Worship for Today

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 47:28-31,

“Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.’ ‘I will do as you say,’ he said. ‘Swear to me,’ he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”

Now that Jacob is in Egypt he secures Joseph’s promise to take his body back to Canaan upon his death. In that Jacob has Joseph put his hand under his thigh (something we saw between Abraham and his servant) and swear to him a second time, he was obviously adamant that he be buried with his fathers – in the land the Lord had promised. He wanted full assurance that his body would be laid to rest where it belonged!

This causes me to think of the assurance we have from God relative to the disposition of our bodies after our deaths. Our body will be transformed, changed into a glorious body as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15. Although we face death, we have a promise from God we will be reunited with our changed bodies, right where we belong… in the resurrection! Just how wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: God carries out his agenda of redemption!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 46:1-4,

“So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, ‘Jacob! Jacob!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘I am God, the God of your father,’ he said. ‘Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes.’”

There is something fascinating to me about the exchanges God has with people. The Creator of the cosmos stoops down to speak with man! In this account Jacob has left for Egypt and stops in Beersheba where he offers sacrifices to God. God visits Jacob that night to reassure him about moving his household to Egypt. There Jacob and his family will escape the ravages of the current famine. Additionally, God is setting the stage for his redemption of Israel from Egypt that will take place four hundred years later.

God clearly has an agenda. He is pursuing his purposes and accomplishing all he has decided will happen.
All of creation will give way to that which he sets in motion. In an ordered set of precision events God sets the stage to display his divine themes of redemption, freedom from bondage, and opportunity to participate in new life! God will use the nation of Israel to teach the world he is the one who releases captives. All of what God is bringing about through Israel is to provide for mankind a picture of the astounding acts that Jesus Christ will accomplish when he visits planet earth and dies on a cross for us.

Dead in our sins, condemned before God’s justice and righteousness as lawbreakers, our matchless Savior comes to rescue us! “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: Our Lord has a heart of compassion, kindness mercy and love!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 45:24,

“Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, ‘Don't quarrel on the way!’”

Joseph admonishes his brothers to not quarrel on the way as he sends them back to Canaan to bring Jacob and the household down to live in Egypt. Joseph is fully aware of the accusations and recriminations that would quite likely ensue once they leave his presence after all that had happened.

To me this speaks of a man with an incredible heart. I suspect many of us would feel these siblings ought to be very hard on one another given what they had done to Joseph, let alone the grief they put their father through for the many years after they had lied to him about Joseph being killed. But not Joseph, he doesn’t want them to devour one another.

This brings to mind the wonderful heart of our Lord. As we are on the way, he does not want us quarreling with one another, devouring one another. He asks us to forgive one another when we have been wronged. “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14. Our Lord is a merciful and kind God who wants us all to treat one another as he has treated us. He has shown us kindness. He has shown us mercy and forgiveness. He extends his grace to us and loves us. What a heart this is!! And he wants us to treat one another in the same way… even when the other deserves otherwise.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: Out of God's love for us, he works all things for our good!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 43:1-2,

“Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, ‘Go back and buy us a little more food.’”

Jacob and his family were experiencing the hardship of a severe famine. They were so desperate that despite “loosing” a brother, Simeon, during their first visit to Egypt, they are now faced with the prospect of having to return.

Theses are the patriarchs of God’s chosen people, Israel! These are the ones who were given promises of blessing by God and yet, look at the hardship they are going through. The dialog in the chapter mirrors what we might expect to hear within families today who experience desperate times. “Why did you…?” Accusations fly, defensiveness, and an eventual shrugging of the shoulders by Jacob, “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

With the perspective of 20-20 hindsight offered us in Moses’ account we can see clearly that the Lord is manipulating events in order to bring about some very important things he wants to have happen. But Jacob and his family have no idea what is going on or why. I am reminded that in our lives any of us face the prospect of desperate times. As we endure those times we need to be mindful that we may not know why certain events occur as they do. During such times it is instructive to keep in mind that, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. This is because our Lord has a tremendous love for us, such that to plumb the full dimension of it becomes a life-changing experience, as Paul prays, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: Jesus has paid for all our sins!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 42:22,

“Reuben replied, ‘Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.’”

As Joseph puts his brothers through what they see as a very difficult circumstance, Reuben, the oldest, tells them they are in this hard place because of what they had done to Joseph. Although Reuben does not recognize his brother Joseph, he does recognize that sin has a way of catching up with us.

Something I would rather not have to face is the acknowledgment that sin, all sin, will be accounted for. As Moses told the Israelites, “you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” Paul reminds us in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” And, the writer of Hebrews tells us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

This is sobering indeed. As I contemplate it I can’t help but be tremendously appreciative, thankful and awestruck with what Jesus Christ has done. In God’s accounting of sin for each one of us, Jesus has paid for it all on the cross! Luke quotes Peter as saying about our Lord, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:43. John tells us, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” 1 John 2:1. Can there be any better cause to celebrate Christmas than this?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: Our Lord is beyond our scrutiny!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 41:1a,

“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…”

Here in this chapter we see a very dramatic culmination of events the Lord has brought about. Joseph is sold to an official in Egypt. He is falsely accused and thrown in prison where two fellow prisoners have dreams. One, Pharaoh’s cupbearer, is released after Joseph interprets his dream. After forgetting Joseph for two years, the Lord gives Pharaoh two dreams that so concern him he looks for an interpretation of them. Joseph is remembered by the cupbearer and is released and tells Pharaoh the interpretation of the dreams. Joseph is placed in charge of the land as one whom Pharaoh recognizes has wisdom from God. As I say, this is a very dramatic story and one in which God demonstrates his ability to craft precision events in a way to bring about exactly what he desires.

