing to offer his God-given gifts to his fellow captives. The dreams he heard were both similar and dissimilar at the same time. They were similar in that something significant was about to occur in three days time for both of his fellow prisoners. They were dissimilar because of the outcomes.
Joseph did not filter the interpretation he received from God. For the Cupbearer, good news! He was to be restored to his former place of honor. The Baker, however, was told he was to die. Like a good prophet, Joseph spoke that which he received, not what the audience wanted to hear. Despite his circumstance, Joseph continued to live in a way he knew to be pleasing to God.
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Despite his good works, Joseph did not see a reward for his service to others in the short term. In every circumstance, we read Joseph worked hard and God blessed his efforts. Still, he continued to experience setbacks and hardship. Most importantly, Joseph never stopped doing the right thing. How many times have we done the right thing only to experience grief and heartache? “No good deed goes unpunished” seems to often have a modicum of truth. For Joseph, his deed for the Cupbearer was forgotten and Joseph would remain in jail for years. Events in our own lives can be very frustrating.
Despite our best efforts our lives will experience these pitfalls though maybe not quite as severe as Joseph. We should be mindful that we serve a God who remembers our hearts and our actions. While the fruits of our deeds may not be realized in the short term or even our entire life, we can be assured these acts never spoil.
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