One thing that does not escape my notice, however, is that Joseph is left in prison for two years after interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer and baker (who was hanged). So, here we read of two years of dead time for Joseph in prison. Why didn’t the Lord construct the events in such a way that moved Joseph through the prison quickly without loosing two years of his life there?

The Scripture does not provide a purpose for Joseph’s two years in prison. Possibly there were some things the Lord wanted Joseph to learn in the school of hard knocks while in prison; maybe some character growth or maturity? Were there other considerations we are unaware of, that are not provided for in the account that required this two year stint of Joseph in prison? We just don’t know. Certainly we can surmise.

Here is one thing we do know: our Lord is transcendent in all he does. What the Lord does is always marked with a precision and perfection that strains our grasp. Joseph was never forgotten by the Lord in prison, he was there by design. We are not told the why of the timing but we certainly know what the timing was. As I think of the challenges we face in life, why things shake out the way they do, I need look no further than this account of Joseph to realize that I may never know why the Lord’s timing is what it is, but I certainly know that his timing is precision and that our Lord crafts the details of events to bring about a perfection that reflects the perfections of his character and nature.

When we say our Lord is transcendent, we recognize that our Lord is quite simply beyond scrutiny!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: God has spoken to us!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 40:23,

“When Joseph came to them [the cupbearer and the baker] the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, ‘Why are your faces so sad today?’ ‘We both had dreams,’ they answered, ‘but there is no one to interpret them.’ Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.’”

God, who gave the men these dreams, will provide the meaning of them to Joseph. It will be good news for the cupbearer and bad news for the baker. Here we see the Lord setting the stage for a series of events he will bring about in Joseph’s and his family’s lives that will change the course of events for the entire nation of Israel in the centuries to come.

The fact that God steps into his creation and communicates to us is to me just an awesome thing. Mankind has sinned and rebelled against God, has earned God’s condemnation and judgment, has proven himself to be entirely unworthy of any relationship to his Creator, and yet, here we see our Creator stepping into his creation to bring about the tremendous story of the redemption of all mankind. A piece of that story will be the history of Israel’s redemption from slavery in Egypt as a foreshadowing of what he will do to bring about the redemption of mankind. Joseph’s involvement in Egypt begins a series of events that will provide what will become the canvas upon which this foreshadowing, as a teaching aid for us, will be drawn.

That God uses dreams and the interpretation of them reminds me of the comment the writer of Hebrews makes, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways…”, Hebrews 1:1. The story of the redemption of mankind is certainly a fascinating one and the various means employed by God to bring it about is just astonishing!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 40:23,

“The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”

This comment is made by Moses after he tells us about the interpretation of the dreams the cupbearer and chief baker had. After Joseph had told these men the meaning of their dreams that God had given them, Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him by letting Pharaoh know he was accused falsely. And, as we see, the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph (at least for the time being).

Things just seem to go from bad to worse for Joseph. His brothers planned to murder him, they threw him in a cistern and then sold him as a slave to Ishmaelites, who then sold him to an Egyptian official, Potiphar. He was falsely accused of attempting to take advantage of Potiphar’s wife, thrown in prison and forgotten about.

But we read that the Lord was with Joseph, Genesis 39:21. I am reminded that the Lord is with us as well, as his children. Paul provides this wonderful truth to us in Romans 8:34b-39, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is not the end of the story for Joseph, as we shall see. And, no matter what hardship we face in this life, just as with Joseph, it will not be the end of the story for us. The Lord will never remove his love from us. He will see us through whatever we face and see us safely into the resurrection. I can’t think of a more wonderful theme of worship than this! Our Lord’s love for us will remain regardless of anything that comes our way!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: Our God is a consuming fire!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 38:7,

“But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the Lord's sight; so the Lord put him to death.”

In this surprising chapter of the history in Genesis we read a story of deceit, trickery, revenge and vindication. It is a fascinating story, and one in which we learn a few things. One very important truth we learn is that the Lord has put to death some who have been caught up in sin.

We know that not all who engage in a sinful lifestyle suffer for it right away. In fact some of the psalms bemoan the fact that the sinful seem to live a life free from the hardships of others who attempt to live a life pleasing to God. In psalm 73 Asaph says, “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.” Psalm 73:3-5. However, Asaph later develops another perspective after he has spent some time with the Lord. In verses 17-19 we read, “… till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!”

Sin has its consequences. All of us struggle with sin. Those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith are forgiven all of our sin but that does not mean we do not face certain consequences for entertaining sin in our lives. Paul tells his Corinthian readers, “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 11:30. I am reminded yet again of what the writer of Hebrews has to say to us believers, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’

Just like Er and his brother, Onan, our Lord can take us out in a heartbeat if he so decides.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately